Olympus auctions celebrity photos for charity

In a partnership with the Fred Hollows Foundation, Olympus is auctioning celebrity photos on eBay to raise money for the charity.

Australian personalities Cam Hollows, Ernie Dingo, Matt Moran, Miranda Kerr, Susie O'Neill and Wayne Cooper recently took up the task of getting behind the camera, rather than their usual place in front of it.

Armed with the Olympus' Mju 1020, the six celebrities were asked to shoot images that inspired them. The results were narrowed down to two shots per person, with the selected shots being auctioned on eBay. All auction proceeds go to the Fred Hollows Foundation, an organisation dedicated to eradicating blindness in the developing world, as well as improving the health and life expectancy of indigenous Australians.

The eBay auctions, which end on Monday, April 28, can be found by clicking the links on the Olympus Australia Web site.

The launch party for the auction was a swanky cocktail party at Sydney's Dawes Point.

"Celebrity" chef Matt Moran (right) poses in front of one of his photographs -- a panoramic shot of an 8th century Buddhist temple in Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia.

On the left is a partial shot of Susie O'Neil's picture of a swimmer's eyes. It's flanked by Wayne Cooper's photo of his new kids' label range.

Entertainment on the night was provided by fire-breathing bartenders.

The son of the late Fred Hollows, Cam Hollows, spoke at the launch, as well as contributing two photogaphs to the auction.

All the photographs up for auction were shot Olympus Mju 1020 compact digital cameras.