Jonathan Armstrong’s photos show the many different faces of Bondi

FROM athletes and buskers to the weathered faces of street people, “the real” Bondi emerges in a multifaceted portrait by local photographer Jonathan Armstrong.

WHEN you live with someone all your life, you appreciate their flaws as much as their beauty.

That’s how it is with street photographer Jonathan Armstrong whose affection for Bondi is not just about the postcard-style allure of white sand and blue sea.

Armstrong grew up in Bondi in the rough old days of the 1970s and stayed on through the suburb’s transformation into the smashed-avocado mecca of the buff and the beautiful.

Just doing some acrobats with the beautiful Bondi backdrop. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

An ice-cream is a must have at Bondi. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

The sun setting on another beautiful day at the world’s most famous beach. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

The area is still Armstrong’s “backyard”, and he loves to walk around it with his wife Adrianne Kern, their twin daughters Sarah and Maya, and at least one camera.

That habit — learned from his dad Michael, a local GP who was an exhibiting photographer — has often put Armstrong in the right place at the right time, when acrobats from Cirque du Soleil were practising on the sand, when kids were licking ice creams at the Festival of the Winds, when buskers were busking, roller skaters were silhouetted against the sky, and a well-loved homeless bloke called Michael was talking about life.

MORE: BONDI TURNED LAUGHING STOCK WITH POSERS, HIPSTERS

MORE: AMAZING PICTURES OF THE WORLD FROM ABOVE

A portrait of local homeless man Michael. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

A local busker at Bondi dresses up his pooch. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

Juan Pablo Castro getting some air at the skate park. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

Saxophonist 'Saxter James' wowing the Bondi locals. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

Gleaming white apartment blocks have sprouted at the south end of Bondi, but Armstrong has found more interest in wetsuits draped across iron railings behind an old-style unit block.

“My working title for that picture is Live To Surf,” he says.

Photography is a personal passion for Armstrong, who works as a clinical data manager at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick. But his first solo exhibition, titled #whatistherealbondi, will be on from December 5-17 at Bondi Pavilion Gallery.

Does it get more patriotic than this on Australia Day? Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

A day you don’t normally see, raining and windy. These two lovers weren’t going to let anything get in the way of a cheeky kiss. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

The edgy side to Bondi. Picture: Jonathan Armstrong

And the public is invited to join in.

Snap your own picture, tag it #whatistherealbondi, and Armstrong will print some of them out to be part of the exhibition.

“I want to start a conversation,” Armstrong says.

Judging by his photos of Bondi locals, that’s something he’s very good at.