Still Standing: Sale to benefit International Cinematographers Guild Hardship Fund

Still Standing: Sale to benefit International Cinematographers Guild Hardship Fund by Aline SmithsonSeptember 12, 2020

First Ladies, photographed on May 11, 1994. Please credit photo by Barbara Kinney, The White House.

Covid 19 has impacted many lives and many businesses, and one of the hardest hit is the television and movie industry. In order to offset those losses, cinematographers have organized a special sale, Still Standing, to benefit the International Cinematographers Guild Hardship Fund. Hundreds of photographs were submitted and I had the great pleasure, along with Kim Gottlieb-Walker and Lisa Guerriero to curate the sale.

Still Standing, a unique photo sale representing the diverse personal work and artistry of 80 still photographers employed in the motion picture/television/streaming world. All proceeds from sales of the photographs will benefit the International Cinematographers Guild Hardship Fund. That endowment provides emergency financial assistance to members of the ICG who, like many workers the world over, are facing unprecedented hard times during this ongoing global pandemic.

Still Standing will include over 200 selections from the personal galleries of these artists, focusing on fine art, music, street, abstract, portraits, still life, and other images that represent their talents behind the lens. Each photographer’s work will be accompanied by a brief bio of their career along with their personal website address.

Light showing at the edge of a black curtain

©Walter Thomson, Curtain Light

From the BEATS Series, William Burroughs, 1982 ©Photography By Myles Aronowitz

The Print Studio at Film Solutions in Los Angeles has partnered with ICG to oversee printing of every photograph purchased from the exhibit. Aside from their work in the entertainment field, many of these photographers regularly collaborate with this prominent lab to ensure their images are perfectly processed prior to their use in global consumer and social media campaigns.

©Frank Schaefe, Bible Land Family

The German paper company Hahnemühle FineArt GmbH has partnered with “Still Standing” and Film Solutions to best present the works of this diverse group of artists. Every purchased photograph will be printed on their archival Photo Rag® Baryta 325gsm paper. An open edition limited specifically for this September, 2020, benefit event, each print (9X12 format) will arrive with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Price for each print will be $275, plus shipping/handling. There will also be four curated box sets available for purchase:

— One “Music” box set of 10 color prints in a special archival box for $2,550 + shipping & handling
— One “Music” box set of 10 black and white prints in a special archival box for $2,550 + shipping & handling
— One “Politics” box set of 7 prints featuring a beautiful selection of past political leaders for $1,825 + shipping
— One “Beat Writers” box set of 5 black and white prints of famous Beat writers for $1,275 + shipping

Lachin Wintergrounds is home to many refugees from Fuzuli, in the Nagorno Karabakh area. The vast plain had been used by them for years as a winter grazing grounds for their flocks; during the conflict they moved to the wintergrounds to escape the fighting.

©Sara Terry, Lachin Wintergrounds is home to many refugees from Fuzuli, in the Nagorno Karabakh area. The vast plain had been used by them for years as a winter grazing grounds for their flocks; during the conflict they moved to the wintergrounds to escape the fighting.

Still Standing will conclude sales on September 21, 2020.

The International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE), is a labor union dedicated to the improvement of the social and economic conditions of workers engaged in photography and recording images of all kinds for production and related crafts. The Local 600 Hardship Fund provides financial help to Local 600 members with demonstrated need.

©Tobin Yelland, 1997 EMB Skaters

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHERS GUILD (ICG, Local 600): The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) represents approximately 9,000 members who work in film, television and commercials as directors of photography, camera operators, digital imaging technicians, visual effects supervisors, still photographers, camera assistants, film loaders, all members of camera crews and publicists. The first cinematographers’ union was established in New York in 1926, followed by unions in Los Angeles and Chicago, but it wasn’t until 1996 that Local 600 was born as a national guild. ICG’s ongoing activities include the Emerging Cinematographer Awards and the Publicists Awards Luncheon. The guild also publishes the award-winning ICG Magazine.