Power Is….
Power Is is a personal studio project built around a simple belief:
our lives are shaped by the things we create, the stories we tell, and the experiences we share.
My name is Chris Power, and this site is the home for all the things that define my work and curiosity — photography, identity & access management (IAM), writing, learning, and the ongoing project of becoming better at all of them.
This is where I publish the things I would normally scatter across social media:
– lessons learned in IAM
– essays and thoughts
– photography from hikes, parks, and travels
– personal projects, experiments, and notes
– the things I’m building or learning next
Rather than chase algorithms, Power Is exists so I can build in one place — slowly, intentionally, and without noise.
What I Do
Photography
I’m an outdoor and lifestyle photographer based in Indiana. I shoot what I experience: state parks, travel, early morning light, and the everyday moments that feel worth remembering.
Here I share:
– photo collections from trips and hikes
– projects I’m working on
– Lightroom experiments and learning
Identity & Access Management (IAM)
Professionally, I work in Identity and Access Management. On this site you’ll find:
– practical advice from real-world IAM work
– explorations of identity strategy and technology
– experiments with AI and automation
– lessons learned as I grow in the field
Writing & Projects
I write because writing helps me think. You’ll find short essays, long notes, project breakdowns, and reflections on whatever I’m learning — photography techniques, IAM concepts, outdoor gear, AI experiments, journaling systems, and more.
Why “Power Is”
Power Is comes from a long stretch of self-reflection and a growing need to share how I see life.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve moved through the world by stepping into different characters — not pretending, but becoming whatever the moment asked of me. If the universe said, “Be a Midwestern sports kid,” then that’s who I was. If it nudged me toward choir, gaming, tech support, project management, coaching, teaching, researching, clowning, fatherhood, officiating weddings, running, or surviving — then that’s who I became.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy those roles. Some I loved. Some I outgrew. Some I stumbled into. But nearly none were things I purposefully chose. I’ve just always believed this:
You are who you need to be at the time you’re there.
My worldview leans more Buddhist than anything else — though most traditions echo a version of the same idea. We change. We evolve. We shed old skins and grow new ones. Which is why I’ve never believed phrases like “people never change” or “a leopard can’t change its spots.” When I look back at my life, I’ve changed a lot — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but always honestly.
That’s part of why this site exists.
There’s a small word in the title — is — that matters more than it looks. It’s present tense. It’s immediate. It lets me record who I am now, explore who I’ve been, and leave space for who I’m becoming. It gives me permission to move backwards and forwards in time — to document the changes instead of polishing them away.
This site isn’t about crafting a perfect version of myself. It’s a hub — a place to create intentionally, to collect experiences without losing them, to publish thoughtfully instead of scattering things across social media and being concerned with the lens others will read it in. People can visit if they want to know more, and those who don’t can simply move on.
It’s also a kind of paper trail for my kids and, hopefully, someday grandkids. I grew up without much connection to my family history, so I often walked through life wondering, “Do we do this? Are we the kind of people who try things like this?” Most of the time, the answer was: I don’t know — let’s try it and find out.
I want my family to have something different. A place where they can see not just what I did, but why. A way to meet me as I am now — not the softened, edited version of the stories I’ll tell decades from today.
That’s what Power Is means: a snapshot of the present, grounded in the past, open to whatever comes next.
What’s Next
The plan is simple: keep creating.
More photography. More IAM writing. More personal reflections and projects. More ways to connect the things I care about into something useful for others.
If you’ve made it this far — thank you for being here.
Welcome to Power Is.
