An Internet Relationship That Mattered

I’ve been reading Om Malik’s writing and looking at his photographs for as long as I can remember. Although he always offered thoughtful insights into technology, what I most admired were his soulful photographs and his commitment to the open web. He combined photography and writing on his blog without sponsors or subscription appeals. Both were labors of love.Whenever I commented on a post or a photograph, he almost always responded, even though we had never met. He also shared his work on Glass, where I followed him for years. I know he used a variety of cameras and had a particular affinity for Leica cameras, but I could never tell which camera produced which image—and that was beside the point. What drew me to his photographs were their subtle tones and quiet sense of contemplation. He never chased heavily saturated colors or visual spectacle. He resisted that tendency, and his work was stronger for it.Om passed away on June 24, 2026. He is proof that someone you know only through…