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Distant Era

@distant.era

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Distant Era (photographer Steven Townshend) specializes in the creation of fine art and portraiture of times and places beyond the here and now.

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Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring Nathaniel Kohlmeier as Scratch in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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20 days ago

Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring @xavi_lag as Frank Thorney in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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21 days ago

Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring @catygalore as Winnifred in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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22 days ago

Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring Stephen Dunn as Sir Arthur Banks in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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22 days ago

Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring @cameronaustinbrown Cuddy Banks in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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24 days ago

Presenting @distant.era's fantastical portraiture for @idlemusetheatre's production of WITCH by Jen Silverman @this_panda_is_sad, featuring @marajameskoki as Elizabeth Sawyer in a costume by @jablonskibaby, assisted by @mohrlove316.

These conceptual character portraits for WITCH were photographed and composited from paintings, stars, and imagination using techniques and materials from two mentorships with artist-photographer @anetherealfire, to whom we are deeply indebted and grateful.

#witch #chicagotheatre #distantera taken in Edge Theatre Off Broadway by @distant.era

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24 days ago

Variant draft of the key art for @prometheanensemble’s production of BLOOD OF THE LAMB, by Arlene Hutton, directed by Anna C. Bahow, featuring Heather Dennis, Meghann Tabor, Kirsten D’Aurelio, and Delia Ford in two alternating casts.

The key art was photographed and designed by @distant.era, aka @the_townshend, in collaboration with Anna Bahow and Jared Dennis. The story behind the key art can be found in The All Worlds Traveller, linked in bio.

Blood of the Lamb runs September 3 to October 3, 2026, at the Den Theatre in Chicago.

#chicagotheatre #bloodofthelamb #theatrephotography taken in Chicago, Illinois by @distant.era

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2 months ago

Thrilled to share a new Distant Era portfolio work, “Anne Bonny and Mary Read,” featuring Rachel Sleek-Bañuelos and Sierra Bryn, for @babeswithbladestheatreco's production of yo ho. by @smjwrites.

This was an experimental image photographed at the end of the key art session in which we captured stock for graphic designer Morgan Manasa’s official poster design. Our mutual goal was to make an image that looked like the cover of a romance novel. Along with the featured talent @rachelsleekbanuelos and @sierrabryn, costumer @mohrlove316, intimacy coach Jennifer Mickelson, artistic director @hay_maker, studio assistant @aelvishbard, and graphic designer @thefiberbetweenus contributed their skills to the session.

The light used in this session was partly funded by my longtime photographic collaborator and bestie @greg_inda. It allowed us to see and photograph our subjects with greater precision; this was the light’s maiden voyage, but it will be featured again in a future project made possible by Greg.

The final artwork is a composite completed after a second mentorship with @anetherealfire, who generously provided feedback, notes, and encouragement.

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s production of yo ho. opens July 19, 2026, and runs through August 29 at the Edge Off Broadway Theater in Chicago.

Session details and backstory, along with behind-the-scenes photos (and cats!) can be seen in this week’s voluminous article in Distant Era’s THE ALL WORLDS TRAVELLER blog linked in our bio.

Immensely grateful to everyone mentioned here for helping this new piece come to be.

#annebonny #maryread #pirates #distantera #chicagotheatre taken in Chicago, Illinois by @distant.era

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3 months ago

Featuring the great—the grand—diva @erinrosedesign in Distant Era's GOLDEN AGE OF THE SILVER SCREEN series. Hair: @mohrlove316 Makeup: @jacquebischoff #distantera #blackandwhite #oldhollywood taken in Chicago, Illinois by @distant.era

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4 months ago

@wizardofsorts Edd Fairman starring in Distant Era's GOLDEN AGE OF THE SILVER SCREEN series. #blackandwhite #distantera #oldhollywood #magician taken in Chicago, Illinois by @distant.era

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4 months ago

Distant Era presents our portrait of storyteller @wellstells as Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Megan Wells is a skilled storyteller who plays a wide variety of historical women, performing interactive stories in their voices and costumes, as if speaking to you through time. Since 2024, we have created a series of portraits featuring several of the people she plays.

I am grateful to @artist.xrs for his advice on perspective and color, which were instrumental in finishing this portrait, as well as helpful lessons for future portraits.

#elizabethschuyler #elizabethhamilton #distantera #historicalwomen by @distant.era

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4 months ago

In August 2024, storyteller @wellstells and I photographed the ninth of the historical impersonations Megan Wells performs in her storytelling work, Diana, Princess of Wales.

It was important to Megan that our Diana portrait intentionally break conventions established earlier in Megan’s series, as Diana herself diverged from tradition. Thus, this portrait is less painterly and more like a photograph than the others in the series; the pose is casual, as she removes a shoe; rather than subtly insert her name in the background or on the side, as in previous portraits in the series, it spans the portrait, writ large, like an autograph in gold marker.

#princessdiana #distantera #historicalwomen #portraiture by @distant.era

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4 months ago