Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations opened the ceremony with moving words about the organization and the honorees.
“Our 50th anniversary program was marked by tremendous energy,” says Andy Marcus, President of IPC. “Under-Secretary-General Fleming’s opening remarks set the mood for a moving event. The program was a strong mix of photographers. We will continue our mission to promote Peace through Photography, the Universal Language through our programs and events like these. Congratulations to all the honorees.”
The following were honored at the 2024 IPC Professional Photographer Awards Luncheon:
Douglas Kirkland, IPC Special Lifetime Achievement Award: The award was presented posthumously to Francoise Kirkland who served as the keynote. Together they published several books and showcased numerous exhibitions. Douglas Kirkland remains one of the world’s most influential photographers, capturing the faces of Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, Leonardo DiCaprio, Coco Chanel, Mikhail Baryshnikov and more. His portrait of Charlie Chaplin hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 1998, Kirkland’s picture book, Titanic, rose to No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller List. A retrospective exhibition of Kirkland’s work entitled, A Life in Pictures, was recently on display at Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, California. Francoise continues to look after her husband ‘s legacy and vast archive.
In her moving keynote Francoise Kirkland thanked IPC for honoring her late husband who touched beings of all walks of life and made everyone that he came in contact with feel like they mattered.
Benjamin Von Wong, IPC Environmental Photographer Award: Benjamin Von Wong is a multidisciplinary visual artist and photographer who uses recycled and reclaimed materials to create striking installations and images. His work has generated over 100 million views on social media focusing on various causes including plastics, fast fashion and electronic waste.
Lindsay Adler, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, Professional Photographers of America Nominee: Specializing in beauty and fashion photography, Lindsay Adler is an award-winning photographer/director and world-renowned photographic educator. Based in New York City, she has traveled the world shooting for iconic beauty brands and high-end editorial publications. Lindsay is known for her signature clean, bold, and graphic style. She has worked for brands ranging from NBC to Ogilvy to Vogue and everything in between. She is an author of 5 books, Canon Explorer of Light and one of the most sought-after photo educators internationally.
Peter Hurley, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, WPPI Nominee: Peter Hurley is a world-renowned photographer who for the past 20 years has been fixated on the faces that fill his frame. He spends his days in studio unpacking the relationship between how his clients’ internal thought processes affect their outer appearances. He’s a TEDx speaker on the subject, author of The Headshot, a Canon Explorer of Light, and founder of the Headshot Crew, which comprises the largest group of headshot specialists globally.
David McLain, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, SONY Artisan Nominee: David McLain is a Maine-based photographer and filmmaker whose work explores big questions through intimate stories. Over his career, he has shot seven feature-length assignments for National Geographic, coproduced and shot Bounce, a feature documentary that premiered at SXSW, and worked around the world for commercial clients including Sony and Apple. For the past 20 years, David has been photographing The Blue Zones, places on earth where people live the longest healthiest lives. He recently shot the New York Times best-selling Blue Zones Kitchen which has sold over 400,000 copies. His current work is focused on longevity, healing, and health. David is proud to be a founding member of the Sony Artisan Program and lives with his wife and two children in a 220-year-old farmhouse in Maine.
Shotti NYC, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, FujiFilm Creator Nominee: Empathy is at the forefront of Shotti NYC’s practice. As a portrait photographer, he feels that it is important to reimagine how a subject defines personal beauty. Shotti NYC often finds himself capturing the unconventional, uncertain and uneasy aspects of human nature. His process relies heavily on connecting with a subject on an emotional level, and through this connection, he is able to get an insight on their shared experience.
Deanne Fitzmaurice, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, NIKON Ambassador Nominee: Deanne Fitzmaurice served as an eyewitness to sweeping change across the Bay Area as a photojournalist for the San Francisco Chronicle, documenting the worst Earthquake in nearly a century, pivotal Supreme Court rulings, significant wars involving the U.S., climate change, and sports. Her work for the Chronicle garnered the attention of global publications and soon she was shooting for National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and others. One photographic essay, documenting a young Iraqi war victim named Saleh, earned her the Pulitzer Prize. She has won most of the major prizes in photojournalism – some multiple times – including Pictures of the Year International, AI-AP American Photography, Communication Arts, NPPA, and others.
Anna and Jordan Rathkopf, IPC Professional Photographer Achievement Award, American Photographic Artists Nominee: Anna and Jordan Rathkopf’s work utilizes their lived experiences to create inclusive health stories that portray illness humanely and authentically and help create awareness for health equity. Their work has received prestigious awards (Comm Arts, APA, American Photography), exhibited at ICP, Photoville, LinkNYC and Smithsonian Institute, and has been featured as the Master Brand Campaign for Susan G. Komen and media including CNN, Good Morning America, Metro UK and more.
IPC James L. Chung Memorial Scholarships. The scholarship honors the late long-time president of IPC. Lucas Brito Drumond and Mariana Otalora Chavez attend the School of Visual Arts College in New York City and were named as this year’s recipients. The scholarship awards are made possible by the generosity of the Chung Foundation. Dr. Mark Chung gave a heartfelt speech on how important the IPC Scholarship Program is in keeping with his father’s legacy of helping to mentor young people.
A special thanks to the corporate supporters: American Photographic Artists, B&H Photo Video, Canon U.S.A. Inc., Fred Marcus Photography & Video, FUJIFILM, H+H Photo Lab, Mailpix, Nikon Inc., Professional Photographers of America, SIGMA America, SONY Electronics North America, Tamron, Tether Tools, Tiffen, Westcott, WPPI, Steve Simon and Suspect Photography; along with a generous donation to the James L. Chung Memorial Scholarship program from The Chung Foundation, Francoise Kirkland and Benjamin Von Wong.
Visit IPCPhoto.org to learn more. Mark your calendars for May 14, 2025. Visit IPCPhoto.org for full info and to view incredible images from the honorees.
About the International Photographic Council (IPC)
The International Photographic Council (IPC) is a Civil Society Organization formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications, composed of representatives from every major sector of the photographic industry. IPC’s motto is “Peace Through Photography, the Universal Language.” IPC is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Photo Caption:
(left to right) IPC Vice President Kathy Jello, Mariana Otalora Chavez, Peter Hurley, Lucas Brito Drumond, Lindsay Adler, Jordan Rathkopf, Francoise Kirkland, Shotti NYC, Anna Rathkopf, Deanne Fitzmaurice, IPC President Andy Marcus, Benjamin Von Wong.
Contact
Kathy Magrane
International Photographic Council
KathyMagrane@southcomm.com
Kathy Jello
International Photographic Council
KathyJello@IPCPhoto.org
