For the past two decades, John Soares has been capturing the essence of real people in their real environments. Depending on your point of view, his work is either a modern twist on the classical aesthetic, or a classical twist on the new aesthetic. Some people might want to call what he does environmental portraiture. But not me. I see a guy who has a strong, seasoned gut for natural light, refreshing composition, who delivers on the content, and infuses every shot with an unexpected sense of honesty and visual economy.