Facade of competence [455]

Greetings from the shed...

I still have that shirt.

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#TheAction

Hi, I’m Christian Payne, Documentally. Writer, photographer, raconteur. More generalist than renaissance man, but I’ve been called all these things.

Humans have a tendency to categorise and organise. And perhaps these labels make sense of a complicated world and our place in it. It helps with identity, enables us to find our tribes and interact socially.

Psychologically they can also give a sense of comfort and security. Whether we can actually fill these boots offered us is another thing altogether.

What and who are you? Are you happy and confident with your label?

In moments of confidence I’ll take the piss and be a ‘Documentalist’. Which I didn’t realise is an actual job. One that I know nothing about. Things were much easier when I was a photographer. And before everyone in advertising was a storyteller.

Not being a specialist makes it hard to quantify yourself and so I’ve settled on all kinds of wanky terms. Mainly because I think it will either get me on the project, or because I think that’s what the person wants to hear.

I prefer to ask someone else what they’d label me. They might perceive something far cooler than I can.

This is what Chat GPT thinks of me today after I asked “What do you know about Christian Payne, aka Documentally?

Christian Payne, known as Documentally, is a UK-based freelance multimedia journalist and consultant celebrated for his creative use of social media, mobile technology, and digital storytelling. With a robust online presence, Payne excels in capturing and sharing stories across audio, video, and photography, often focusing on events, travel, and the digital culture's impact on daily life.

A pioneer in mobile journalism (mojo) and digital storytelling, Payne leverages mobile devices and social platforms to report stories in real-time, exploring the societal impacts of emerging technologies. His work not only enhances storytelling and communication across cultures but also offers insights into understanding diverse communities.

Payne frequently conducts workshops and talks on digital storytelling and journalism, sharing his knowledge with professionals, students, and enthusiasts. Through his social media, blog, and newsletter, he engages a wide audience, sharing personal and immersive stories that provide a unique view of the world through digital media. Documentally's storytelling is deeply personal, offering a distinct perspective on technology and media adventures.

Long and over the top but edited it might make a decent biography. Still, it misses so much. My love of radio, cycling, family, food, analogue media, travel (not in any particular order).

When

Carlo Navato

Navato asked me for a short biog for an upcoming project, he birthed…

Photographer, writer, radio nut, experimenter, storyteller, former war correspondent, ex shepherd and generalist.

I miss business cards. We choose different stories for different clans and with so many online profiles, our sense of identity can become diluted. These stories remind us who we are, or at the least who we’d like to be. We are made of stories and those stories make us.

[Homework: Pick a story about yourself and stick to it. Tell it to yourself daily until it fits.]

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#ThePictures

I toyed with the idea of only posting scans of analogue film photos for a few issues. But outside of the cost, unless I get a darkroom at home, it wouldn’t be practical. (Unless more of you take out a supporting subscription ;-)

I will do some in between posts featuring scanned negatives and analogue photos though. Perhaps I’ll share the story about how when ill equipped to single handedly break up weekend street fights in the town of Rugby, I managed to stop a few with a flash from my Ricoh GR1.

Taking photos of people up to no good looked riskier than it actually was. Or I was just lucky. Most of them were pissed and would stop fighting, look over, and I’d saunter off. On the one occasion a thug did take chase I was on my BMX and wheelied myself out of there.

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#TheWords

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This week I learned the word griot. A griot is a West African historian, storyteller, singer, poet, or musician. I met them while in Senegal but don’t remember hearing the word griot. The art of the griot is passed down through generations as they play a crucial role in preserving and transmitting the history and culture of their people. Not only as entertainers, but also as advisers and mediators. Key skills are being wise, having a good memory, and great storytelling abilities. It also helps to be able to play the kora (a 21-string lute thing) the balafon (a kind of wooden xylophone), or the ngoni (another lute). The music played enhances the narratives, as folk songs travel well across generations. As far as I can tell, up until recently griots tended to be male. Here is a video of Gambia’s first female griot.

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#TheSound

Two recent charity shop purchases.

