My buddies at Tension Division worked with Columbus natives Starset on the design of their latest release, Divisions. The shoot was split into two separate days, with the first focused on getting a range of studio portraits for use on streaming and social platforms, and the second focused more on getting dramatic press photos of the band. The only issue was that I had less than three days to prepare for the location shoot, no additional budget to procure said location, and finding the requested “post-apocalytpic film set” in Ohio was no short order. However, I wasn’t worried in the slightest as I knew the perfect spot.

For years I had driven by what appeared to be a small mountain on the side of the freeway in Columbus. Though I had no idea how to gain access or permission to the place, I knew that I had to shoot there. In 2015 I finally decided to figure out who owned the property. Turns out it is a construction company and the “mountains” was simply salt to be used on icy roads in the winter. Despite their slight confusion at my request to shoot there, they said I could go right ahead.

Depending on my subjects proximity to the salt mounds, the camera angle, lighting, and time of day, I can make the place look like a beach, a desert, Mars, and even a post-apocalyptic film set. The band was stoked, the label was happy, and I had pulled off a minor miracle.