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Repost: I kept the tight crop from the original post because, despite some critiques, I like it and think it has power. I rescanned the photo with higher quality, and this time instead of over-saturating the colours, I have gone for a partial desaturation which I think suits the mood of the photo much better. Apart from that, I dodged his eyes a little to make them shine and come a bit more "alive", and I added my now customary frame.

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As my trekking companions and I neared the end of the Annapurna Circuit, climbing the hill to Ghorepani, we were anxious. All reports indicated that this was the area where we would encounter Maoists. How would they treat us? What would they demand from us? Would they harm us? How could we tell who was a Maoist, and who was a simple villager? Everyone became a suspect in our eyes. Nobody could be fully trusted. Not even the very young or the very old. As I asked this man for permission to take his photo, he gave nothing away, neither hint of malice nor kindliness. He simply nodded, the faintest of nods, barely perceptible, no trace of emotion on his face, and left me to wonder what would happen as the day wore on, in the land of the Maoists.