On April 5, 2011, South African freelance photographer Anton Hammerl disappeared while covering the revolution in eastern Libya. For weeks his family, and the world, held out hope that he was alive, believing he had been captured by the Gaddafi regime. Then on May 19, Hammerl’s family discovered through eyewitness accounts that he could not have survived injuries he sustained while photographing a battle between rebels and Libyan soldiers.

Unai Aranzadi

Anton Hammerl at work in Brega, Libya.

Last week, a fundraising website, Friends of Anton, was launched in an effort to raise money for Hammerl’s family. Renowned photographers, including João Silva, David Burnett, Kenneth Jarecke, Bruno Stevens, Yunghi Kim, and Todd Heisler, have donated prints in support of their fallen colleague. The photographs can be purchased through the Friends of Anton website.

Hammerl, 41, a former picture editor and photographer for The Saturday Star in Johannesburg, South Africa, is survived by his wife Penny and their three children: Aurora, 11; Neo, 7; and 6-month-old Hiro.