Sydney photographer Gavin Libotte captures 'magic in mundane' with Wanderland collection
A dog at Sydney's Manly Beach Promenade. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
Anything but mundane, it is suburbia on a different spectrum.
Huge dogs and seagulls loom over the unsuspecting jogger or beachgoer.
Things seem out of whack, but for 56-year-old photographer Gavin Libotte, it is how he views everyday life through his lens.
"What it really is, is just seeing everything as it is, because everything is wondrous, and it is magic,"Libotte said.
Gavin Libotte's favourite spot to take photos for his Wanderland collection was at Manly Beach Promenade in Sydney. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
Through his artistic photographs, he challenges the audience to re-imagine life as they know 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 said.
"We lose that ability we had as a child to have that sense of wonder.
"Everything is made of energy that's in a dance together and everything's vibrating and interrelating and having a relationship with each other."
'Fresh perspective'
Libotte says he has taken a street photo almost every day for the past five years. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
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 new fresh perspective, and the way that I discovered that was bringing the camera down to street level," he said.
"When I did lower my camera ... things just became completely amazing to me because you don't expect what the field of view would look like, how much it would 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 decided to experiment with a handheld flash, so he could "light that stage" and "emulate the mise en scène of a cinema image" to get some beautiful shadows.
The photographer achieved a cinematic feel using handheld flash. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
His favourite photograph from the collection features a number of towering seagulls.
"That photo is a bit of a miracle to me, the fact that everything worked out," he said.
"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 passion
Libotte's photography journey began when he was an "enthusiastic" teenager, who had just moved from the UK to Australia in 1981.
He finished school at 16 and decided to do work experience in a photography studio, where he learned how to take, process and print photos.
He said he immediately loved it.
While most of Libotte's photographs are taken in Sydney, this one was captured on the grounds of Canberra's Parliament House. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
Learning how to image process in a darkroom at college, he became so enchanted he created his own at home.
"I had blocked out all the windows and I bought all the chemicals and I actually did some printing in the bathroom," Libotte said.
He took a break for a couple of years to focus on being a full-time jazz musician, but a few decades later — now in his 50s — photography lured him back.
"When I take images, I often hear music or I'm feeling the rhythm and I'm relating that to the world as a musical stage and a visual stage,"he said.
"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 sometimes finds himself in usual places to get the perfect shot. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
Libotte admitted it does surprise people sometimes to see a middle-aged man lying on the ground with a 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 said.
"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, photography is similar to 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 said.
"I'm in the present moment and I'm really giving things my 100 per cent attention and my full honour."
The photographer has a distinctive street style. (Supplied: Gavin Libotte)
Trying something new can be daunting, especially when it comes to experimental expression.
Libotte has some tips, based on his own experiences, for letting the creative juices flow.
"I think spending quiet time alone is really the answer, because ideas come when you're quiet,"he said.
"All you need then is you need the courage to follow through with the idea ... and commit to it.
"Just go with what you feel inside is the right thing to do."