A Week in Pictures Middle East & Africa, June 29, 2018

When I got my first full-time job as a photographer with a small news agency, I was told by my boss: “If you shoot a ‘thumbs-up’ picture or a ‘points at something picture’ I will fire you on the spot. We are better than that.” Sound advice but rules are for breaking, so with these words of wisdom ringing in my ears I select Hamad I Mohammed’s wonderfully happy picture of a beaming woman giving a thumbs-up as she drives her car off the forecourt just after midnight on the first day that women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. You can see more picture here

A Saudi woman celebrates as she drives her car in her neighborhood in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, June 24, 2018.    REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed 

A simple gesture from the woman who sits behind a sleeping child has an overwhelming sense of futility. The child sleeps on, resting on what we assume is all that remains of her possessions. Khaled Abdullah created this sense of hopelessness by leaving an over-exposed and empty space that fills over half the frame. It says: “What future for these people? Who knows?” The answer is in the picture itself. Follow the story here

A woman displaced by the fighting in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah reacts as she waits to be registered at an IDP registration centre in Sanaa, Yemen June 27, 2018.  REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

A simple gesture from the woman who sits behind a sleeping child has an overwhelming sense of futility. The child sleeps on, resting on what we assume is all that remains of her possessions. Khaled Abdullah created this sense of hopelessness by leaving an over-exposed and empty space that fills over half the frame. It says: “What future for these people? Who knows?” The answer is in the picture itself.  

Cranes are seen at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen June 24, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

Again creeping off my turf and onto Russian soil, I could not help but include Jason Caimduff’s emotional picture of dejected soccer star Mohamed Saleh. It never ceases to amaze me how much passion and energy these sportsmen display right up until the final whistle, believing until that moment they can still win no matter what the score. When the whistle blows the losers are are crushed. To judge from Mohamed’s disappointed face, highlighted against the clean green background, he just can’t believe it, he doesn’t know what to do. So he grabs his shorts and pulls them up as far as they will go. Now, like all great athletes, he will no doubt get back to training, get his head (and his shorts) straight, focusing on the next match, ready to enrich millions of  (Egyptian) fans’ lives with his skills. See the highlight pictures from the game here.

Egypt’s Mohamed Saleh looks dejected after their Group A World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in the Volgograd stadium, Volgograd, Russia June 25, 2018.  REUTERS/Jason Caimduff

There is something gentle and calm in the visual frenzy of Zohra Bensemra’s picture of the Old Town of Jeddah. Maybe it’s the way your eye is slowly drawn from the chaos of the red bunting, the yellow road barriers, the ramshackle balconies and the whirring aircon units to the beautifully crisp white robes of the man on the phone. Whatever it is that gives this image its calm, I love this eye-of-the-storm composition.

A Saudi man walks through the old town of Jeddah Saudi Arabia June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

National leaders dancing and smiling during peace talks provide a warm image shot by Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah. I suspect that Mohamed was happy to capture all three main parties in one image, especially managing to keep the pointing fingers and hands in the top of the frame What I also like about this are the dashes of red and purple in the leaders ties and the flag set against white with a bright yellow background. All very cheerful. 

Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir joins South Sudan’s President Salva kiir and South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar in a dance during a peace meeting as part of talks to negotiate an end to a civil war that broke out in 2013, in Khartoum, Sudan June 25, 2018.   REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

Virtually all colour is drained from Thomas Mukoya’s back-lit picture that looks like a scene from the apocalypse, the four horsemen dismounted. We are sucked into the centre of the breathless picture by a clever series of compositional U’s that lead us from the top of the frame into the centre just above the police helmets. The centre is marked with a small red part of the policeman’s weapon to finally catch the eye.

Riot police stand at the smoldering scene of the fire that gutted a timber dealership in Gikomba market and nearly homes in central Nairobi, Kenya.   REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

One can only begin to imagine what is going through the mind of the girl in Omar Sanadiki’s picture. Her blank stare seems to pass right through the viewer as she maybe thinks of an uncertain and distant future. What I really like about this picture is how Omar has not only exposed for the shadow detail of the girl, leaving the soldiers in the background to bleach out, but used a shallow depth of field, adding to the feeling that maybe this journey is fading into the past in the girls mind. 

