Dollar Portraits

Just a quick note to say thanks for the support to Arran Salerno. He's a graphic designer and photographer who shares many of my passions and is a bigger photo gear freak than I am. Check out his blog at arransalerno.com

Also a big thanks to Aaron Sheehan who's a recent victim to b&w film. One tog at a time we're stealing the digital youth back to analog. His photo blog can be found at aaronsheehanphotography.com

Yesterday I visited the offices of Cancer Council NSW where I got to meet Rachel in the funky meeting room! We discussed my project and she offered some fantastic ideas and suggestions that were both positive and fruity... for lack of a better word. Her vision for the project was very much in line with mine which was a bit of a relief to be honest. I went in to the meeting expecting them to demand certain things and came out with a pleased spring to my step.

Today I received an email from Rachel with an attached authority form. Happy days! I didn't personally need this form to carry out my project but it helps with public perception and will hopefully help me raise more money. For this I thank the Cancer Council of New South Wales and I hope to build a long standing partnership where we both take on cancer for a ripe ol' beating it deserves.

The year is nearly over and my project is heading in the right direction. It has enjoyed a great start and I plan to continue in 2009 with the same enthusiasm.

Two things of note. Next week I have a meeting with the staff of Cancer Council NSW which will bring me closer to being an authorised fund raiser. If we can't come to some form of agreement I will still continue to raise funds for them which has always been the plan. There is a fair bit of red tape involved from their side which makes it difficult for them to simply hand out authority for money collections. It's totally understandable and to be expected I think. Wish me luck but I don't think I'll need it. I'm going to take my camera with me so look out for some portraits of their staff soon.

The other thing I've been working on is organising business cards. The good folks at B&C Mailing have generously donated 1,000 cards which are being printed this week. The cards will be handed out to every person I take a portrait of as a way of promoting the cause and hopefully selling some prints and collecting donations. More on the cards including a scan of the final print as soon as I get them.

A few days ago I received an email from a lovely young lady photographer in the Philippines. She kindly asked for my permission to use the idea behind Dollar Portraits. Needless to say I was flattered and excited to hear other photographers using their work to help their community. A big part of my involvement in this project is to influence others to do the same. I always thought that if maybe just one person takes the idea and runs with it then my job here is done. But I won't rest just yet. I'm sure there are a few more photographers around. The internet is a big place.

Our friend from the Philippines is an active supporter of Rock Ed. She takes part in a Jails Project where they visit a local jail for a creative writing class they hold each week. She also takes part in a book drive. Books and writing are dear to my heart so I was very happy to hear how she wants to raise funds for these worthy community projects.

At this stage she is developing the blog she will use to display her photography and to help raise awareness for her project. I will post details as soon as I hear from her but for the mean time you can check out some of her work here and please join me in welcoming her. I wish her all the luck and hope she brings in the big bucks.

It is my great pleasure to welcome my first supporter, Vision Image Lab.

They offer a wide range of imaging services including quality traditional processing, proofing, film or digital printing, digital scanning, retouching, display solutions, signage, artwork copying, slide duplicating, laminating & mounting... For a comprehensive list of services or a quote request via an online form visit their site or call one of their helpful staff on (02) 9319 3300. They're located conveniently near the city (Sydney) on 10 Danks St in Waterloo.

I sound like such a marketing snob don't I? Well in all honesty I've been using their services for some time now so I have no problem whatsoever recommending them to a friend. I trust them with my processing and printing and that's all that counts.