Eduardo Leal is a Portuguese documentary photographer...
Eduardo Leal is a Portuguese documentary photographer focusing mainly on South East Asia. Previously he worked for several years in South America. Currently based in Macau S. A. R., China.

A graduate in Journalism at Escola Superior de Jornalismo in Porto, Portugal, has a Masters in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the London College of Communication and attended the XXVIII Eddie Adams Workshop in New York.

From 2009 to 2014, Eduardo was a consultant to The Arpad A. Busson Foundation. He was responsible for the "Cuban in Revolution" photography collection, being part of the curatorial team for the exhibitions at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, in 2010, and at the Garage CCC in Moscow, in 2011. And part of the editorial and design team on "Cuba in Revolution" book, published by Hatje Cantz in 2013.

His work has been published internationally in outlets such as The Washington Post, Time, Al Jazeera America, CNN, Bloomberg, AFP, Stern, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet, Die Press, Courrier International, Terra Mater Magazine, Greenpeace Magazine, Mashable, Wired, VQR, Roads & Kingdoms, Doc!, British Journal of Photography, among others.

Eduardo is available for editorial and commercial assignments worldwide. 



Awards & Grants

Felix Schoeller Photo Award - Shortlisted Photojournalism Category, 2023

POY (Picture of the Year) LatAm - 1st Place Sports Category, 2019

Estação Imagem (Portuguese Photojournalism Awards) - Honorable Mention Sports Category, 2019

Bolsa Exploração Nomad / Nomad Exploration Grant, 2018

Coup de Couer de Visa pour l'Image by l'Association Nationale des Iconographes, 2017

Kuala Lumpur Photo Awards - 3rd Place "Stillness & Distance" (Theme Category), 2016

Kuala Lumpur Photo Awards - Finalist Open Category, 2016

Moscow International Photo Awards - 2nd Place Environmental Category, 2016

Moscow International Photo Awards - Honorable Mention Sports Category, 2016

International Photo Awards (IPA) - Honorable Mention - Editorial: Environmental Category, 2015

Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year - Finalist, 2015

Lens Culture Earth Awards - 3rd Place Fine Art/Conceptual Category, 2015

Estação Imagem (Portuguese Photojournalism Awards) - 1st Place Nature Category, 2015

Sony World Photo Awards - 3rd Place Campaign Category, 2015

Coup de Couer de Visa pour l'Image by l'Association Nationale des Iconographes, 2015

Kuala Lumpur Photo Awards - Finalist (Theme category), 2014

ANI-PixPalace Award - Finalist, 2014


Exhibitions

"Diakuyu", National Traveling Exhibition, Portugal, 2022/23

"Kumbh Mela: The Challenge of Existence" (solo exhibit), Trilhos da Terra, Aveiro, Portugal, 2022

"When The Wind Blows", Kunst Haus Wien, Vienna, Austria, 2022

Rethinking Nature Slideshow Foto Wien, Austria, 2022

"Planet vs Men", Saillon Cité d'Images, Saillon, Switzerland, 2021

"Azoreans of the Sea" (solo exhibit) - Imprópria Gender Equality Festival, Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 2021

Rethinking Nature Slideshow IMAGO Lisboa, Portugal, 2021

Rethinking Nature Slideshow during European Month of Photography, Luxembourg, 2021

Vidas Plastificadas, SESC Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brazil, 2019

"Kumbh Mela: The Challenge of Existence" (solo exhibit), Manifesto Gallery, Matosinhos, Portugal, 2019

Weltbilder by Terra Mater, Hangar 7, Salzburg, Austria, 2019

Noorderlicht 30 Years, MartinPlaza, Groningen, Netherlands, 2019

Estação Imagem - Portuguese Photojournalism Awards, National Traveling Exhibition, 2019

9a Amostra SP de Fotografia, São Paulo, Brazil, 2019

"Plastic Trees" (solo exhibit), Rui Cunha Foundation, Macau S.A.R., 2019

National Geographic Exodus "Discover The World Through Image", Aveiro, Portugal, 2019

"Cholita's Rise" (solo exhibit) - Manifesto Gallery, Matosinhos, Portugal, 2018

National Geographic Exodus Aveiro Fest, Aveiro, Portugal, 2018

Guardian / Plastic by Noorderlicht, Natuur Fryslân Museum - Netherlands, 2017

KLPA2016, Whitebox Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2016

"Seen on Earth" with Simon Norfolk, Mandy Baker and Eduardo Leal - Kunst Haus Gallery, Vienna, Austria, 2016

Photoville, New York, USA, 2015

Estação Imagem - Portuguese Photojournalism Awards, National Traveling Exhibition, 2015

Atkins CIWEN Environmental Photographer of the Year Exhibition, Royal Geographic Society, London, UK, 2015

Sony World Photo Awards, Somerset House, London, UK, 2015

KLPA2014, Whitebox Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2014

Splash & Grab, Portobello Photography Gallery, London, UK, 2014

31 Degrees - Graduation Exhibition at London College of Communication, UK, 2013

Pop-Up Circus V, Rhythm Factory, London, UK, 2012

6th Holland International Circuit, Netherlands, 2008

Los Niños del Bosque (solo exhibit), Total Kunst Gallery, Edinburgh, UK,2006

*All photos Copyright Eduardo Leal. Prints and image licensing are available upon request.

Eduardo Leal

Eduardo Leal is a Portuguese photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Macau, China, covering S. E. Asia. Previously he covered South America.
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