Charity Print Auction for Japan

The recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan has shocked everybody. It seems to make all other news seem somewhat trivial (apart from I've just heard French jets have flown over Libya... bad too). A triple whammy; how does anyone, let alone a nation, cope with that? The loss, the destruction, the uncertainty, the terror, the snow... so many horrific things to deal with, all at once. And the Japanese face it with a certain calm and stoicism which is nothing but admirable. And here, in the comfort of our own homes watching the events unfold on the news, it is hard to know what to do, how to help. But you can help. Everyone can.

My little piece of help is in the form of a great initiative run on the photo-sharing site Flickr. Charity Print Auction for Japan is a group which has been set up in order to raise money for the crisis. Photographers post pictures to the group, which are then auctioned off. The photographer pays for the print to be printed and the shipping, and the winning bidder gives his cash directly to one of the charities supporting Japan. On receipt of a screen-grab to prove this has been done, the photographer sends the buyer the print. Everyone wins... Japan gets a little more help, the buyer gets a lovely print to go on their wall, and the photographer feels like he's done a good turn.

Some prints are going for as much as $200, others for as little as £15. But every penny counts... and there is some great work on there. Personally (and I probably shouldn't say this!) I'm bidding on one of David Axelbank's Night Flowers. I have a print (shown here) up there also, which I'm very pleased to say has raised £50 already... but more bids very welcome! My auction ends on Wednesday, but other prints end earlier... and later... and more images are being added every day so it's worth checking back!