The subject for today’s photo for the December Challenge is of Rachel. Rachel is a fellow Marketing Support Rep and friend. She always has a great smile and is very personable. I simply asked if I could take her pfor the December Challenge and she was happy to help even though she had only a few minutes to spare between demos. I wanted to compliment the red of Rachel’s skirt with the red in the poinsettias in the background. I also wanted to capture her ever present smile. We made the portrait in the atrium in one of our office buildings.

The December Challenge has been of particular challenge to me as portraits are very hard for me simply because I am very shy about taking someone’s photo. I am a person who avoids confrontation and probably wouldn’t have the guts of a guy like Thomas Hawk to firmly object to anyone who challenged my right to take a photo on a public street.

I was really floored today with the portrait that Jeremy took of Liz and Chico. Such a beautiful and loving photo. Liz and Chico are a homeless couple in San Francisco. Jeremy Brooks captures the beauty in the faces of two people who could easily have remained faceless to society. These are the types of photos that I have been seeing from other photographers in the December Challenge. They are from people who are taking chances to find beauty. Take a look at the December Challenge groups on Flickr and on Zooomr to find inspiration, there is plenty to be found.