15-year-old, Austrian-born photographer David Uzochukwu’s atmospheric portraits express powerful emotions through moody scenes and surreal imagery. His conceptual images evoke somber feelings, as quiet moments reveal flowing tears, eyes shut tightly against the world, faces darkened by shadows, and hunched shoulders that project loneliness and anxiety.

The Brussels, Belgium-based creative first discovered photography when he picked up his mother’s point-and-shoot camera at the age of 10. Since then, he has continued to hone his craft, producing beautiful images with a skill and maturity far beyond his years. Uzochukwu’s talent and active role in the Flickr community recently earned him the honor of being featured on 20under20, a new initiative that showcases 20 of the world’s most extraordinary young photographers on Flickr.

“I love to tell stories and to convey certain feelings and emotions in an image,” Uzochukwu says. “What really intrigues me is that photography—like all other art forms—can be so universal that you can be touched by a picture that someone else has created. Furthermore you can make the images in your head become reality. This amazes me again and again.”