Photographer Simon Scott has captured images of Armidale's refugee community.
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In a project completed for Refugee Week, the images show members of Armidale's Ezidi community at their homes in the city.
About 25 families were photographed at their homes, and the images will form a gallery online.
The multicultural development team at Settlement Services International approached Simon after they had seen photographs he had taken of the local refugee community.
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"We thought it was such a lovely way to share stories in a time, during COVID, when you can't really gather physically, people can still share stories," Sam Airs, the community engagement officer at SSI, said.
"It's a way to celebrate who they are, and what they contribute to the community," Sam said.
This year's theme for Refugee Week was Year of Welcome, and through the porch portraits project Sam said they were looking at what welcome meant to the Ezidi community who have settled here.
"The overwhelming response, we've received from about 30 families, is how friendly the Armidale community has been," she said.
She said much of that friendliness they had experienced came from interacting with people in the street, or in sporting clubs or other groups.
Waleed Alali, one of the Ezidi community members who has been in Armidale for two years, has taken a keen interest in photography after meeting Simon, and for more than a year the local photographer has been passing on his knowledge.
"I have learned a lot,'' Waleed said. "Like how to use Photoshop and how to use the camera."
But for this project though Waleed was one of the subjects in front of the camera, with Simon taking a photo a Waleed and his family looking outside from their unit, as well as shots of the family inside.
"The day that I took the pictures it was a typical Armidale freezing afternoon, so we took some pictures inside and then I went outside and took some shots of them looking through their window," Simon said.
"The porch portraits idea didn't necessarily suit some families because of the weather, but also privacy as well.
"So some of the porch portraits have been taken inside their living rooms," he said.
Some of the prints of the photos were being hung in the Armidale library, while a 3D virtual gallery will display all the images online.
