Inner Best: Isabella & Sophia

A chance moment captured by 11-year-old twins, Isabella and Sofia Monro, while they were in the backseat of a car has won the pair major photography accolades.

The Annandale schoolgirls were in the family car driving through Marrickville when they spied a fabulously-dressed cyclist and grabbed their father’s camera to take a few shots.

Sofia’s black and white image showing the cyclist’s head behind a reflection of a tree has won her a place as a finalist in the student category of the national Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, which attracted over 400,000 entries from students this year.

Isabella’s vibrant take on the same moment was chosen to be hung in Hyde Park’s Little Sydney Lives exhibition. It’s the second time her work has been hung as part of the free, outdoor display. The exhibition invites park-goers to view the city through children’s eyes.

Isabella's photo
Isabella’s photo

Sofia says she has been taking photos ever since she was little, on her phone and her father’s (who is a professional photographer) cameras while she was on holidays.

“I like taking photos of places that are different and quirky, I want to take travel photos in America and Europe,” she says.

Isabella says she is really happy to see her photograph in Hyde Park. “We were sitting down looking at it, and people kept coming up to me saying, ‘It’s amazing’ and ‘It’s so colourful’”.

The Moran Prizes Exhibition featuring finalists and prizewinners of the national photography, student and portraiture competition is currently being held at Juniper Hall in Paddington.

Words by Phoebe Moloney