Wow Ben, that means so much that you would say that. We all definitely have our own individual styles, and that's been the fun part of this site is learning new techniques from each other and incorporating it into our own work.
Thanks so very much for the compliment Joe, I'm honored. I think your photograph came out great, a different result but great never the less. And I agree with Amy, having more negative space in the shot opposite tone of the subject would let you achieve more contrast.
There is an issue with Uploading Photos (attachjments). I am not sure what the problem is, and I am looking into it. You can still try to Create your Threads and Upload your Photos, but it is hanging up during the Upload.