Literally just Some Guy on the Internet -
Sony a7iii - Tamron zoom - photo credit Kristina Cerniauskaite
Do you know what is really and truly difficult?
Presenting your own, real and true self on the internet.
Everyone is so busy trying to be a brand that they forget that they are interacting with human beings out there in cyberspace; people, not numbers ticking up on a little glowing screen and indicating… absolutely nothing.
I am a person, but I am not a very photogenic person. Most likely this is because I am deeply self-conscious and get profoundly awkward the minute a camera is turned my way. I would very much prefer to be the one aiming the camera.
This, then, is a rarity. A photograph of me that I don’t hate. I am actually pretty happy with it and very proud of my wife, Kristina, who took the picture. We were out on one of our lunchtime walks and feeling relaxed and happy in the fresh air and in each other’s company. This was taken one Friday in early April, 2023.
Everyone has the right to approach their interactions online in their own way, at whatever level of anonymity they may choose. Do whatever the hell you want - I won’t tell you you’re doing it wrong, in fact I will probably just wander off:
“the only way to win at emotional tug of war is to drop your end of the rope”
~a former co-worker of some guy on the internet
I choose to be myself. I choose to be honest, and frank, and earnest. Sometimes that makes me difficult, even abrasive. I am aware.
I choose to give you of my self, my words, the things that I make, the photographs I take of the things I am doing today, or at least recently. Sometimes my output can be overwhelming, it’s a spectrum thing, I am aware. 🖖
I choose to tell you what I am doing, not what I am going to do. I will show you where I am going, not brag about where I have been. Like it or not, like me - or don’t. Lots of people end up deciding they don’t like me. I am (acutely) aware…
I am myself.
Always and without fail.
Here I am.