http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 29
Clockwise from far
left: A woman holds
up an umbrella during
demonstrations; riot
police charge
protestors; riot police
push two young men
aside to check their
identities; students
cross a road to school
in Hong Kong after
participating in a
human-chain rallyNicolas
Asfouri
Nicolas Asfouri has
worked for AFP for 19
years. He began his
career as a freelancer in
London in 2001,
becoming staff
photographer in 2004.
In 2005 he was named
as chief photographer in
Portugal then Thailand in- Nicolas has
covered a wide range of
news events and
conflicts in Afghanistan,
Cambodia, Iraq, Israel,
Japan, Lebanon,
Myanmar, Pakistan and
the Philippines.
arrested once or twice. The police push you,
block you, they try to stop you getting a
photo. That can be a little bit violent.
Compared to the normal police, in Hong Kong
they’re usually okay. I’ve been shooting some
sensitive issues in China and I will do it until
I’m kicked out. I show what I see is unfair.
Hong Kong was the same. The basic human
rights are fundamental. If people cannot voice
their disagreement by protesting, I have to
show that.
‘I just want to say to the readers of Amateur
Photographer magazine, I think that you can
do a really good picture with any camera or
lens – you have to be in the moment, you
have to feel it, you have to want to do it and
you have to love what you photograph. If you
give your heart and all your energy and all
your focus, I think you’re going to make a
good photo.’ And with that, I thank
Nicolas and wish him luck.‘On a story like this, everybody knew that it
was huge and would be the story of the year.
I couldn’t have done it alone. I worked in a
team. I went to Hong Kong for one month, a
second time for two weeks, working every day
around the clock. It’s a team job, six
photographers from the agency. The chief
photographer, Anthony Wallace, is
coordinating everything. The protests in Hong
Kong, when I arrived, it was extremely
complicated. It was a bit everywhere. You
don’t know where it’s going to happen. To
cover a protest or breaking news like this,
sometimes you have to be organised,
sometimes you just have to follow your
intuition. I really go with that and most of the
good photographs that I’ve done, is following
my intuition. There’s a lot of luck involved.’
How does Nicolas achieve such impactful
photographs, full of emotion, pin-sharp and
often up close? ‘I was shooting on a Nikon
D5 and 24-70mm f/2.8, that was my main
camera, because I had to run a lot,
sometimes I only took one camera. If you
have another camera you run less fast, I have
a gas mask, I will try to stay light. Usually, the
best picture in hard news is with the
24-70mm because it’s sharp and fast to
focus. I also use a Nikon D850, a smaller
camera with a 70-200mm at f/4, a little bit
lighter, I had that on the big days. At night I
shifted all this gear and went to the f/1.4
lenses – 24mm and 50mm. I was wearing
gloves because of all the projectiles. It’s
better to protect your hands because that’s
what you work with; and of course a helmet,
that’s the most important because everything
falls from everywhere.’
In a country often accused of mishandling
human rights, do the authorities let Nicolas
do his job? ‘Not really. It was pretty dif cult.
There were tense moments. I nearly got