this is a really honest portrait. i love the straightforwardness of the style and subject.

What a refreshingly simple and honest picture

I remember this image from your blog... It had a wonderful impact the first time I saw it and I still feel really drawn to the simplicity of the b/w composition along with the wonderful expression. I like the straight-on angle along with her direct gaze. Really well done.

Very nicely done. I love the texture in her face. It is a very honest portrait.

Technically it is a perfect shot. The lighting and shutter and all that is spot on. The impact comes after a while. At first it's just a face of a woman, and it's not *that* interesting. But the more time you spend with it, the more you get to study her face. In daily life we rarely get to spend so much time looking at the face of a stranger, especially with eye contact. So as I look at her, I begin to assume (or infer) things about her personality, and I vest her with traits that I find quite attractive. High impact.

I'm not sure if you sharpened this image, but you might consider dialing it back, or softening it. At the lowest part of the chin it gets very sharp, and the darkness there makes it look almost a little like beard stuble.

Awesome. Honest + beautiful.

Spot on - excellent in my opinion

For such a simple portrait -- or maybe because it is simple -- this is very compelling.

The eyes are very telling. They seem experience but not cynical. Almost wise but not condescending. I love the subtle lines below the eyes and around the cheeks that seems like an emerging smile.

great portrait ... leaves you with a mixed feeling of closeness and distance ... one part of her is looking at you, another seems to be lost in thoughts, dreaming of being somewhere else ...

... I'm not sure there's any drama going on here, or that her pose is dramatic. I'ts a nice shot, she has lovely eyes ..... but that's it.

A little flat for my liking but that may be on purpose.