A Syrian refugee girl who left Lebanon looks through a window as she arrives in Qalamoun, Syria June 28, 2018.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki 

On the other side of the Lebanese Syrian border, Mohamed Azakir photographed the chaos of families try to leave. People crammed into overloaded vehicles with all they own, children and grandparents squeezed onto the truck almost as an afterthought. At first, I thought it was a shame that the top of the mattresses were cropped off but then I decided that this crop, which might have been unintentional, actually adds to the cramped feeling of the picture. Maybe it needs an even tighter crop? You can read the developing story  here 

Syrian refugees prepare to return to Syria from the Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, June 28, 2018.    REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

I can’t hide my disappointment that Senegal are out of the World Cup and I can’t explain to myself why I really hoped they'd do well. Maybe it was the effort the fans would put into getting a glimpse of the game, a passion highlighted by Mikal McAlister’s picture. All they had to do was draw but sadly, for me, they lost 1-0. See highlight pictures from the match here. 

People climb into a tree in Dakar Senegal to watch the Senegal v Colombia Group H World Cup match June 28, 2018.   REUTERS/Mikal McAllister

A Week in Pictures Middle East & Africa, May 25, 2018

There is no escaping the beauty of simple and strong composition of Amr Abdullah Dalsh’s picture. The tiny, silhouetted figures are dwarfed in front of the symmetrical structure, the strong light seems to dazzle, and makes me want to blink. It grabs you like a scene from an epic Spielberg film.

Egyptian Muslims perform evening prayers called ‘Tarawih’ inside Al Sultan Hassan mosque during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in the old Islamic area of Cairo, Egypt May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh 

I admit it is a slightly bizarre choice to include Siphiwe Sibeko’s picture of cabbages being farmed. But take a minute to really look. Although the cabbages are bagged up it at first appears that the man sitting on top of the cabbages is perilously high on his unstable seat, what could possible go wrong? Next, I love the complementary reds and greens that vie for attention as they drive your eye around this picture. You quickly end up looking at the sign. The designer started off boldly only to discover, probably around the letter ‘T’, that if they carried on as they’d started they would not be able to fit the word ‘property’ into the sign. Lastly, is that a G or an upside down 5? This picture is being used to illustrate the complex story of a legal test of the constitution on land expropriation which you can read here

Farm workers harvest cabbages at a farm in Eikenhof, near Johannesburg, South Africa, May 21, 2018.   REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Omar Sanadiki’s beautifully lit picture seems to deliver mixed messages. You feel the pleasant warmth of the sun on the man’s face as he poses for a picture showing the V for victory sign with his hand. But his face is expressionless, cold, his mouth and eyes say nothing, and his hand is dirty with ash and grime, as are all his clothes. He sits in an environment of total destruction. Although we can never be certain what he is thinking I can guess that it is not thoughts of triumph.  

A man gestures as he sits on the rubble of damaged buildings in al-Hajar al-Aswad, Syria May 21, 2018.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Omar Sanadiki’s picture of people moving through the rubble of destroyed buildings is not so different from Amr’s picture of the faithful at the mosque, at least in its visual structure. People are dwarfed in a landscape, and even though one image is taken at night and the other by day, the colours are similar. If you rotate one of the images through 180 degrees you will find the same the strong compositional U shape. All that aside, Omar’s image is one of relentless destruction, the figures leading you from the foreground to as far away as the eye can see. More pictures here .

Soldiers walk past damaged buildings in Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus, Syria May 22, 2018.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

I am amazed at the order of Khaled Abdullah’s zigzag picture, not only in terms of its visual composition, but by the order of the people waiting in line for food handouts. They must be hungry, hot, a little frightened and no doubt tired. I have also chosen a second image from the same scene, as I was struck how this large line of people made such an impact on the landscape, and that so many are in need of help. The order, in both senses in Khaled’s powerful pictures, highlights to me the scale of the problem these people are facing. 

Women and girls queue outside a charity food distribution centre to get the iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, May 22, 2018.   REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Women and girls queue outside a charity food distribution centre to get the iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, May 22, 2018.   REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The question that pops into my mind when looking at Essam al-Sudani’s picture is how can anything actually live in these conditions and why, as an investor, would you bet money on its survival? On the face of it nothing could grow. A yellow sandstorm as far as the eye can see is only punctuated by wind battered saplings as if in a scene plucked from a post-apocalyptic science fiction film. Maybe this is why I am not a successful investor?

