This week's Portrait Contest with @jasonrussell is
Black and White Portraits.

I just happen to take  a lot of portraits of beautiful people in my life,
though I wouldn't necessarily say my photos are intended to be portraits,
as I really just love capturing the moment, candid and juicy.
Photo opportunities knock for me in continuous flow,
and I'm grateful to be armed with a lens and a passion to catch love in the flesh.

Enjoy some of the stylish, free, open, inspired spirit of @quinneaker.
I love most to capture him in his raw state, living life, and simply BEing himself.

"Straight Up!"

I call this image "Straight Up", as when you encounter @quinneaker---that's what you get.
He doesn't pretend,
he doesn't beat around the bush,
he doesn't make small talk,
and he doesn't try to be nice!

Quinn is RAW and he is REAL,
which to some, can come across at times as not particularly nice.

Most of us have ideas of what being "nice" means.
Being nice is relative.
Some people think it's nice to be honest, upfront, straight, to the point, with no pretense!
Others have an idea that sugar coating, and the indirect approach,
or even foregoing the realness of things to not create discomfort is nice.

 
Being REAL is way more important to Quinn than being nice.

Quinn has seen the infinite realms, the vastness of the Universe, and pure potential.
Knowing what he knows now, if he met someone who had experienced all these things,
and he had not,
he would be begging for that person to share the possibilities with him,
to help him awaken to that awareness,
no matter what it took.  
He is a warrior and would challenge himself
(like he actually did on his own),
to stand in whatever fire would come, so he could glean the gifts of the divine.

From my perspective, Quinn is actually incredibly nice, as he puts his reputation on the line,  his life's work on the line, his life on the line, regardless of the judgment, the difficulties, the conflicts or the scrutiny of others, simply to help them see what lies beyond.  His form of nice is to share what he knows, what he has experienced first hand, and the possibilities for everyone who comes in contact with him to find their own truth.

Quinn will give it to you "Straight Up"--you can always count on that!

This is a photograph I took of him on the streets of Lisboa.
No pre-planning, no set up, no additional lighting, and no special affects.
We also did a lot of intentional photoshoots with natural lighting and our SteemGear,
which I hope to share with you when the opportunity arises.

Thank you @jasonrussell and judge @bescouted
for your efforts in helping Steemit become even more badass,
and holding space for us all to come together to share our passions.

Thanks to all of you for visiting my blog.  
Good luck to all the entrants of this great Steemit initiative.