portraits, straight up (more or less)

This summer I have been experimenting with taking personal portraits with my press camera. It is surprisingly challenging for me to take a straight up portrait, of people as they are, without imposing my vision on them as I do with my constructed shots. So here are my first forays, they are all at different levels of success and digital manipulation. I guess this need to record my love ones, and I am increasingly interested in pairings, stems from my anticipated departure from Canada. I want to record my relationships and the relationships of those around me, because if there is anything the past few years has taught me is that they are always in flux. We will all be irreparably changed by the time I come back. Have I succeeded? Not quite, but the photo of my father (below) makes me feel I am on the right track.