DESERT DARLIN PHOTOGRAPHY– BUSINESS PLAN SUPPORT
A look through Desert Darlin’s lens.
Founded and led by Mparntwe (Alice Springs) local and Luritija woman, Brooke Bathern, Desert Darlin Photography is an Aboriginal owned and operated, accessible and affordable photography service. Desert Darlin’s focus is on providing First Nations’ people a professional service that makes them feel comfortable to be themselves and have photos taken of themselves and their family.
Since Desert Darlin Photography began in 2023, Brooke has worked with her clients to deliver exceptional photoshoots for locals, tourists, and community in the region; you can find her professional portfolio on her website here.
“I am a local Aboriginal Photographer from Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Growing up in Central Australia and having cultural ties to the land has given me the passion to capture the beautiful uniqueness of the desert and its surroundings. My aim is to bring you intimate and raw moments of you and your loved ones that can be treasured for a lifetime.”
Brooke reached out to Community First Development in September 2023 and invited us to provide support with developing a business plan to expand her services. Senior Community Development Officer, Alex, connected Brooke with skilled Community First Development volunteer, Emma, who has a range of expertise including in business development and submission writing. Brooke and Emma met in person in Alice Springs where they spent four days together developing content for the business plan. The placement included one full day dedicated to being out on bush and yarning about Brooke's vision for Desert Darlin Photography, followed by a few days in the office to write up the business plan. The trip on Country provided a valuable time of connection and relationship nurturing. After the in person visit, Brooke and Emma continued working together on developing the business plan via email to collate all the necessary data and finalise the plan. Because of this hard work and the cooperation between Brooke and Emma, the project was a huge success.
“Meeting Emma has been wonderful. It’s been really great to show her around my
hometown and showing her what I do and in the locations I do. I really appreciate her support with my business plan.”
Tracking change
Using a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach, Alex worked closely with Brooke to monitor progress towards completing the business plan. Through yarning and working alongside Brooke and Emma, Alex captured reflections on progress towards achieving project indicators, initially recording the baseline monitoring point at zero and the final monitoring point at 100 on completion of the business plan.
“It has been such a great experience coming here and being able to sit with Brooke to hear her vision directly from her. That will have a really positive impact on the final document. ”
Growing in leaps and bounds
Community First Development was delighted to learn that, with the completed business plan, Brooke was successful in securing an impressive $100,000 through the highly competitive Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation Grants Program! Community First Development will continue to be available to support this incredible business in its continued success.
“Shout out to Brooke from Desert Darlin Photography, who came in to see me last Friday to let me know the amazing news! Emma [Community First Development’s Volunteer] come up to Alice Springs in November 2023 to work alongside Desert Darlin Photography in completing a business plan. I am super excited to announce today that Desert Darlin Photography has been successful in securing funding! Brooke is over the moon with
excitement and can’t thank Emma enough for her hard work and dedication to this project. An amazing achievement for all.”