A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, May 29, 2020

Mike Hutchings’ gentle picture just speaks to me of calm. Soft light plays on the faces of the clerics waiting to catch a glimpse of the moon. This all set in an arc of light that extends from complete darkness in the top left to the highlight on the left. The figures and the horizon break the image up into classic thirds. More pictures here.  

Muslim clerics await the sighting of the moon that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan during a lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sea Point promenade in Cape Town, South Africa, May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

A very simple picture by Khalid al-Mousily that I was drawn too and then tried to discount as not much is happening in it, but I kept coming back to it. I asked myself, why? Well there is really something quite sad about this brightly coloured merry-go-round that is devoid of children and screams of delight. More pictures here.  

A view of a deserted amusement park during the first day of Eid al-Fitr, after the government imposed a full lockdown on some areas of the city, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

 Amir Cohen’s picture is both very good and I think very lucky. Netanyahu supporters wave a sea of flags: whites and blues all set against a dark background. Through this whirling mass we are drawn to the focal point of the image, a single face, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. How much different this image would have been if the face was even slightly covered. Just a mass of flags and no focal point. Read on here.    

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wave Israeli flags during a rally as Netanyahu's corruption trial opens, near the Jerusalem District Court May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Luc Gnago treats us to a complex compositional zig-zag as children socially distance on their first day back at school. Boys in blue, girls in pink, evenly spaced, feet together, wearing masks to help protect them against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and all weighed down by school bags heavy with books and lunch. And if we are in any doubt where we are we see the big word SCOLAIRE – school.

Pupils, wearing protective masks, stand in line in front of the Merlan school of Paillet, observing social distancing during the reopening of schools, as the lockdown due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is eased, may 25, 2020 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Putting it quite simply Muhammad Hamed has delivered a crowd pleaser. Red fireworks caught at their peak and a crescent moon set against a pitch-black sky with a hint of a smoke-covered cityscape. What’s not to like? So, enjoy it for what it is.

Fireworks light up the sky above the Abdali Boulevard, next to the crescent moon, during a celebration of the country's 74th Independence Day within a limited number of activities amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amman, Jordan May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Hard to choose one or even two pictures from a project that has taken quite a while to pull together and involves many photographers from different countries but I have settled on pictures by Ronen Zvulun and Siphiwe Sibeko. What I especially like is that the subjects shot the picture from inside due to social distancing and I love that they have shot as they got into the spirit of the project. For Ronen’s image I like both the mix of warm and cold light created by the tungsten glow and all those busy triangles and diagonal lines in the composition. These angles echoed by Yael with her feet, the bed edge and the window framing. Read on here. 

A combination picture shows Yael Ben Ezer, a dancer from Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, seen through a window while she practices in her apartment, and a view that she sees from her apartment, as authorities around the world impose various guidelines on lockdowns and social distancing to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tel Aviv, Israel May 19, 2020. When asked, what will you miss most about being in lockdown? Yael Ben Ezer, replied 'I will miss the comfortable feeling of IT'S OK. It's ok not to "do" anything, it's ok not to be "productive" in the way we usually think. Things would come and go, the sun would rise and set, and I would just be living. And that's totally enough'. Picture taken May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun and Yael Ben Ezer/Handout/via REUTERS

Siphiwe Sibeko also played with shapes, but in his image ovals and circles are fighting with the harsh light. But that harsh light has helped create strong blocks of colour. And for Zodidi’s picture we are treated to a soft and warm light through the curtains.  

