A full-time job that has taken an Essex photographer around the globe described his "passion project" as an adventure.
Thomas Duke, 24, a film student, began aligning movie or television scenes with the settings where they were shot or were based, and then he took pictures of the results.
He developed a following on social media after posting examples of the so-called "rephotography" technique.
He was soon contacted by businesses to promote movie openings or locations, and today, under his Stepping Through Film brand, he has nearly 300,000 Instagram followers, 131,000 Facebook fans, and works on it full-time.
The photographer, who is from Newport near Saffron Walden, claimed he always dreamed of becoming an animator and that he studied film and television.
Location photography emerged as a separate hobby while I was attending university in London.
In his own words, "I've always enjoyed traveling, visiting filming locations, and I love photography, so why not combine them?".
It's a passion project and something I never imagined doing [as a job]; really, it was just social media marketing. ".
The procedure entails printing as many scenes from the movie or TV show as he can, lining them up as closely as he can once he finds the location.
I love trying to make it as perfect as I can, he declared.
"I'm always interested to see how things may have changed since it was filmed. Is anything different, and is the building the same?".
At the National Portrait Gallery, which served as the location for a scene in the 007 blockbuster Skyfall, Mr. Duke claimed he took his first photo using this technique.
He then captured numerous images throughout London, including at Whitehall, where Atonement with James McEvoy was filmed, and outside the Ministry of Defence, where The Edge of Tomorrow was filmed. He later described this experience as "quite scary.".
They won't let you take pictures of it, so you have to ask permission and bring a security guard along, he explained.
The first time he was approached to work as a professional photographer was in 2019 to commemorate the city's role in the latest Men in Black film.
Since then, he has traveled throughout the UK and the rest of the world, capturing special moments like the heartbreaking beach scene in Herne Bay from the Netflix hit Heartstoppers. He was also in Sheffield for his most recent project, a new TV spin-off of the The Full Monty movie.
He has collaborated with Visit Herts to market screen tourism as Hertfordshire's reputation as a filming location has grown.
He has visited the cathedral where Rowan Atkinson's comical spy Johnny English was crowned king. Additionally, he has worked at Hatfield House, which was featured in The Favourite, Bridgerton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more, as well as Knebworth House, which was the setting for about 90 movies.
The South Carolina Tourist Board requested that Mr. Duke record all of the movies that had been filmed there earlier this year, including The Notebook and Forrest Gump.
He claimed that when visiting "particularly iconic locations," such as the house from The Notebook, it was "surreal" to imagine that not only had the actors stood there, but that "a story that has touched millions of lives around the world was right there.".
He declared, "There's only one spot for this story, and that never changes.
He claimed that beach scenes were among the most challenging to capture accurately, especially in inclement weather, like when he visited Dunkirk during a windy day.
Additionally, some locations in animated movies, such as Ratatouille's Parisian settings and 101 Dalmatians' Regent's Park, were challenging to locate.
However, he added that because it was "more of an art form," animation was one of his favorite genres.
"I love how the real world inspires animation, and that inspires me to see what can be created," he said.
For him, visiting the Cinque Terra on the Italian Riviera—where the Pixar team went in search of inspiration for Luca—was the "most magical" experience.
I stayed where they stayed, and with the crystalline blue waters, it truly resembled an animated setting, he claimed.
Even though the coronavirus lockdowns were challenging for the travel enthusiast, he claimed that they "forced me to be more creative.".
In my local Sainsbury's, I couldn't resist trying out some supermarket scenes from movies like Elf and Hot Fuzz.
A Bug's Life was another project I completed in my backyard. I cut out tiny pictures of the characters and scattered them among the tiny blades of grass.
"I simply tried to make do with what I had. ".
He declared his desire to visit Iceland in the future, where many of his favorite movies were produced.
In addition to Batman Begins, Game of Thrones, and the Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Ben Stiller, he noted that Interstellar substituted an ice glacier for another planet.
In addition to the thrill of traveling to a new place, he mentioned how much he enjoyed how his pictures sparked discussions about movies.
On social media, it's always nice to discuss a movie, why we like it, our favorite scenes, and how the location was discovered, he said.
He continued, "I don't know if I'll continue taking pictures forever. Whatever the case, I have a ton of memories from this truly amazing adventure. ".
