They say age is just a number. But when the big 4-0 started creeping around the corner, Traverse City photographer Jamie Kirschner (owner of Crackerjack Photography) felt an impending feeling that she wouldn’t exactly label as excitement. After all, cultural perception hasn’t always been kind to women of a certain age.

Instead of just bracing herself for the milestone, she decided to temper her apprehension with curiosity and dove head first into her “40 Over 40” series in spring of 2024. Working out of her studio/event rental space in the original Mundos Roasting building right across from The Kitchen, Kirschner has spent the past year capturing images of 40 northern Michigan women over the age of 40 — jumping for joy, lost in reflection, or mid-laugh as metallic confetti rains down.

This week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker, highlights Kirschner and her project, which she describes as ntegral to processing the next decade of her life while sorting out what it means to keep momentum as the years press on. “I really wanted to do this project to show myself that it wasn’t something to be afraid of and it could actually be something that’s celebrated, that there are things to look forward to.” She adds, “It’s not like you reach a certain age and then you just expire or it goes downhill after that.”

The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy on newsstands at more than 650 locations in 13 counties across northern Michigan.