Let me clarify.  I am all about facial hair.  While I have been known to wear a pretty consistant soul patch for the last 5 or 6 years, I have always strayed from the beard or mustache. Not because I am one of those guys that can’t accomplish these manly items, but I choose not to because I have a higher calling in life:  to receive an abundance of love and kisses from my beautiful wife, who rightfully so, would rather not get lost in a face-ful of hair to get to my supple lips.

Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, I also want to proclaim a great amount of praise and admiration for those men who, for lack of a better term, just let it all hang out, or should I say, grow out.

However, there needs to be a fine line drawn between a cool, rugged, mountain-man look and that of a circus freak.

And along comes Matt Rainwater, a fabulous portrait and scene photographer who somehow managed to gather the most prolific assembly of outlandish men with outlandish facial hair. His photo gallery titled Beardfolio is perhaps the most diverse and weird homage to the folical that I have ever seen, even though his use of lens and lighting are outstanding.  He is hailed as a wonderful photographer, and yet he uses his unique characters and subjects to turn it into an art form.

Ladies and gentleman… I give you an ode to the beard and mustache.