Mark Mortensen, Bailey (PEOPLE & PORTRAIT 2025)

“This is Bailey — a young boy in the quiet, pivotal transition to becoming a young man. He stands at the threshold between junior and senior school, aspiring to follow in his father’s footsteps in the building industry, and deeply rooted in his faith. In this portrait, I wanted to move beyond the traditional head-on gaze and capture the quiet tension of this moment in his life — the space between presence and mystery, boyhood and manhood. The subject’s sidelong glance and the close, almost intrusive crop invite the viewer into an intimate moment while still holding them at a distance — a reflection of how we often present ourselves to the world: partly revealed, partly concealed. I chose to emphasize the textures of his skin, the light in his eyes, and the dark, unbroken background to focus entirely on the essence of Bailey — stripped of distractions yet layered with story. This image asks the viewer not just to see, but to wonder.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.