A glimpse of daily life through the eyes of young Sydneysiders aged 3 to 11.
Benjamin Rogers, age 9, captured Esme at his house. “This is our dog Esme in the early morning sun in our lounge room. She would love to go for more walks, but she’s a bit crazy with other dogs,” Benjamin said.
Samuel Shenouda, age 5, captured ‘Groucho Marx’ at Taronga Zoo. “I took this picture on my first trip to the zoo. The seal was so funny. He was trying to share his crab claw with us. It looks like he has a moustache!” Samuel said.
Noah Clanfield, age 7, captured ‘My Little Sister’ at Yarramalong Turf Supplies. "Our family were out at the beautiful sunflower fields for a photoshoot of our youngest daughter’s first birthday. As we were taking a break, my son Noah picked up our camera and took photos of his sisters. This one was among it – his 2-year old sister, Aquila Jael."
Lucas Brophy, age 7, captured ‘Oink oink’ at Circular Quay in Sydney. “These are all the little pigs’ faces on a Year of the Pig lunar lantern at Sydney Lunar Festival. This is one of my most favourite animals,” Lucas said.
Mutahhar Haris, age 4, captured ‘Plants seem so happy’ from the views from his home window. "It was raining that day. Our 4–year-old said: 'I can’t go to the playground but it’s ok as the trees will be happy. We can also jump in the little mud puddles'."
Claudia Deitz, age 7, captured ‘Merry–go–round’ at Luna Park. “This photograph is of my favourite ride. I love horses and colour. I love how they move. My great grandad used to run this ride many years ago. I crouched down to take the photograph,” Caludia said.
Anton Neo, age 6, took this little snap of his sister Rosa in the playground at Bronte Park. They were playing hide and seek and he found her in the octopus.
Akash Gambhir, age 3, captured “I’m going to eat my brother” at home. "A playful day – Akash had his face painted as a monster at Castle Hill RSL in the morning. I was trying to feed the baby as Akash tried to feed on the baby. Monsters do all kinds of things when they want their mother’s attention. I took a photo and he took the phone from me and took a better one."
Tiana Fusitua, age 3, captured ‘Hair at night’ in Parramatta. “I took this photo of my brother, Ezekiel, at night when he was getting his haircut,” Tiana said.
Nathan Lo, age 6, captured ‘Zoom’ in Toongabbie. “Zoom is my betta fish and I enjoy taking photos of it,” Nathan said.
Willow Langtry, age 7, captured ‘Homeless are human’ in St Leonards. “I have seen lots of homeless people around lately. We should respect them because they are humans too,” Willow said.
Charlize Tan, age 8, captured ‘Sunset over the harbour bridge‘ at Observatory Hill Park. “I chose this picture because of the spectacular view over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From Observatory Hill you can see almost all the buildings.. I like the picture because of the peacefulness, and the uninterrupted view over the city,” Charlize said.
Harry Dietz, age 9, captured ‘Before the bell’ at his school. “I took this photograph to document daily life at my school (and perhaps every school) before the bell,” Harry said.
Jaime Clarke, age 11, captured ‘Sydney’s shiny metro northwest’ in Epping. “It’s been more than 20 years since the idea of metro northwest first sparked excitement among Sydneysiders who wanted a world–class public transport system. The day finally arrived,” Jaime said.
Beanon Ruane, age 9, captured ‘Child’s play’ in his bedroom. “This picture represents how humans can crumble things but can also rebuild them. I took this picture in my bedroom using a plastic Jenga set and dropping blocks from a height onto a tower I had already built,” Beanon said.
Nathanael Kwaan captured ‘My hand looks old!’ at home. “I use my hands a lot but never look closely at them. One day I decided to take a photo of my hand in black and white. My first thought was ‘my hand looks sooooo old!’”
Shay Parkinson, age 11, captured ‘A ride through the trees’ in the Royal National Park, Sydney. “This is one of my favourite mountain bike rides – Blair Witch Trail in the Royal National Park. I thought it was beautiful the first time I went so I took a camera with me the next time,” Shay said.
Ty Odell, age 11, captured The Mighty Moon at Rouse Hill, looking up from the fountain. Ty loves nature. This was a fantastic shot. All around were bright lights and people hopping, but the serenity and the majesty of the moon caught his eye. It was lovely night. It was so clear, Ty wondered if you could see astronaut footprints.
Levi Shirka, age 8, captured ‘Beachside blitz’ at Long Reef Beach. “I love exploring our local beaches with my family. We spend our time climbing rocks, searching in rock pools, running down sand dunes, and making sand sculptures together. This photo makes me think of surfing. One day I hope to learn how to surf,” Levi said.
Each year we ask Sydney’s junior creatives to go adventuring, camera in hand, and send us their favourite pics.
This year we received a record 356 cheeky, delightful and often surprising entries. See the 20 finalists displayed in Sandringham Gardens, Hyde Park, 19 September to 13 October.
Little Sydney Lives is part of our Art & About program, a year round series of temporary art projects in unusual spaces.
Published 3 September 2019, updated 14 September 2019
