There seems to be a shift happening right now—one you can’t always name, but you can feel.
It’s showing up in conversations with friends, in the news, and in those moments when you pause long enough to wonder if the work we’re doing is still aligned with who we are.
The economy is changing. Layoffs and restructuring are becoming more common. Entire industries and markets are in flux. But beneath all of that, something deeper is stirring for a lot of people.
You may have been doing the same kind of work for years, whether in business or as an artist or creator—building a reputation, showing up the way people expect, following a path that once felt clear. But lately, it just feels… off.
Like the role you’ve been playing no longer fits, or like the version of you the world sees is only telling part of the story.
Maybe you’ve lost someone recently. Maybe you’ve gone through something that’s changed how you see things. Maybe you’re just at a point in your life where you know there has to be more.
Not necessarily more achievement, but more meaning. More honesty. More you.
I’ve had so many conversations lately with people—friends, creatives, business owners, executives, artists—who are all wrestling with the same feeling… something has shifted, but they’re not sure how to move forward.
And almost all of those conversations eventually circle around to a version of the same question:
What’s next? What do I want this next chapter to look like?
Because deep down, maybe you know something needs to change.
Maybe you’re ready for a new chapter.
And that’s the thing about chapters—they exist for a reason. They move us forward. They introduce tension, growth, perspective. They mark transformation. And just like in books, our lives don’t unfold in one continuous line. They shift. They break. They evolve.
So the real question becomes:
What do you want this next chapter to look like?
Not just professionally, but personally. Not just externally, but internally.
How do you want to show up now—
now that you’ve changed, you’ve evolved.
What parts of you have you outgrown?
And… what parts have you been quietly waiting to share?
If any of this sounds like something you’ve been sitting with—you’re not alone.
And no, you’re not crazy for feeling this way.
Sometimes, we don’t even realize how much we’ve changed until the work we’re doing starts to feel like a version of ourselves that doesn’t quite fit anymore.
It’s not failure.
It’s not falling behind.
It’s just… time.
Time for something that reflects who we’ve become.
And no, it doesn’t mean burning everything down or starting from scratch.
But it might mean giving yourself permission to start imagining what’s next.
Tomorrow, I’ll share what that next chapter could start to look like—and how you might begin shaping it.
Until then,
Chris
Are you ready for a new chapter? Just hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear where you are in your journey.
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I worked as a commercial and documentary photographer for almost 25 years. Initially I worked with advertising agencies and design companies and there was room for collaboration. Things have changed so much and the idea of ‘advertising’ and being constantly advertised to as well as an expectation that a human is no longer a human but a ‘brand’ feels as ridiculous as corporations having personhood.
I’ve stepped back and have focussed instead on photographing for education, not for profits and healthcare.
I’m also wanting to shift back into fine art and fine art photography as well as printmaking and drawing in a full time capacity.
Time and money has me doing the things I really want to pursue very sporadically.
I know that I can’t wait for the right time to fall out of the sky so I suppose if I am more intentional with it and start scheduling it in on a regular basis that could help me move forward…because events photography is a real grind.