I had so many shots of people from this little village in Hunan that I thought I'd post some of the best together here. I'm really interested in this type of photography (situational portraiture? impromptu street portraits?) - trying to capture people's personalities in their everyday environments.

I'm always floored by Joey L's stunning images of homeless men and women (go to "Personal" and then "Street"), and in fact I was striving for the spirit of a lot of those images, but most of it looks to me more like commercial photography or fine art portraiture than photojournalistic work. At what point do images become too dramatic or flawless to be considered documentary portraits? Is it when you start setting up the Alien Bees and multiple strobes? As soon as you start interacting with your subject in more than a momentary way? Or does it all work? What do you think?

1/3200sec, f/1.8, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 400

This guy above was so much fun to shoot. My girlfriend pointed him out. He had the most intense blue eyes, which I clearly wasn't able to capture, but when I asked him if I could take his picture, he took his cigar out of his mouth and began posing very proudly. When I motioned for him to keep smoking, he became very animated, laughing and puffing wildly on the cigar.

1/320 sec, f/1.8, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 400

A reader on a forum posting asked me what contributed to the red tint on this shot. I can't say I remember - I was quite unhappy with the on-camera flash and trying to shoot all the night photographs by whatever ambient lighting was around - I remember some fluorescent lights nearby, but I have no idea about the red. I love this photograph, though.

1/2000 sec, f/1.8, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 400

This man, like the headdress-wearing woman above, is a member of the Miao ethnic minority, many of whom live in Fenghuang. He was our guide on a short boat tour up and down the river.

1/125 sec, f/7.1, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 800

I have Stephanie to thank for this image as well. She thinks I have a "thing" for shooting wise-looking old men (she "might" be right). Anyway, strolling down the street, I heard "Chris, eleven o'clock" just in time to get a couple of shots off. The 50mm prime lens I had on my XT was the perfect length to frame this from where I was standing. I don't know if he even noticed I had taken his picture.

1/500 sec, f/5, Canon 70-200mm at 200mm, no flash, ISO 400

I shot this in a split-second while on a tour of the river. I'm not happy with the composition or the crop - but I love the wrinkles and the look on his face.

And a few more...