A combination picture shows Zodidi Desewula, a housewife from the Eastern Cape province, taking a break by reading as seen through the doorway of her one-roomed rondavel house on May 23, 2020, and a view is pictured from her house on May 24, 2020, as authorities around the world impose various guidelines on lockdowns and social distancing to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Sibanye Stillwater's women hostel in Carletonville, South Africa. When asked, what will you miss most about being in lockdown? Zodidi says there is nothing she will miss about the lockdown once it is over. To her it was torture because she and her husband were stuck in one place unable to move. She also said " Myself and my husband were stuck in this single room house unable to go to work. We were struggling in getting food to eat because there was no income". REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko and Zodidi Desewula/via REUTERS

To me, Zohra Bensemra’s picture has an element of fear in it, but I am not sure if I am projecting my own concerns for the boy or whether it’s the way it has been beautifully shot that creates this feeling. The boy is looking out from an encroaching black space that occupies almost a half of the image and looks to consume him in darkness, almost like a giant wave. The mask adds to this feeling of breathlessness and holding breath waiting for the wave. He is looking out of the window towards the light, the glass separating him from the scene, his eyes seem to be searching for someone. But if we look at all the figures outside they seem to have their backs turned and he won’t be able to see the loves one he is looking for. Read on here.

A boy looks out of a bus window as teachers prepare to board government-chartered buses to go back to schools of countryside towns, scheduled to reopen next week, amid travel bans between regions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Dakar, Senegal May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

At first glance Ahmed Jadallah’s picture looks like a lone skier coming to the end of a ski run with lots of ski lifts seen against a grey sky, the red fencing guiding him to safety. But all is not all it seems, as this is a 3D trompe l’oeil and I like the momentary visual trick until the caption is read. As Dubai slowly comes out from lockdown what better way to celebrate and get some exercise than at an indoor ski slope in a shopping mall in the desert city. 

A person wearing a protective face mask ski at Ski Dubai during the reopening of malls, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

 Aziz Taher is not shooting pictures at the biggest or most violent clash in his long career but for sure it is one of the first instances where he, the security forces and the protesters all need to protect themselves against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as well as the usual clashes. Those closest and face to face in the confrontation are all wearing face masks. I like the rather stylish mask the woman is wearing as she leans back from the baton that looks as if it is being raised as a warning rather than for a downward whack on exposed fingers or head.  

Demonstrators confront with riot police as they try to cross barricades on a road leading to the UNESCO Palace where Lebanon's parliament is holding a legislative session, during a protest against a controversial amnesty draft law, in Beirut Lebanon May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, May 22, 2020

There is no way you can look at Mohamed Torokman’s picture without a smile appearing on your face. It’s reminiscent of images of Olympic breaststroke swimmers coming up for air when, for a split second, a film of water covers their faces, distorting their features. What is special about this image is that not only can you see the boy just under water cooling himself but you get a sense of the place with other swimmers in the background.  

A Palestinian boy dips in a natural spring to cool off during a heat wave, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), near Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Maybe it’s the extra grip the rubber gloves that allows the hairdresser to pull the hair a little tighter, but the slight grimace in Mohamed Abd El Ghany’s picture lets us know that for sure it hurts a little. I love the muted colours in this picture, the white set against the solid black of the background, and the tiny, but all so important, fringe of hair that is about to be clipped off.      

A boy gets his hair cut by hairdresser Youssif Hamada at his home in Cairo, amidst the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

One of many from a terrific sequence of images by Abubaker Lubowa of an arrest. What gives this one is the edge for me is the fate of the fallen glasses that Stella is looking down at. They are beyond rescue. What I would not give to have the arm of the glasses extended to match the other side perfectly, but life is imperfect, so I will settle for what is here. Read on here. 

Ugandan academic Stella Nyanzi looks at her glasses as police officers detain her for protesting against the way that government distributes relief food and the lockdown situation to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kampala, Uganda May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa

Siphiwe Sibeko has given me a dilemma, which I hand to you. I can’t choose which picture I like best. Do you prefer the strong diagonals of vast queues of people that create compositional lines that stretch to the horizons, cutting across the powerful orange and blue colours in this first image? We are immediately grabbed by the shape and colour and left in no doubt as to how many are in need of food handouts. Read on here. 

People stand in a queue to receive food aid amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Itireleng informal settlement, near Laudium suburb in Pretoria, South Africa, May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Or do you prefer this second image? The dynamic compositional relationship of the orange and blues bisected by lines is not as strong, but that is countered by the powerful horizonal shapes made by the queues of people. Secondly, we don’t quite get the same sense of just how many people are queuing, as the queues are less defined in the background. But what we do get is a greater understanding of the individuals waiting in line. Just look at that woman in pink in the foreground, hands on hips as she takes a long stride and moves slowly forward.

