Film blogger Andrea David recreates your favorite moments from movies and TV
Movie magic: Film fan Andrea David travels the world looking for locations used in her favorite movies and TV series. Once there, David takes fantastic photographs, matching up the film still with the real-life location. Pictured here: Skellig Michael, Ireland --"Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Worldwide research: German-born David started the project after writing her diploma thesis on the influence of cinema on tourist habits. "I gained a taste of it and started traveling to various filming locations," she tells CNN Travel. "After my thesis I continued traveling this way because I really enjoyed it." Pictured here: Mountain Lake Lodge, Pembroke, Virginia -- "Dirty Dancing."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Accidental art project: David started the "photo-in-a-photo" project almost accidentally: "It's easier to ask local people about filming locations when you can show them the specific scenes," she says. "So I always carry some printed pics of the filming scenes with me." Pictured here: Tyrol, Austria -- "Spectre."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Fantasy meets reality: It occurred to her that matching the print to the real-life location would make a great photograph: "Three years ago, I thought it would be fun to try to align the image with its real background to mix up fantasy and reality in one picture," says David. Pictured here: Dubrovnik, Croatia -- "Game of Thrones."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Internet fame: Since then, David has been aligning film stills and the real-life locations in a series of striking photographs posted on her travel blog, Filmtourismus.de, and her Instagram account @filmtourismus. Pictured here: Beaufort, South Carolina -- "Forrest Gump."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Inspiring others: Her work has garnered her a big online following: "A lot of people wrote me that they are grateful -- because they finally know if and where they can find their places of longing -- or just received great new travel ideas," says David. Pictured here: Trsteno Arboretum, Trsteno, Croatia -- "Game of Thrones."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Tourism trends: Now she's gained a following, over the past few years David has started working with tourism boards and travel companies. This helps her track down some of the difficult locations: "When I'm lucky I get some information about the filming locations from tourism boards or the production companies in advance," she explains. Pictured here: Messedamm underpass, Berlin -- "The Hunger Games."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Detective work: Nevertheless, a lot of David's location tracking comes down to detective work: "Comparing film stills with Google Street View," David says. "Or showing them [to] residents and tour guides while traveling." Pictured here: North Gower Street, London -- BBC's "Sherlock."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Film fanatic: David is a big film and TV fan. She cites Star Wars and James Bond as two of her favorite franchises: "Naturally, these films deliver plenty of travel ideas," she says. Her favorite TV shows include "Game of Thrones," "Sherlock" and "The Walking Dead." Pictured here: Audley's Castle, Northern Ireland -- "Game of Thrones."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Modern classics: But David says she particularly enjoys hunting out film locations from older movies: "Among my favorites ranks the real Kellerman's Resort of "Dirty Dancing" in Virginia, the town in British Columbia where they filmed "Rambo -- First Blood" and the village near Atlanta seen in "Fried Green Tomatoes,"" she says. Pictured here: Thailand -- "The Beach."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Tourism impact: David is fascinated by how locations can benefit from their involvement in a classic film or television series: "These locations benefit even after decades," she says. Pictured here: Jackson Street Bridge, Atlanta, Georgia -- "The Walking Dead."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Positive feedback: David appreciates the positive feedback she gets from fans across the world: "It is great to see that so many people share this passion for the combination of travel and film," she says. Pictured here: Iceland -- "Game of Thrones."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Hard work: David admits its a dream job, but says that "being on vacation all the time" isn't always easy: "Besides the passion it's a great deal of work," she says. Pictured here: Long Beach, British Columbia -- "Twilight: New Moon."
Courtesy Andrea David/Filmtourismus.de
Never-ending story: David hopes to continue exploring the world through the lens of the silver screen: "I would love to travel to visit "Middle-earth" in New Zealand, the "Star Wars" locations in Tunisia, the valley in Hawaii known from "Jurassic Park," only to name a few," she says. "My wish list does not really have an end." Pictured here: David on location in Iceland.
![<strong>Detective work:</strong> Nevertheless, a lot of David's location tracking comes down to detective work: "Comparing film stills with Google Street View," David says. "Or showing them [to] residents and tour guides while traveling." <em>Pictured here: North Gower Street, London -- BBC's "Sherlock."</em>](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180124103029-filmtourismus-de-sherlock-holmes-london.jpg?q=w_4032,h_3024,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_778)
