I’ve come to see that self-portraits are important. Oddly for a photographer, I hate to have photographs taken of me, and I see them all the time, and it always makes me uncomfortable. But I can’t complain or say no, and then ask other people to pose. I like to take a self-portrait once in awhile, it forces me to look at me and consider my own image. It is important for me to look at myself – something I couldn’t do for many years – and accept myself. To say this me, for better or worse, take it or leave. It seems to have something to do with authenticity. I took this portrait at a flea market in upstate New York.