Brian WHITE, The Belgrave Wizard (PEOPLE & PORTRAIT 2026)

Baba Desi – The Belgrave Wizard (Desmond Bergin) in one of his favourite Belgrave Australia shopfront locations in July 2024. He is now almost 97 years old and staying in his home with much support from the local community. Baba Desi has a colourful varied background and is greatly loved by the local community, leading the Belgrave Winter Solstice Festival for many years. He has a great many bizarre and colourful costumes including many crooked walking sticks he has carved himself. After asking if I could take his photograph and talking to him for about five minutes, I noticed that his way of talking and mannerisms such as slow smiling supportive agreements triggered my complete calm.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.