People stand in a queue to receive food aid amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Itireleng informal settlement, near Laudium suburb in Pretoria, South Africa, May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

There is no other way to put it, Temilade Adelaja makes you work hard to look at her picture. The centrally placed square-shaped highlight is quite abstract. We really don’t know what it is, but the eye is continually drawn to it and it dominates the image. We then get to see the figure lying in the gloom, on the floor and barely lit. Finally, we see the corrugated iron roofing and we get the sense of poverty. But this picture is about light and not poverty and we’ve been drawn into the story so read on here.

A beneficiary of a Salpha Energy solar panel home installation, Recent Kodjo, lies on a wrapper in her room illuminated by a solar-powered bulb, in Sagbo-Kodji community, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lagos, Nigeria April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

Just look at the faces in Clovis Guy Siboniyo’s picture. Every single one of these young men is  looking at the elder woman casting her vote. And just look at her expression too, determined, dignified and strong. Great too that the highlight of her profile is captured between the shadows on the man’s red shirt and the shadow cast by the security lock of the ballot box or it could so easily be lost in the busy and harshly lit picture.

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential, legislative and communal council elections, under the simmering political violence and the growing threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ngozi, Burundi May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Clovis Guy Siboniyo

I can’t help feeling that this girl got a little more than she bargained for when she no doubt pleaded to have the bucket of water thrown on her in Ali Hashisho’s affectionate picture. Arms spread out, feet firmly placed and then splash, the force of the water pushing her head, and her hair, to one side. The slow shutter speed accentuates the speed and volume of the water. From my own experience of parenthood, if mum was watching I am sure a telling-off would quickly be issued – but what a wonderful memory of childhood Ali has captured.  

A man throws water on a girl playing in a pool, during a hot weather, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sidon, southern Lebanon May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

It’s an old visual trick, replacing a person’s head with a shape, object or ball. Sometimes it works better than at other times and on this occasion, I think Khaled Abdullah’s fun picture works well. Enjoy the smile from Yemen.

A man carries his son who holds a balloon outside a shopping mall ahead of Eid al-Fitr holiday, amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen May 17, 2020.  REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah 

Hard to socially distance when you are visually impaired and touch is so important. Temilade Adelaja has shot a clever set of pictures to illustrate this personal struggle. The image is exposed for the highlights of a harsh sliver of light, and we are only able to see a fraction of what is there. Look very hard and you see a second person, hand held for guidance. Read on here.  

Shobowale Kehinde, 28, an entertainer who is visually impaired, walks through the corridor at his church with assistance from his friend amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Lagos, Nigeria May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, May 1, 2020

No social distancing here as people crowd in to get free soup in Suhaib Salem’s picture. I get a sense of ripples on a still pond that has been disturbed by a single stone being thrown into it. The ladle is in the centre where the people are closest and the ripples form tight circles. As you look to the edges of the frame, the people are more widely spaced and the ripples get wider. Make sense? 

Palestinians gather to get soup offered for free during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Gaza City, April 26, 2020.   REUTERS/Suhaib Salem 

Just a gentle and thoughtful image from Khaled Abdullah. Even though it is shot quite wide, giving you the feel of what it would be like to worship inside this crowded mosque, you are transfixed by the size of the Quran the man is reading.  

People recite the Quran at the grand Mosque amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen April 26, 2020.    REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah 

  

Is the anger in Mohamed Azakir’s picture dissipated by the mask or does it add to the menace? At first glance it looks quite confrontational, the raised the hand, the leaning in eye contact and much gym activity apparent from the tattooed arm. But look closely at the eyes, are they not raising a question and almost pleading to make a point? Look too at the contact between the man and the soldier, although they are touching, it’s just fingers from the protester and just enough pressure from the soldier to keep to him away. Remove the mask and we would see his mouth, and probably get a completely different feel about this confrontation. Read on here. 

