COMMENTS:

Brian Magor	Nice portrait. I think yo need to get rid of the bracelet. You could make a layer and lassoo the beard, and apply Filter/Artistic/Poster edges to the beard alone and then reduce the opcaity to about 10% - that would enhance the beard. Try it!
Susan Davi	Nicely done. You are right, this photo makes me want to meet this man. He almost seems like a Santa Claus off season. The dark background ensure that your eyes focus on the subject.
Richard Harper	You were lucky to get such an obliging model. It is always difficult to get everything sharp, when the person has a hand and arm, projecting before his head and face. Thus, the beard is slightly out of focus.  Otherwise, a nice capture
Frank Foto	Great composition! Now this guy has a great face for portrait photography, and I can imagine that the clicking of cameras must have sounded like the barrage of clicks that occur during a presidential news conference! Is it me, or am I noting just a little noise in this image? And, that noise may be detracting from the sharpness a little, too. There is a little loss of focus in the eyes, and that might be a problem in competition. I was taught at the camera club to remove noise after resizing (as the lower resolution might introduce a little noise) then to make sharpening adjustments last after resizing. Scott Kelby suggests focusing twice - first in camera raw, then again after resizing at the end.
Jim Mayo	I would crop more to get rid of the wrist jewelry and get rid of the button, neck chain.
Linda Speh	I am surprised that you had to do any editing. In the portrait class that I took, the lighting was all set….just about perfect. I thought that was strange. How are we supposed to learn if it is all set up for us ahead of time. This model has a lot of character and fit right in with the old Colorado feel of the conference. I think he is just about perfect. Very nice portrait!

Chuck McCollum

I'll be 69 years old on October 28th. I have been an investment advisor/financial planner for 46 years with the same regional firm. I started as a clerk and wound up owning a majority interest in the firm. Subsequently I sold the firm to seven employees four years ago. I'm still working full-time with a more relaxed schedule and now I do what I like best: manage accounts, client service and research. This gives me additional time to spend on photography. I have been involved with photography since my military days 47-48 years ago. I was a brigade photographer and assistant editor of a monthly newspaper. Back in those days we didn't have digital. I carried around a big speed-graphic camera with four by five film negatives and my pockets full of large flashbulbs. Photography has been a part of my life since then but not on a serious basis. I currently have two Nikon cameras: D200 and D2X (I'm still learning every day how to use this one.). I traveled with a good group of photographers to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Preserve in New Mexico last fall to photograph the migrating birds. Another trip is planned for Holland in April 2008. Other hobbies include golf and barbershop singing. I'm not so good at the first one, but I have sung in competing barbershop quartets and directed two choruses in contest and on shows. My family includes my wife, Betty, and two grown children