"I have been taking these simple black cloth backdrop portraits of those around me for the past 7 years. I find it distills down to just the clear human character. "I always try to photograph the students I work with. Time usually allows just 1 or 2 shots of each person and all I say to them is, 'You don't HAVE to smile' and with that they seem to relax into how they actually feel. The restriction on lighting and time make for an interesting artistic challenge, as I attempt to capture the real character of someone I have just recently met. "I like to give the photos back to my students in the course of the class for them to respond with their writing about what they see in the image of themselves...what they carry. This is one of my favorite collaborative aspects of the workshop." --Sabrina.