At first glance Sumaya Hisham’s picture of
a woman looking through a portal hole of a police van looks like a photographic
cut out. I can assure you it’s not, but it is a perfectly composed image where
the curves of the mask and the edge of the eye liner fit exactly into the circle. Even though she is masked and
detained her eyes still transfix the viewer with determination and
strength.
A peaceful and calm picture by Mike Hutching is a welcome break from the manic news file over the last few weeks. The cool blue tones and the slow shutter speed give it this feeling but if we need a little warmth the zig-zag composition of the rocks lead us out through the picture to Table Mountain and the rising sun.
The city's iconic landmark Table Mountain is seen from Bloubergstrand during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cape Town, South Africa, August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike HutchingsA small detail in a large space will always
grab the eye. Add a wide difference in contrast and a splash of colour to
really make a really arresting image. Mohammed Salem uses all these visual
skills to draw us right in to the masked face peering into a darkened space. It’s only the caption that informs us this is
the scene of a deadly and sad house fire.
Raneen Sawafta’s picture feels more than a
little claustrophobic and it takes a little bit of time to see what is really
going on. First you see the boot, and it looks that it is about to crush the
delicate and dust covered plant. You then spot the mechanics of a weapon and
then finally a face pressed into the earth.
A simple illustrative picture by Nir Elias, the image that millions of people have shot on flights, but the importance of this is that it’s from the first flight from Israel to the UAE. The Star of David seen over these lands would have been almost impossible without this change of international policy and the move to normalise relations between the two countries. Read on here.
A gentle picture by Mohammed Salem that
really caught my eye: I love the quirkiness of it as much as I like the colours.
The back focus also to draw attention through the cool blues of the boy getting
a hair cut in the foreground to the masked boy in red climbing the wall. Why he’s
doing this we have no clue. Everyone is now masked as Gaza, previously free
from COVID-19, is facing an outbreak and the numbers are spiraling.
Bloodletting to this extent would often be
part of a scene of an attack or a dreadful accident, but in Thaier al-Sudani’s
picture it’s from the Ashura ceremony and all part of normal proceedings.
Although the brightness of the red blood against the white clothing is quite
striking and extends to the rear of the image, you need to take the time to
look at the expression on the man’s face. Despite all the blood, there is no
fear, no anguish and to me he looks quite relaxed.
Also, part of the Ashura ceremony are
re-enactments of the battle and very hard to resist this terrific picture by Alaa
al-Marjani. Colour, heat, action and so much dust being thrown up as spectators
watch the horses and riders from a hill. I can’t imagine what Alaa would not
give for those rather annoying power lines not to be there, cutting across his
picture, but hey, life is not perfect, so I will ignore them and enjoy.
Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims ride horses as they re-enact a scene from the 7th century battle of Karbala to commemorate Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the holy city of Najaf, August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
A clever use of a pale background image and
a stroke of luck for Teba Sadiq as a man raises his cane to create a cris cross
of compositional lines. The full range of tones from white to blacks with only
the faintest of colour, pale yellow, set in graphic shapes also helps to make
this very pleasing to the eye, that is, until you are jolted with the
realisation that the image in the rear is that of a dead child.
A Shi'ite pilgrim walks next to a drawing on the wall depicting a scene from the 7th century battle of Karbala, ahead of Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the holy city of Kerbala, Iraq, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Teba Sadiq
Baz Ratner has taken the time to prepare an image he had in mind to illustrate the impact of flooding at Lake Baringo. A sort of live before and after or a “now you see now you don’t” picture. I think what made it even more interesting is where the photograph has been cropped off at the top in the print version, is almost at the exact level of water in the live image. Read on here.
Camp manager, James Owuor, holds a photo showing a structure before it was submerged under rising water due to months of unusually heavy rains, in lake Baringo, Kenya, August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
Here are a few highlights from the last two weeks – I wanted to include these terrific images.
A man throws a stone at a police Inyala (armoured vehicle) during a protest demanding the police account for the death of the teenage boy who was allegedly shot by the police the previous night in Eldorado park, outside Johannesburg, South Africa August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko A resident pours out the waters of the Blue Nile floods within the Al-Ikmayr area of Omdurman in Khartoum, Sudan August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin AbdallahyaKhadjou Sambe, 25, Senegal's first female professional surfer, surfs during a training session off the coast of Ngor, Dakar, Senegal, August 18, 2020. "When I am in the water I feel something extraordinary, something special in my heart," said Sambe. REUTERS/Zohra BensemraA flamboyance of flamingos crowds together in Lake Bogoria, in Baringo County, Kenya, August 26, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner Colonel Modibo Kone, one of the junta leaders of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) which overthrew Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, waves as he attends a mass rally to celebrate the coup at the Independence Square in Bamako, Mali, August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mamadou Keita A body of a militant is seen at the scene of an attack at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach, in Mogadishu, Somalia August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal OmarPeople are pictured on the roof of a police station set on fire by protesters during a demonstration against the decision of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to run for a third term in the next presidential election, in Bonoua, Ivory Coast August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Luc GnagoPolicemen detain a demonstrator during a protest against president Alassane Ouattara's decision to stand for a third term, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Luc GnagoPolice take cover as they are pelted with stones during a protest against racial and economic inequalities in Kayamandi township near Stellenbosch, South Africa, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
No comments:
Post a Comment