Both are great albums but I absolutely love The Back Country Blues from Singer/Guitarist Brownie McGhee and blind harp-man Sonny Terry. The best ‘Piedmont’ style blues combo I’ve heard. Check this out for a sample.

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Late last night supporting subscribers would have heard a long podcast containing what might be Wilf Lunn’s last interview. Sadly I only posted the raw audio. If you didn’t notice, that’s because it was in itself pretty good snapshot of our chat. But I felt it needed an intro and an outro. Which I had recorded, I just uploaded the wrong file. The right file is now in place, so if you’ve heard the whole thing you might just want to listen to the extra few mins front and back for extra context.

And here is a sample from the chat hinting towards Wilf’s shopping habits.

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Another blinder from The Digital Human Podcast. After listening to this episode, I feel like I’m not just being sentimental about my own collection of knick knacks. Each and every story-imbued-item I hold on to, is in fact sacred.

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#TheConsumed

This week’s Turkish snacks are Lati Kistirma and Tofita (cherry flavour)

The word Kistirma in ‘Lati Kistirma’ means ‘pressuring or cornering - as in the act of forcing someone into a situation where they have limited options. I guess it’s referring to the compressed milky marshmallow sandwiched between two biscuits. The centre was hard and chewy which meant the biscuit was mostly dust by the time you bit a little off. Didn’t taste of much other than biscuit dust and marsh mallow. So I give it a 2/5.

The Tofita gave me the impression that it might be a cherry flavour Opal Fruit aka Starburst. And in that regard it did not disappoint. Although the word ‘visne’ I took to mean cherry is the name given to the sour type of cherry normally used in baking. Also as is often the case with confectionary made for hotter climates it was pretty hard to chew as it had been made to not melt while sitting on a shelf. That said I gave it an easy 3/5. I would have gave it more if I chose to eat these kind of sweets and if I hadn’t felt like I was going to lose some teeth. [Update: the family stole these and loved them.]

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#TheThings

Japan seems to be heading the resurgence in cassettes

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An occasionally sunny day has had me pining to head out to spend a night in the woods. I’m keen to test a cheap camping hammock I bought for £25. I was looking for something my daughter might like to sleep out in but didn’t want to have to invest in another Hennessy Hammock when she might not take to sleeping in the trees. So fat I feel it’s worth the money but the overhead tarp only just gives cover.

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#TheThanks

Thank you to those that pay to support all the content I share into this feed. If you are a paying subscriber and would like to join the Discord please let me know and I’ll add you. And if you are able to, please upgrade to become a paid supporter.

If you would prefer to support in a different way you might like to buy me a coffee or send a tip via PayPal or Monzo. Either way… Thank you for reading and sharing.

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#TheWeb

• I'm an old fart and AI makes me sad

• I’ll be in Manchester in a couple of weeks. If you’re there, add yourself to the Documentally community map

• Did you get to download the app Kimi before it was pulled?

• Headline of the week goes to this article. Who is peer reviewing these days. LLM’s?

• Open AI’s Sora makes not bad video from text. There are protections in place to stop people making illegal stuff but somewhere someone is about to make a fortune from a text-to-soft pron bot

• A stone age megastructure discovered in the Baltic Sea

• Some of my other places include Letterboxd, GoodReads, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, a ham radio newsletter or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite or Bluesky

• Magpie P.I. tails a cat like a pro

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#TheEnd

Thanks for reading. I enjoyed writing this. I always do. I started at 8am (10 hours ago) and obviously succumb to numerous distractions as well as left a lot of stuff be the wayside.

Next week is half term in England and I hope to be taking the kids to Wales as I need to be there for some story gathering. I also have a trip to Manchester planned for the 2nd/3rd of March with TEDX Manchester. See you there? Fancy a meet up on the Saturday/Sunday? What ever you have planned, have a great week.

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“Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.”

~ Orson Scott Card

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Become.

See you out there.

Over…

A ❤️ is a high-five, a comment is a hug. A supporting subscription earns my undying love.