You've said that you just point and shoot in your portraits, but if that's all you do it doesn't mean that your inner eye isn't at total attention as you do it. And then (as you know as a teacher as well as a long-time artist), the eye develops great acuity from a lifetime of experience, so that it can capture a world in a moment because it's been seeing for so long. Hard to pick one portrait to sum-up all you've posted since've I've been absent: And this isn't the 'one representative one', by any means; it's just one. But it's a beauty---an opinion held by a number of others as well. You caught him as if in the midst of a thought, ready to say something, almost. But maybe he's like that all the time. Or maybe it's how people see him. A subtly self-involved expression, with wonderful reddish tones---ruddy (which comes from the same root): He's obviously active and works outside. And your cropping is perfect for his face (long w/ beard) and intensity: He's the center of the shot where anything else would intrude. I liked the black and white very much, it suits the intensity of his gaze. I've been doing lots of black and white, to hone-in on pure tonality (like string quartets as opposed to symphonies). Either way, the portrait is insightful and intense, and the guy is brimming with his own brand of fire and humanity. A bow for all your portraits, all of which I've seen. Another side to your multi-sided artistic talents, Andrea.

All of life etched into that face