Narooma photographer Raine Brown couldn’t sit back and watch the carnage of the war in Syria without doing something, so she is created a charity sunrise calendar.
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All profits from the sale of the calendar will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a non-religious, not-for-profit organisation she says is doing wonderful things.
So what motivated the 29-year-old photographer, who specialises in weddings and portraits and who enjoys landscape and wildlife photography, to do something for the people of Syria?
“Initially I was inspired to do the 2017 calendar after taking my young nephews to see the sunrise over the ocean for the first time at Surf Beach,” she said.
“It was a memorable experience and I was motivated to capture Narooma, as the paradise it is. I’m also always out and about , enjoying Narooma’s incredible coastline, and regularly reflect on how fortunate I am to live in such a beautiful and safe country.
“A few months ago I was listening to a fascinating podcast about effective altruism with Sam Harris and William MacAskill called ‘Doing good and being good’, and this really inspired me to channel my own facility and power to be selfless. With Syria regularly in the news and constant images of war and destruction, displaced or frightened children, I decided I wanted to do something to help.
“I was then speaking to my partner, who has worked in the buffer zone between Syria and Israel with the United Nations, and we were discussing what I could do to help the Syrian refugees.
“He then piped up ‘Hey, why don’t you donate the profits of your calendar?’ Perfect! And here we are.
“I have not included any of the many hours work I have put into this calendar as a cost, so I feel we should be able to raise quite a good some to help those who need it most.”
Purchases of the calendar, which cost $25 and local delivery is free, can be made via her website https://sunbirdphotography.com.au/calendar/
Everyone who purchases a calendar will also be automatically entered in the draw to win a framed print of the December photograph “Narooma Bar’.