Thanks for so many great submissions. There are too many to mention and choosing a winner wasn't easy but in reverse order:
3rd place goes to GP Merfeld for his interesting and creative ‘Native’
2nd place goes to anerino for this beautiful and intense portrait of one who seems wise beyond her years
And first place goes to rybnicki for this outstanding portrait. It was a grower and one I kept coming back to but the eyes always captivated me and the expression and facial features (especially the lines of the nose) made this a winner for me.
Cheers rybnicki, over to you!