Eduardo Leal: Photojournalist | An ‘honor’ and ‘responsibility’ to be ‘witness to our times’

Eduardo Leal

Award-winning photojournalist Eduardo Leal recently delivered a public lecture at the University of Saint Joseph, where he captivated audiences with photographs of the recent Venezuelan Revolution, the legacy of the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, and his encounters with bullfighters in Portugal.
Currently living in South America, and having spent much of his recent years travelling the continent, the Portuguese-born photojournalist has been subjected to intense confrontations – some violent in nature – including police aggression and detention, and the confiscation of his belongings.
Leal is “fascinated” in particular with Venezuela, he explained of himself, “even if she doesn’t like me very much,” referencing the country’s government, police and paramilitary groups.
Leal sat down with the Times to talk about his experiences and the dangers of working as a photojournalist on the frontline.
Macau Daily Times (MDT) – How do you feel about being described by your peer last month as a “witness to our times”?
Eduardo Leal (EL) – We [photojournalists] try to show the world what we see and what we want them to [understand]. It’s one of the things that I love about this career. I like that I see history happening. It is a huge honor [to be described that way] but also a big responsibility; I feel that you cannot screw up or do things wrong.

MDT – What most troubled you about the protests in Venezuela in 2014?
EL – What really struck me was that the protesters, who were mostly students, were so organized… like an army. They had specialized [divisions]; medical students were at the back helping those who were injured… and engineering students building things for the protest. They were very well organized…
But the protests became a little bit predictable. We [the journalists] would go to get some lunch knowing that something would happen [in the afternoon]. By the early evening [government forces] would start to head toward the protestors… and then things would become dangerous.

MDT – You have been in pretty dangerous situations before – how serious do you let it become, and when do you know that you have gone too far?
EL – You have to remember that it’s not a movie; there are no heroes. If there are any, then they are the ones lying dead on the battlefield. You have to be aware of the risk and know the limit… I won’t say that’s [as soon as] when the firing starts – because that’s when you want to move forward… that’s when something is happening!
But you have to know not to go too far. And that’s something that I had to learn.
I have a contact – my brother – who I agree to message or call every day just to confirm [my safety], and if I will be [unreachable] for a few days then I will let him know, as well as when I [intend] to make contact again. Somebody has to know where you are.

MDT – Do you ever consider the ethical dilemmas of what to capture and what to not?
EL – Yes, of course, I often have these problems. What I want is to show the world what I see, but I don’t want to exploit anyone or the situation [in general]. It’s a question of drawing a line, [demarcating] what is appropriate and inappropriate… That line is exploitation, I think. The other thing [to consider] is that the image needs to fit the story. I showed [during the public lecture] the photograph of [a former drug lord in Colombia] who is shown paying homage on his knees. This man told us that he had murdered at least hundreds of people… he openly admitted it to us… There is some sense of contrast then, between his actions and how he is shown [in the photographs], and I really love working with contrasts.

MDT – Are you working on a project for Macau? If so, what is the story that you would want to tell?
EL – I am working on something, but I don’t have it worked out yet. I am hopefully coming back to the city next year – I have been [tentatively] invited – which will allow me to shoot more of Macau.
I actually first came here as a teenage backpacker and I thought, ‘Sin City;’ gambling and prostitution. After returning, I see that there is more to the city than that. Again, it’s about contrasts. There are two worlds here: the gambling world and the traditional Chinese one, which doesn’t have anything to do with gaming really. These two worlds are almost opposites – new versus old. That is something I would like to explore.

Color can be distracting, says Leal

Eduardo Leal explained to the audience of a public lecture in Macau that he prefers to shoot in black and white – though that is normally not an option if he intends to send the photographs to a publication as editors insist on color images.
Asked whether shooting in black and white is detrimental to “telling the real story” – as it reflects the focus that the photographer wants to highlight and not necessarily the whole story – Leal said that it can, in fact, add clarity to the image.
“Some colors – particularly red – can be distracting and detract from what is supposed to be portrayed,” said Leal, “but in black and white you can narrow in [to] what is actually important.”