ZA :

In your experience of going through application processes, as well as being a curator, I was wondering if you’ve seen a specific shift in the way that people are now approaching photography from say, twenty-years ago?

JL :

I think the two main aspects would be plurality and diversity. There has been an increasing range of experimentation, which I think is extremely important. We encourage this by making sure that we’re not prescribing a particular emphasis on a specific kind of artistic approach. I’ve also noticed this willingness to take a risk and experiment by doing something that someone else might have never done before. Perhaps, in the past, people would tend to follow what was previously successful. I feel like a lot of younger contemporary photographers are not afraid to take a risk. They don't worry as much about whether their work is going to be well received, but instead want to do something that's true to themselves. And I feel like that's a very positive development for this region.

ZA :

I think for younger generations, and photographers who are navigating their way within the medium and networks, The Angkor Workshops also seem to be a rite of passage. In a way that young practitioners tie the success or dismissal of their practice based on their admission into the workshops. Would you like to speak to this?

JL :

I think this is something that affects us quite a lot. We’re trying to be as democratic as possible, and I do think that we can work even harder to increase the diversity of applications from more underrepresented countries. Since we have the capacity for free tuition and accommodation for twenty participants, we only get to admit 5% of applicants each year. The rejections aren’t a reflection on your work, but just the nature of limited capacity. I think what I’d love for people to do, is to consider the workshop as a part of your journey in growing, learning, and developing as a photographer. There are so many things that you’re going to experience as you progress, and the workshop is just one of the many things that can happen along the way. And if not, that’s alright too. We also try to encourage our alumni to share everything that they experienced or learnt at the workshop, in case it’s beneficial to any other practitioner. It has always been about providing opportunity in a region where opportunity was scarce. So quite often, the way we try to select people, is based on how much of an impact we can have on them.

ZA :

Since you’ve been working in this medium for a long period of time, would you like to comment on the trends that exist within photography, and your thoughts in relation to this?

JL :

I’ve been asked this question about spotting trends, and for a long time, I’ve been reluctant to name or identify them because we see such a small slice of what is out there. There are so many artists doing incredible work that aren’t necessarily interested in promoting themselves or putting themselves online, and I’m very aware that there’s a lot of good work that I haven’t come across. But I think one thing that we discussed post the pandemic was that we had a very insular three years, so we wanted to encourage our participants to re-engage with the world. We had a lot of inward-looking and contemplative work, which is great; but we wanted to use the opportunity after the pandemic to nudge participants to be vulnerable and strongly encourage them to step out of their comfort zones and be present with reality. I think the best artists seem to be the ones who are observant and see everything that's happening around them.

ZA :

As a teacher myself, I’m interested in the shift of perception/pre-conceived notions, that students enter the classroom with, and how that evolves at the end of our sessions together. I was wondering if you’d notice something similar with the participants at the workshop?

JL :

I think that every kind of breakthrough is amazing, right? And I think that everyone has a very specific and individualistic experience of the workshops. The tutors would be in the best place speak about this, but as an outsider looking into the process, I have observed two things that can happen in terms of a breakthrough- either it could be professional, meaning the way that they think about their work, or it could be personal, in the way that they think about themselves. And then all of a sudden, there's this huge relief. The realisation that the thing that they were so afraid of, was something that they could overcome. We also ask for feedback after the workshops, and after some months of distance/contemplation, we have got consistent feedback that the workshop allowed the participants to see themselves with a lot more clarity. For some reason, these breakthroughs come with increased self-awareness and clarity of intention, of motivation, of your past traumas, your desires, your dreams. And I think the clearer you can see it, the stronger the work becomes, and then it flows more effortlessly. This is something that happens through a lot of discussions, talks, and interrogations, and it would be my biggest observation. The 21st edition of The Angkor Photo Workshops will be held from January 30 to February 8, 2026, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The application deadline is 15th October 2025 (Midnight on Wednesday, Cambodia time +7GMT). For more details, log on here.