Interview with Daniel Ceng from Hong Kong SAR

1 Can you introduce yourself and talk about how you got into photography?

I was 19 years old when my journey on photojournalism first took off when I travelled to India to cover the nationwide protests against Citizenships Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in Jan 2020.

Such laws and policies were discriminatory to Muslims as they did not include legal provisions for Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries to acquire citizenships in India.

As someone with journalism background from an Asian city where human rights, freedom and rule of law are highly respected, I felt the responsibility to covey, though my lens and images, the stories of Indian unity in fighting against suppression of Muslims.

Dodging clashes by climbing up the tree, sneaking into rooftops with the help of residents to avoid the police arresting journalists and positioning myself in between riot police and protesters, I captured powerful images of how Indian people from all walks of life came together to confront the authorities to find a way for justice, equality and social inclusion in a democratic country.

Since then, my passion, interests and my heart for telling stories of significant events and people though visual narratives have led me into professionalism in photography and photojournalism.

2 Where did you study photography?

I am a self-taught photographer who has chosen to venture out on the internet and photography reading in terms of building my skills, knowledge and perspectives.

But if you ask if there was a compass that guided me through the foggy self-learning journey, there was. His name is Ritchie Tongo, an experienced Filipino photographer with unique ways of shaping imagery narratives and excellent eyes for pictures.

4 What do you hope to achieve?

There is a lot one wants to achieve in the course of improving existing skills and developing more for the future. For now, I am working for myself and for the Asian photographer community. I feel like there should be narratives from Asian photographers in this global village.

5 What inspires your unique storytelling?

My life experience in different places such as in Hong Kong, China, The Philippines and Malaysia. These experiences made me a citizen of the world, and that identity has helped me to create diverse, exclusive and powerful images that tell the story.

7 Congratulations! As the winner of the European Photography Awards, what does it mean for you and your team to receive this distinction?

Increasing diversity and inclusion for different communities in photography has always been top of my wish list.

I especially love the idea of creating more rooms for photographers that don’t fall under the mainstream shooting styles or ways of crafting their work of self-expression or interpretation of the world of reality, especially for photojournalism.

The recognitions from the European Photography Awards including Category Winner of the Year in Editorial Photography under Photojournalism (Professional Group) is proof that there is a game changer who is capable of including different values or perspectives for photography, so that more photographers with different backgrounds or walks of life can be empowered, encouraged and inspired by the European Photography Awards to create, to tell their own stories, to shape the world, with their own values and perspectives.

8 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 European Photography Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?

On 9 March 2022, I travelled to France and Poland and then to Ukraine, for one reason: to showcase the terror and truth of the war and present a different side of the tragedy from what one would usually see in mainstream media or propaganda outlets.

I felt the need to convey the story of undefeated spirits in resisting authoritarianism regimes and terrorism which could help international communities to understand the importance of being brave, persistent and resilient despite suppression or crackdowns.

11 What advice would you give someone who would like to become a photographer today?

The best advice I have received is an advice that I would gladly tell the aspiring photographers of today! Keep things simple. Less is more. Be patient and persistent with your goals.