About - 'Why do you have all these pictures?'
Back in the tumblr days (2012-2016), I was following a lot of accounts that frequently posted/reblogged odd, inexplicable photography and digital art from the early-mid 2000s. I'm still not quite sure what the 'aesthetic' was called (or if it even had a name), but it's stuck with me as a guilty pleasure ever since - even today I'll go back and visit derelict blogs from the time like (get ready for some incredible handles) coochie, sourpiss9, and fohk to look through the archives. I think it was from browsing these blogs that I first gained my appreciation for home interiors shot with early 2000s consumer grade cameras, as niche as that sounds. There's just something about it I always come back to.
Most of these pictures are what a great deal of people would call 'unflattering' - flash-bleached snapshots of people's dusty setups, messy bedrooms, cluttered living spaces, etc. with very little done in the way of tidying up or decorating most times. Nowadays, shit like this would get you mocked relentlessly (or worse). In all honesty though, I don't give a fuck. I sincerely love these pictures - I love collecting them. When these things were posted, the internet was just hitting its stride in terms of social interconnectivity, and it was a much more earnest place. The people posting these images were nearly two decades off from feeling the truly poisonous status effects we all tank on the modern internet - They weren't at all concerned with decorum, they were just thrilled to have found a little corner of the web full of like-minded people, and they wanted to make friends, so they shared bits and pieces of their lives with their followers. I'm aware I sound like a big cornball saying this, but I don't care - looking through these pictures and the comments people left on them 17, 18 years ago was such a potent spiritual balm for my weary ass. Pictures of bedrooms packed full of stuffed animals, wolf tapestries, looney tunes merch, pet hair, and yellowing computer plastic - all being met with sincere love and interest from friends and followers in the comments. People pointing out stuffed animals they had as kids, commenting on the view outside their friend's bedroom window, earnestly praising them on their decor or color choices. It was jut a bunch of people who were genuinely interested in getting to know one another.
The second you start realizing that, these crusty ass pictures become something really beautiful.