Saturday saw a missile and rocket exchange across Israel and
the Palestinian territories, with hundreds of missiles fired day and night. Our
teams on both sides of the conflict produced a powerful file. Two images from
Mohammed Salem: the first captures a missile a fraction of a second from its
target, making you hold your breath as you wait for the imminent strike and
blast. Read the rest of the story here.
A missile approaches its target as smoke rises during
Israeli air strikes in Gaza City May 5, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
The second image by Mohammed Salem, which also keeps you on
edge, is of a man walking across a “bridge” of crushed concrete and metal, heavily
weighed down as he salvages belongings from the destroyed building. Mohammed
has timed his picture so the man is frozen at the weakest point of the traverse,
the dark abyss of a drop seeming to reach up to pull him down. The broken metal
bars and collapsed concrete stairs look like the jaws of a mechanical Venus fly
trap.
A Palestinian salvages his belongings from the rubble of his
house that was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, Gaza City, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Trails of smoke from anti-missile systems fill the blue sky
and soft clouds to make an almost abstract picture, captured by Ronen Zvulun. I
wondered, would it be better without the lamp post? Use your finger to hide the
dark shape, the picture immediately loses the scale and context. Remove your
finger so you can see the whole image again. The lines of the missile smoke now
seem even more angry – don’t they?
Smoke trails are seen in the sky as Iron Dome anti-missile
projectiles intercepts a rocket that was fired from Gaza, above the southern
Israeli city of Ashkelon May 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
At first glance all you really see in Amir Cohen’s picture
is a small green bush against a brown stone wall. You then notice the highlight
of the man’s arms, crouched and covering his head, sheltering in much as the
corner of the stone work as possible. The compositional line and diagonals of
the wall then lead to you the figures peering out from their “corner”. The dark
shape in the background presses you back into the image. You then understand
these people are sheltering, frightened. The caption reveals air raid sirens
are sounding and these people have been caught out in the open. They are
hiding, Amir is taking pictures.
Israelis take cover as a siren sounds warning of incoming
rockets from Gaza, during cross border hostilities, in the southern Israeli
city of Ashkelon may 5, 2019.
REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Despite the vivid colours in the foreground and the matching
T-shirts and posters there is a gentle calm surrounding Rogan Ward’s election
picture in the soft morning light. Party activists are busy as they wait for
voters in an empty landscape that stretches out to the far horizon. The
question is, will anyone come? Read the story here
Inkatha Freedom Party agents are seen near a polling station
ahead of South Africa’s parliamentary elections in the farm lands near Eshowe,
South Africa May 8, 2019.
REUTERS/Rogan Ward
If you have read a few of my weekly posts you will know that
I am a sucker for strong compositional patterns with obvious line and shape,
but also not keen on silhouettes. There
is no getting away from the terrific fan shape created by the single central
light casting shadows of the people waiting to vote. Mike Hutchings has shot it wide enough for us to be zoomed
into the picture at breakneck speed. It’s quite fun.
Voters queue to cast their ballots before polls close
outside a polling station in Alexandria township in Johannesburg, South Africa,
May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Mike
Hutchings
A slight tilt to Umit Bektas’ picture has created a
wonderfully designed image that has a lyrical feel. You can almost hear the
song and chanting as sticks are waved to the beat in the open space of the sky.
If you don’t see and feel all that, then just enjoy the smiles.
Sudanese protesters shout slogans during a demonstration
infront of the Defence Ministry compound in Khartoum, Sudan May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Siphiwe Sibeko’s portrait picture is as warm in its tones as it is
affectionate towards his subjects. The orange of Nobutho’s clothing is echoed
in the bowl in the foreground and the cushion to the left. Both these blocks of
colour are cropped off perfectly so they don’t distract you as they lead you around
the image to the seated figure in the shadows, her husband, Mandla. This visual
draw is accentuated by the line of shadow from the cushion to Mandla. Once
there, you read the slogan on the wall. Read the rest of the story here.
Nobutho Thethani, 59, a full-time farmer, looks on next to
her husband, Mandla, 61, a pensioner, at their home in Lawley township in the
south of Johannesburg, South Africa, April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
It’s now the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and in Yemen women
are queuing up for charity iftar meals. Khaled Abdullah has chosen to shoot the
long queue of women very wide to give the viewer to sense of scale of all those
needing food as charity. What is really striking to me is the orderly nature of
the queue as these people wait patiently. It has quite a sombre tone.
Yemeni women and girls queue outside a charity food
distribution centre to get iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan in
Sanna, Yemen, May 8, 2019.
REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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