I spotted a man, who I hadn't seen before, one Sunday at church and was intrigued by his dicky bow which from a distance seemed to shine. Curious, I moved in for a closer look and discovered that the dicky bow was actually made of polished stone. Its wearer and maker (Bernd Pollak) told me that he is a stone mason and had made it from polished agate and cut smokey quartz set in gold. Not being the shy and retiring type he immediately agreed to being photographed some time.

I sketched this idea of a head shot right right after our conversation and think it was the first time I have sketched an idea for a portrait before doing a shoot. The resulting photo was quite straightforward... a large diffused light overhead, reflector under the chin and a small spot on the semi-precious dicky bow. Check it out in the gallery.