Nic Dunlop ranks among the best and most prominent photographers in Southeast Asia and he was the first journalist to track down and interview the former Khmer Rouge commandant from the S-21 extermination camp that operated in Cambodia under Pol Pot.

Dunlop believes in the language of photography but like many of his peers, the Irishman is increasingly annoyed by the state of press photography and where it is going.

He recently penned an article for Light Rocket in which he sharply criticized the judging and the standards of many entrants at this year’s World Press Photo awards.

The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt spoke with Dunlop from his home in Bangkok about deteriorating industry standards and what exactly ‘the press’ means anymore. He also talks about how Duch found him and the importance of photography amid dissenting voices.

Click here to listen.