Gods and Heroes of the Aegean: PANDORA
Distant Era presents Sarah Scanlon as Pandora, our first portrait in Gods and Heroes of the Aegean, a new series about Greek mythology.…
The Gallery
The People of Light and Shadow: The King of Winter
The conclusion to Distant Era's series THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
Rendezvous by Moonlight
A very special surprise birthday commission with a sweet couple whose engagement I once photographed. And…
Quicksilver of the Jazz Age
This week, we return to Erin Gallagher’s gender-bent Jazz Age superhero series with a look at…
Birthday Villainy With Elizabeth MacDougald
In which we honor birthday girl Elizabeth MacDougald with the story of last year's birthday session…
EVEN’S ELEGY Gel Portraits #3: Naomi
Distant Era teams up with film producer D. Matthew Beyer to create colored gel portraits for…
Chicago: November 2019—The Androids
In November 2019, Distant Era photographed Chicago: November 2019, a cyberpunk-and-Blade-Runner-inspired test series that experimented with…
Anime Portraiture 1: My Hero Academia
Creating client portraits of anime characters in a four-part series beginning with a tribute to My…
Megan Wells as Eleanor Roosevelt
Distant Era photographs master storyteller Megan Wells as Eleanor Roosevelt, the third in a series of…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Harlequin
Continuing Distant Era's brand new series, THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Devil
Continuing Distant Era's brand new series, THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Changeling
Introducing a brand new portrait series from a Distant Era: THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW.…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Wood-Wife
Continuing Distant Era's brand new series, THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Tataille
Continuing Distant Era's brand new series, THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
Bride of the Silver Grail
How the spontaneous casting of an on-set guest spontaneously kicked off Distant Era's first studio portraiture…
The People of Light and Shadow: The Merrow
Continuing Distant Era's brand new series, THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, an exploration of fey…
Theatre
A Bright Room Called Day, with Blank Theatre Company
Distant Era is proud to present photographs from Blank Theatre's production of A Bright Room Called Day, by Tony Kushner, running at The Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago, from December 6, 2024 to…
Alone at Last, with Laughing Stock
Distant Era photographs Alone at Last, by Laughing Stock, Chicago's PremierCommedia dell'Arte Theatre, while trying out a new camera.…
Archival Photography for The Tempest with Idle Muse Theatre Company (Part 3): Lighting and Scenes
In which we examine the archival photography for Idle Muse Theatre Company's production of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. In the second part of this series, we'll take a look at designer…
Archival Photography for The Tempest with Idle Muse Theatre Company (Part 2): Costumes
In which we examine the archival photography for Idle Muse Theatre Company's production of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. In the second part of this series, we'll take a look at archival…
Archival Photography for The Tempest with Idle Muse Theatre Company (Part 1)
In which we examine the archival photography for Idle Muse Theatre Company's production of The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. In the first part of this series, we'll take a look at archival…
Northlight Gala 2024: A Starlit Soirée
Distant Era photographs Northlight Theatre’s 2024 gala, “A Starlit Soireé,” held at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on September 26.…
THE TEMPEST Production and Press Photography with Idle Muse Theatre Company
Distant Era photographs press and production photos for Idle Muse Theatre Company's THE TEMPEST, by William Shakespeare.…
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Poster Session with Babes With Blades Theatre Company
Distant Era photographs the poster session for Babes With Blades Theatre Company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.…
Photographing the Poster Image for The S Paradox
Distant Era photographs the show poster for Babes With Blades Theatre Company's production of The S Paradox, by Jillian Leff.…
This Music Should Not Be, by Wendy A. Schmidt
Distant Era photographs "This Music Should Not Be," by playwright Wendy Schmidt, for Chicago's Rhino Fest 2024.…
Journal
Practicing Patience with Personal Projects
As the New Year approaches, Distant Era reflects on personal projects, progress, patience, and new work in 2025…
Changes
For readers of Distant Era's blog, The All Worlds Traveller, an announcement regarding a more relaxed posting schedule.…
Testing a New Camera at the Bristol Renaissance Faire
This week, I’m showing some tests from my new camera’s maiden voyage, taken at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in late August, about a day after it arrived on my doorstep. As tests,…
Greetings from the UK
We’re traveling abroad this week in the UK, experiencing immersive theatre, Shakespeare, and life in London and Wales. I’ve included some travel shots of our adventures for this special All Worlds Traveller…
Northern Lights on the Lakefront
In which Distant Era spontaneously captures the Northern Lights in Chicago over Lake Michigan on Thursday, October 10, 2024.…
Travellers
Photographing Paintings with Artist Liz Radford
Distant Era photographs the paintings of artist Liz Radford and the process behind photographing art for faithful color and even light…
A Conversation With Featured Makeup Artist Rose Nobs
We discuss makeup and life with The People of Light and Shadow featured makeup artist Rose Nobs…
Mini Session with Deana Vazquez
A birthday mini session as consolation for a rescheduled shoot…
Genre Bending With Rachel
Taking a break from The People of Light and Shadow series to look at characters from fairytales and folklore from another perspective with cosplayer/performer…
Fantasy With Friends
This week, we speak with three creators and image makers of costumed fantasy photography sessions—Tabitha Burch, Mary-Kate Arnold, and Allen Castillo—to hear their stories,…
Game & Hobby
Distant Era Portraiture at Gen Con with Belle Westaby
Distant Era photographs multidisciplinary artist and cosplayer Belle Westaby as Nyx from the Hades video game at our Gen Con 2024 mini sessions.…
Distant Era Portraiture at Gen Con 2024 with Mike Burd
Distant Era had the honor of photographing cosplayer Mike Burd at Gen…
Distant Era Portraiture at Gen Con 2024 with Indy
A repeat client every year from 2022 through 2024, Indy is not…
Distant Era Portraiture at Gen Con 2024 with Brownie Knight
At Gen Con 2024, Distant Era photographed three mini sessions with cosplayer…
Gen Con 2016–2024: Working the Convention
In our final Gen Con retrospective, we look back at the years…