Cultural and creative life

Stories told through Little Sydney Lives photo competition

A glimpse of daily life through the eyes of young Sydneysiders aged 3 to 11.

  • Esme

    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.

    Credit: Benjamin Rogers
  • Groucho Marx

    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.

    Credit: Samuel Shenouda
  • My Little Sister

    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."

    Credit: Noah Clanfield
  • Oink Oink

    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.

    Credit: Lucas Brophy
  • Plants seem so happy

    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'."

    Credit: Mutahhar Haris
  • Merry–go–round

    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.

    Credit: Claudia Deitz
  • Find me

    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.

    Credit: Anton Neo Waldschmidt
  • I’m going to eat my brother

    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."

    Credit: Akash Gambhir
  • Hair at night

    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.

    Credit: Tiana Fusitu
  • Zoom

    Nathan Lo, age 6, captured ‘Zoom’ in Toongabbie. “Zoom is my betta fish and I enjoy taking photos of it,” Nathan said.

    Credit: Nathan Lo
  • Homeless are humans

    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.

    Credit: Willow Langtry
  • Sunset over the harbour bridge

    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.

    Credit: Charlize Tan
  • Before the bell

    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.

    Credit: Harry Dietz
  • Sydney’s shiny metro northwest

    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.

    Credit: Jaime Clarke
  • Hidden monster

    Ishaan Choudhry, age 10, captured ‘Hidden monster’ in Holsworthy. “I was taking my dog for a walk when I noticed she was looking at her shadow. I also liked how the shadow looked like a hidden monster. I imagined that my dog was thinking she was a werewolf,” Ishaan said.

    Credit: Ishaan Choudhry

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