After coming to completion of my last major project, though still working on the end goal, I’ve realized that there is no better time to start considering the next project than now. It seems odd to even think about as the past year and a half has been dedicated to this one long-term project. On top of that, because the end goal has not yet been achieved, there is the feeling that, although I know this is not the case, I’m not putting in the effort with making it to the end of the last project.

Like anything in life, this is a turning point. I’m fortunate that while I’m at this point in my work, my personal life seems to be taking some big turns, too, so what could seem a little strange, at the moment, feels almost like a par for the course.

As with anything new, especially in the beginning, it is both exciting and scary at the same time. The knowledge of past experiences, coupled with the mystery of what lies ahead, open up a whole slew of thoughts and ideas of what could be, good and bad. I like to think, though, that after working on what I have for the past year and a half, I have learned some things that will help point me in the right direction. I know the pitfalls and the opportunities when they come along, and how to handle both with more ease than I have in the past. That’s not to say that this will all be a cakewalk, though.

Over the time that I worked on “A Southern Verse”, I went through countless reassessments of what the project was going to be about in the end. In all honesty, at the beginning I was completely clueless as to where I was going. I had no actual goal or concept in my head, I just was going out to shoot, hoping that an idea would come to me. Over a short period of time, though, things started to fall into place. There was an obvious common bond in the places and style in which I was working, and through that, and countless pages of questions in my sketchbook, the pieces began to come together. I often think about the process like the way we would do jigsaw puzzles growing up. You look at the box once, then turn it over and don’t look at it again. The pieces are there, you just have to take time, use the knowledge you have, and work to make the whole thing come together the way it is meant to.

I have a project in mind now, and it is going to take cues from the work I’ve already done. I can’t say that it will be an extension of the last project, but at the same time can’t say it won’t be. For all I know, this new idea will, as they commonly do, evolve into something far from what I expected. In reality, it may become something that is nothing like what I envisioned, and that is fine. I have to remind myself sometimes to understand that although an idea may be solid and well informed, it might not end up fitting where my mind is at the time. Either way, I’m glad to know that I once again have something to be working towards.

For those who actually read these posts that I drop here from time to time, I will let you know when I start shooting for this new idea. Although most of the images might not end up on the website immediately, I will most likely be posting some of them, along with other images that inform the concept, on my Instagram (@holystitt). So if you want to keep up with things on a more regular basis, you can find it there.

I look forward to sharing more about this new idea as it solidifies. It may be a while, but I know that over time, the puzzle comes together and forms the concise work it is supposed to be.