Sydney photographer Gavin Libotte captures ‘magic in mundane’ with Wanderland assortment

Anything however mundane, it’s suburbia on a distinct spectrum.

Huge canines and seagulls loom over the unsuspecting jogger or beachgoer.

Things appear out of whack, however for 56-year-old photographer Gavin Libotte, it’s how he views on a regular basis life via his lens.

Through his inventive images, he challenges the viewers to re-imagine life as they comprehend it.

“We’re very used to the world and I think it becomes mundane because we’re looking at things in pretty much the same way all the time,” he stated.

“We lose that ability we had as a child to have that sense of wonder.

“Everything is manufactured from vitality that is in a dance collectively and every thing’s vibrating and interrelating and having a relationship with one another.”

‘Fresh perspective’

The images are part of Libotte’s Wanderland collection, on display as part of this year’s Head On Photo Festival at Bondi.

He took most of the images at Manly Beach Promenade in Sydney over a five-year period.

“Wanderland is about seeing the world from a brand new contemporary perspective, and the best way that I found that was bringing the digital camera right down to avenue stage,” he stated.

“When I did decrease my digital camera … issues simply grew to become utterly wonderful to me since you do not anticipate what the sector of view would appear to be, how a lot it will change.

“My lens is quite wide: it’s 28 millimetres. I can fit quite a lot in, so then basically things that are usually small, like a seagull, can look huge.”

He then determined to experiment with a handheld flash, so he may “light that stage” and “emulate the mise en scène of a cinema image” to get some stunning shadows.

His favorite {photograph} from the gathering options various towering seagulls.

“That photo is a bit of a miracle to me, the fact that everything worked out,” he stated.

“I mean the men sitting on the front of the edge of the beach behind are all perfectly poised and everything’s really balanced.”

An age of ardour

Libotte’s pictures journey started when he was an “enthusiastic” teenager, who had simply moved from the UK to Australia in 1981.

He completed college at 16 and determined to do work expertise in a pictures studio, the place he discovered methods to take, course of and print images.

He stated he instantly liked it.

Learning methods to picture course of in a darkroom at school, he grew to become so enchanted he created his personal at house.

“I had blocked out all the windows and I bought all the chemicals and I actually did some printing in the bathroom,” Libotte stated.

He took a break for a few years to concentrate on being a full-time jazz musician, however a couple of a long time later — now in his 50s — pictures lured him again.

“There are animals, there are dogs, there are birds, there’s the weather, there’s the lighting and everything has to come together in a beautiful dance that is in perfect balance and harmony.”

Libotte admitted it does shock individuals generally to see a middle-aged man mendacity on the bottom with a digital camera. 

“When you first do it, you feel the judgement of others a little bit because you know you’d probably do the same if you saw someone,” he stated.

“But then I see it as an opportunity to let go of that and to be free in the environment, in the world that we’re in, and to not be concerned about what’s going on.”

Mindful expression

For Libotte, pictures is just like yoga.

“Spending quiet time with yourself is a very meditative and reflective time … and I do find that time is very important for the mental health,” he stated.

“I’m in the present moment and I’m really giving things my 100 per cent attention and my full honour.”

Trying one thing new may be daunting, particularly in the case of experimental expression.

Libotte has some suggestions, based mostly on his personal experiences, for letting the inventive juices stream.

“All you need then is you need the courage to follow through with the idea … and commit to it.

“Just go together with what you are feeling inside is the correct factor to do.”