Welcome to the continuing personal project I call Faces of Pride. Whenever I attend Pride events here in Northwest Arkansas or elsewhere, I like to snap simple portraits of the myriad ways that my fellow attendees decorate and adorn themselves. It doesn't take long to spot the sheer variety and color at play here: glitter, sparkles, makeup, face paint, headbands and headdresses, more elaborate costumes and all sorts of accessories. 

I'm interested for several reasons, including these folks' creativity, their diversity and the deeper meanings I see in their handiwork. All of these decorations simultaneously obscure the self -- covering faces and hair, altering natural features -- while also revealing it. Their true selves become undeniable, unmistakable, unmissable. 

It's irresistible for a photographer like me, and it's beautiful.