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, 2022Rethinking 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.