Yisrael is married to Michal, my previous stranger. He didn’t need to be asked for his portrait to be taken; instead he asked me to do it. He stepped in front of me and said, “Here?” Is this a good place for me to stand for my photo, too?

My brother-in-law had explained the project before photographing Michal. Yisrael had listened and liked the idea. Securing him as my 61/100 strangers couldn’t have been any easier.

I asked him if he had advice or thoughts to share with the readers of his portrait narrative. He was a man of few words, but he did take a moment to consider what to share before speaking.

Yisrael first said that he has now been to more than 25 different states in the USA, and the American people have been kind to him (Fonzi thumbs up) everywhere he visits.

Secondly, he offered advice: “Be a good man wherever you go.”

I directed him to stand in front of a tall rhododendron tree for a different background than what I used previously in Michal’s portrait. This shot was made in the vertical orientation, and I cropped the image to print as 8″x10″ so Yisrael could download and make a high quality print if he wanted it for personal use.

The overhead sunlight caused a large portion of the top of his bald head to appear shiny. He has beautiful bone structure, so I spent an extra few seconds in Photoshop selectively lowering the exposure level at the top of his head. Is there a better way to do this? I didn’t want to overdo the shine reduction but I did not want that area of his face to pull viewers away from his eye contact with the camera.