We recently connected with Emily Luckow and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The story behind an abandoned place has always intrigued me. And really, it’s history being left, to eventually be no more. So I mixed the two, abandoned history, & the photos are by me so, by EL. Abandonedhistorybyel. Plain & simple.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve enjoyed photography for along time. So mixing in a road trip to visit historic places for photos, is my forte. Some places look pretty tough, but those are the best. There is always beauty left that many don’t see.

I started in 2020 as a way to get out & drive down unknown roads in the search for abandoned locations. Turns out the shots looked pretty cool. I started putting the photos on canvases & selling them at our local farmers market & social media. Pretty soon I had better luck on social media, so I concentrated on that. More & more locations, some planned & some free style. More canvases, then making cards & prints (framed & not framed). I currently have my collection at one of our small town vendor stores.

It’s been fun watching the progression & just when you thought the last shot was the best, you find a new location with something different & again you surprise myself with a shot that was seemingly pretty effortless & amazing.

I always say, that was my favorite location, they all are. And when they go due to demolition/fire etc., there is a little heart break, because you sort of get attached. And some people for sure don’t understand that. But others who enjoy urbex (urban exploring) understand.

Even if my sales are less than before, I truly enjoy my hobby of exploring & capturing what people don’t expect.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It challenges you physically & mentally. It makes you see what you are truly capable of! That is considered a reward in my book. It pushes you to experience life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I would love for my “side job” to be lucrative enough so sustain me when I am off for the summers, since my day time job is during the school year only. And it never hurts to bring in a little extra through the year as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: abandonedhistory2020x2
• Facebook: Abandoned History By E.L.
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Emily Luckow