Palm trees belonging to Kuwaiti investor Abdul-Aziz al-Babtain are seen near the port city of Basra, Iraq May 11, 2018.   REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

Amr Abdullah Dalsh’s picture is, it must be said, a bit of a cliché, but one I kept coming back to. It’s fun, and it has caaptured a good moment. I do wish there was no water across the boy’s face, but I do like his scrunched up features and the ‘crown’ of water. So here it is, I hope you enjoy a quiet smile, like me.

An Egyptian boy jumps into the water to cool off in hot and humid weather during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt May 23, 2018.   REUTERS/Amr Abdullah Dalsh

A Week in Pictures Middle East & Africa March 9, 2018

By the look on the faces of the people on the edges of in Olivia Acland’s picture, they are
all thinking about the conversation between the two central figures must have had before
attending the election rally. “I’ve got a good idea. Let’s get naked except for our
underwear and long coloured socks, paint our bodies white and red and go to the rally.” It
seems that no-one else got the mail with the dress code in it. A wonderful bizarre moment
and all respect from me for the individuality on display.

Supporters of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) party arrive to attend a rally ahead of the March 7 presidential election in Makeni, Sierra Leone March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Olivia Acland

Mohamed Abd El Ghany captures a protesting soccer fan in mid-stride, holding a flare aloft and looking like an Olympic torch bearer. What I really like about this picture is the clean design. Yes, it could be said that he got lucky: there are no other people to complicate the scene, the background figures seem to run along with him, and the curl of smoke is perfect. What is important is that the figure is at full stretch with his arms raised. You need to be both lucky and good to capture this.

An Egypt's Al Ahly fan shouts slogans against the Interior Ministry whilst running with a flare during the Al Ahly v Gabon's CF Mounana CAF African Champions League match in Cairo, Egypt, March 6, 2018.  REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany 

Photographer Bassam Khabieh is trapped in Douma, eastern Ghouta, and when he considers it safe enough he files pictures of the latest news. Today, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid relief convoy arrived with much-needed emergency supplies.  What to me is so striking about this picture is the sombre mood. All colour is drained from the image, even the reds of the crescent logos. There are no crowds, no children, just trucks being watched moving slowly through destroyed buildings. 

Civil defence members sit amid the rubble as they watch an aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent driving through the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

I can’t help feeling a little sad at the size of the task facing the soldier clearing mines in Aziz El Yaakoubi’s picture. The flat, featureless landscape seems to stretch to infinity. This space, and the danger of the task, have been cleverly accentuated by the heavy crop of the second soldier, who wisely seems to be keeping well away 

A member of the UAE armed forces secures an area while searching for landmines in Al-Mokha, Yemen March 6, 2018. Picture taken March 6, 2018. Reuters/ Aziz El Yaakoubi

What makes Anne Mimault’s picture a pick for the week is the powerful graphic shape of the man digging a grave in a fog of yellow dust that seems to be reaching up to choke the onlookers. The man on the left is casually looking back at the hard work being carried out, while at the same time the shape of his body frames the image.

People take part in a burial ceremony of the armed forces members who were killed during Friday's attack by Islamist militants in the capital Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Anne Mimault

The strong shadows in Hayam Adel’s dark portrait cut across the picture in a complex abstract composition and almost hide Esraa from view. The sombre mood echoes Egypt’s struggle to end FGM. The full, powerful story published on International Women’s Day can be seen here

Esraa Salah, 15, poses for a photograph outside her home in Alwasata village of Assiut Governorate, south of Cairo, Egypt, February 8, 2018. Picture taken February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Hayam Adel

An affectionate picture by Faisal al-Nasser, taken early on International Women’s Day in Saudi Arabia. I can’t help but wonder what is going through the man’s mind as a group of women jog past his shop. The back story here is that Faisal took over this assignment from our Saudi Arabian woman photographer, Reem Baeshen, who was sick and whom we wish well. I have added a second picture by Faisal as I love its simplicity.  The light catches three key elements: the lower left quarter of the woman’s smiling face, the determined hand gripping the steering wheel, and the rear-view mirror. A full selection of picture from IWD from around the world can be seen here

Women run during an event marking International Women's Day in Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

A Saudi woman sits in a car during a driving training at a university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

It takes a while to make visual sense of Mohamed al-Sayaghi’s picture. Your eye darts about, looking at the splashes of colour, the blue sky and then the yellow, red and orange in the foreground. Your eye then settles on the destroyed building and finally on the three women struggling across the rubble with their water containers.

People carry water tanks as they walk at the site of damage after a Saudi-led air strike, north of Yemen's capital Sanaa, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi