Twilight Portrait of Retired Sniper by Detroit River

String lights hang overhead, casting a warm amber glow against the deepening blue of a late autumn twilight. Snowflakes drift slowly through the air, settling on the shoulders of a man standing near a concrete riverside landing in Detroit. His face is etched with age, eyes fixed on a distant point with an intense, thousand-yard stare that cuts through the falling white flakes. The cold air is visible in the faint mist rising from the dark water of the river behind him. Heavy wool clothing clings to his frame, against the soft blur of the negative space that surrounds him. One reflection of the string lights shimmers on the wet pavement at his feet.