Awards
Prix Bayeux 2012
Ed Ou

Cairo, Egypt - July 13: Egyptian protesters during the early morning of a sit-in occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on July 13, 2011. The flag on the right is a Tunisian flag, hung in solidarity with the first successful revolution in the region, which started the domino effect of uprisings in the region. Protesters re-occupied Tahrir Square on July 8, to protest the slow pace of change since the revolution, and also to demand justice for those killed. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - June 27: Egyptian activist Sarah Abdelrahman, 23, takes part in a protest demanding justice for protesters killed by police during the revolution in Cairo, Egypt on June 27, 2011. Sarah is one of many young activists who use social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to rally crowds to protest and broadcast their grievances about the government. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - July 1: Egyptians protest and occupy Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on July 1, 2011. Thousands of protesters returned to Tahrir Square to voice frustration with what they called the slow pace of change five months after the revolution. The demonstration came just days after renewed clashes between protesters and the police left hundreds injured and underscored the lingering distrust between Egyptians and a police force long seen as a pillar of the former government. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 22: Activists Hana El-Rakhawi, 18 (left), and Omar Shamy, 21, hold hands as they head down towards the front lines in Cairo, Egypt as clashes with the police continue a few blocks down the street on November 22, 2011. Mass protests exploded in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square the night before. Thousands converged into the square, sparking a battle that is continuing into its fourth day. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - February 7: Egyptian youth (left to right) Mustafa El-Kashef, 16, Hanin Tarek, 18, Ziad Tarek, 19, (holding laptop) and Amor Eletrebi (with cigarette) use laptops, posting video they shot earlier in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on February 7, 2011. A group of Egyptian youth have been collecting testimonies and voices of the protesters in Tahrir Square, and publishing them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 24: Egyptian activist Mourad Ghali (right) helps apply cream to the bruises of Mariam Aboghazi, 20, who was badly beaten by military police as they were briefly evicted from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on November 24, 2011. Mass protests exploded in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square. Thousands converged into the square, sparking a battle that continued over the course of many days. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 27: On the eve of parliamentary elections, Egyptian protesters shield themselves from the pouring rain in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on November 27, 2011. Pictured in the background is a memorial poster for Moataz Anwar, 21, shot to death in his car by Egyptian police months earlier. Mass protests exploded in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 20: The body of Shihab Eddin el Dakoury, 28, killed during clashes with the police, lies under a blanket in a makeshift hospital near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on November 20, 2011. Intense protests broke out in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square the night before. Thousands converged into the square, sparking a battle that is continuing into its third day. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 22: Egyptian protesters clash with police during intense scuffles with rocks, teargas, and molotov cocktails being thrown back and forth in the side streets near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on November 22, 2011. Mass protests exploded in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square the night before. Thousands converged into the square, sparking a battle that is continuing into its fourth day. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)

Cairo, Egypt - November 21: Activists look out from the balcony of an apartment overlooking Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on November 21, 2011. Mass protests exploded in Tahrir square after the authorities moved to evict protesters who had encamped themselves in the square the night before. Thousands converged into the square, sparking a battle that is continuing into its fourth day. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)
Cairo, Egypt - July 13: Egyptian protesters during the early morning of a sit-in occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on July 13, 2011. The flag on the right is a Tunisian flag, hung in solidarity with the first successful revolution in the region, which started the domino effect of uprisings in the region. Protesters re-occupied Tahrir Square on July 8, to protest the slow pace of change since the revolution, and also to demand justice for those killed. (Photo by Ed Ou/Reportage by Getty Images)
Barely 26 years old, Ed Ou is one of the most promising members of Reportage by Getty Images. He just received the ‘Young Reporter’ prize at the 19th edition of the Prix Bayeux-Calvados for war correspondents. The jury was presided over by Gilles Peress from Magnum photos.
This year, he was selected for the TED Fellows program. In 2001, in Amsterdam, the World Press Photo drew attention to his work, as well as Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan. It was on this occasion that this interview was conducted.
Michel Puech: How did you discover photography?
Ed Ou: Photography has been a hobby of mine since childhood. I’m very lucky to have grown up in the digital age. I’m a product of these new technologies. With digital cameras we can take as many pictures as we like without wasting film. Without digital, I’m not sure I would have started taking pictures.
MP: When did you decide to start doing this professionally?
EO: I started when I was still in college, where I was studying international relations and Arabic. It was a very eventful period in the Middle East and I decided to focus on the area. As a student, I traveled to Palestine, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. It was a turbulent time for that region, especially in Gaza. And then there was the war in southern Lebanon.
Actually, it was during that war that I started taking pictures professionally. I started with wire services and sent some photos to Associated Press and Reuters. For me it was another way to continue my studies, because I wanted to compare reality with what I’d learned in school. I noticed a difference between what you read and what you see on the ground.I wanted to confirm that difference and see where I stood. That’s what led me to become a photographer.
MP: What were your first professional awards?
EO: It’s hard to say. The first was the PDN 30 when I was 21. Then for my work in Palestine and the Middle East I was awarded a prize from the Overseas Press Club of America, but that was just for students. Then I was selected for grants by POY and Getty, which allowed me to finance some of my projects.
Michel Puech
Read the full text of this interview on the French version of Le Journal.
Les Rencontres du Prix Bayeux-Calvados des correspondants de guerre
8.10.12 - 14.10.12
14400 Bayeux - France
Links
http://www.prixbayeux.org
http://www.edouphoto.com
http://www.puech.info
Contributors
Michel Puech
