Where the land meets the sea and history: Cyprus 🇨🇾

Plus, the mental load of social media, and what I'm doing about it.

May 07, 2025

I am sending this just before stepping off the grid into the gorgeous Himalayan mountains of Bhutan, my second trip to this incredible country to lead an OFFBEAT workshop. It was a quick turnaround with less than 24 hours back in Canada after a wonderful trip to Greece and Cyprus with my family. But I had a chance to edit some photographs while in transit! In this newsletter, I bring you some images from Cyprus, which was a total treat for this landscape photographer.

I also include an important message about my new approach to social media, which has been several months in development. I send this to ensure my community is fully in the loop, but also to encourage other creators to permit themselves to take a hard look at social media and how these tools impact their life and work.

And ICYMI - Spark Sessions has launched! The first group critique session will be on June 10! There is one spot left, but you are also welcome to sign up to observe.

Hiking along Cyprus’ coast in April 2025. Photo by Paul Zizka. Model: Meghan J. Ward.

Here’s what’s in this month’s issue of Fuelled by Creativity!

Images from Cyprus
A new approach to social media
Featured photography workshops

Images from Cyprus 🇨🇾

Tucked at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Cyprus is an island steeped in myth, history, and natural beauty. This photo series dives into the dramatic meeting of land and sea along Cyprus’ coast. Crystalline waters carve intricate sea caves into limestone cliffs, and the remnants of shipwrecks lie like time capsules just offshore—testaments to the island’s longstanding maritime history. From the iconic Edro III wreck near Peyia to the turquoise waters of Cape Greco, these images show how this place is filled with story and charm.

My daughter at Tombs of the Kings near Paphos, Cyprus. Photo: Paul Zizka.

EDRO III shipwreck. Photo by Paul Zizka.

Mauralis Beach. Photo: Paul Zizka. Model: Meghan J. Ward.

The Love Bridge, near Ayia Napa, Cyprus. Photo: Paulka.

Find a few more images of Cyprus on my website.

A New Approach to Social Media

The following is an excerpt from an Official Statement I released on April 29, 2025. You can read the full statement on my website.

There’s a tension in what we do as outdoor-inspired artists and creators. We head into the wilderness to experience it fully — the silence, the vastness, the beauty. But at the same time, we feel the pull to document and share those moments. Sharing our work can be an important part of the artistic process. For that reason, I was an early adopter of social media.

What a journey it’s been. I have had the good fortune of meeting so many incredible people and witnessing how others show up for my work. This has been a truly global community that has helped to keep me buoyant through the ups and downs of running a photography business.

Yet, as we’ve all discovered, especially in recent years, social media has transformed into something that goes well beyond simply sharing. The algorithms have hard-wired us to repackage wilderness experiences for endless consumption. Video became the best tool in our kit. We have been taught that to survive as a photographer, we must be “content creators,” not only capturing the scene but also what’s happening behind the scenes. I have enjoyed many parts of that process, but I don’t like the motivations behind it. It reduces the creative journey to online metrics; marketability taints the process and the wilderness experience, both for the artist and the audience.

I’ve grown tired of the ever-growing demands on social media that go beyond sharing my work, fulfilling contracts with my valued clients, and inviting people into a conversation. There is pressure to think in terms of engaging captions, post performance, followers, and content creation. These concepts don’t only conflict with an artistic approach, but also present an inevitable contradiction for anyone who cherishes a life centered around nature. This kind of content creation takes time away from the things I love most about the outdoor experience.

And then, there’s the fact that algorithms are constantly moving the goalposts. From what I’ve gathered from analytics, for example, much of my audience on Facebook isn’t seeing my work. My metrics show that, in general, even the “best-performing” posts are reaching 5% of my audience. What was once a way to share my work now feels like a constant struggle against a system that doesn’t serve me.

As the mental load of meeting these demands grows increasingly unsustainable, I want to return to using social media on my own terms.

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