New Year's Day Portraits at Home, 2001

It was New Year's Day, 2001. A quiet day spent indoors at home in West Michigan. I had a new digital camera I was figuring out, and not much else to do, so I spent the afternoon just taking portraits of our new baby.

I remember cycling through the camera's settings—black and white, sepia, and the slightly washed-out color typical of that era. The subject was usually propped up against a yellow wall, wearing the same striped outfit for most of the day. For a long time, the expression was just a steady, wide-eyed gaze looking right at the lens. You can really see those bright blue eyes in one of the color shots.

After a series of serious, direct looks, there was a shift. A glance to the side, and then finally, a blurry little smile. The whole day felt captured in that sequence of expressions. It was just a simple, quiet afternoon at home, documented with a handful of grainy close-ups.