A Lebanese demonstrator gestures to a Lebanese soldier during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese pound currency and price hikes, in Zouk, north of Beirut, Lebanon April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir  

If you let your imagination run away with you, Zohra Bensemra seems to have captured a wonderful, mystical and many-limbed two-headed creature thrashing around in the sands of Senegal. Just sit back to take a moment and enjoy the shape, light, composition and action of this delightful feature picture.  Read on here.

Street children play soccer at a camp, which the Village Pilot NGO has set up to house and confine children in need of help amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in lac Rose, suburbs of Dakar, Senegal April 20, 2020.    REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra   

Lit by neon lights, Raneen Sawafta’s picture is quite striking in its glow. There is of course always a temptation to colour adjust from what we see to what we know. That aside, what I like most about Raneen’s image are the dark shadows of the figure set against the highlight in the background, the subtle tilt to the whole frame and the catchlight on the drum, drumstick and face mask.  

A Palestinian Musharati wearing a mask beats a drum to wake Muslims to have the predawn meal before they start their day-long fast during the holy month of Ramadan amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nablus, in the Israeli occupied West Bank April 28, 2020.  REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta   

A small crop to Muhammad Hamed’s picture makes quite a shift in the focal point and the sense of the image. In the first image below the focus and importance of the image is about the moon alongside a mosque. In the second uncropped image the focal point is the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque with a moon next to it. Which do you like best? 

A crescent moon is seen next to King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan as prayers by worshippers in the holy places are suspended due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Amman, Jordan April 26, 2020.   REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed  

A crescent moon is seen next to King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan as prayers by worshippers in the holy places are suspended due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Amman, Jordan April 26, 2020.   REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed  

The joy on a child’s face when they see an enormous birthday cake and sparklers is universal and that joy is captured by Alaa al-Marjani. What is also captured is the cake decoration of a Dettol bottle, a coronavirus model, an icing face mask and is that a hint of a practical joker’s smile on the woman’s face? A birthday never to be forgotten, for sure.   

An Iraqi family celebrates their daughters birthday with a cake decorated with Dettol bottles, a face mask and a model of the coronavirus, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a cake shop in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq April 24, 2020.   REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani   

The glow of blue and white neon lights, orange and yellow flames and silhouetted figures set against strong black vertical and horizontal lines all make for a very eye-catching image. What gives Ali Hashisho’s picture the edge for me is the skulking figure on the righthand side of the image. He looks to me to be the most dangerous person in this scene. Read on here.

A demonstrator is seen next to a burning fire in front of a bank during a protest against economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon, April 29, 2020.   REUTERS/Ali Hashisho 

Muhammad Hamed’s is a well-seen portrait of a man who obviously takes great pride in his appearance and who is determined to take care of himself by wearing a mask against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It is also a well-timed image because Muhammed has waited for the man to be in full light and exposed for the highlights so the background falls into shadow. Any background distraction would take your eyes away from the details of every hair in his beard and the neatness of his headdress.      

A man wears a protective face mask as he walks through the main market downtown after the government eased the restrictions on the movement aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Amman, Jordan April 29, 2020.   REUTERS/Muhammed Hamed 

There’s a new hair fashion in town, ‘the coronavirus’. What is intended as a lighter and more upbeat picture by Thomas Mukoya has a slightly bitter-sweet feel to me. The intention is obvious, a hairdresser shapes women’s hair to represent the coronavirus for a little fun, and it works well – that is the sweet part. To show the hair from all sides the girl is photographed from behind; but her body language, as she looks out of the window, says to me that she longs to be able to go outside to run and play at any time like she used to. That’s the bitter part. I sense that Thomas spotted this thoughtful moment as the girl, who is experiencing daily lockdown and curfew, looked longingly out of the window, maybe thinking about the time when she could go out when she wanted. Maybe I am again letting my imagination get the better of me and she is just looking out of the window and Thomas decided to shoot her dark hair against the highlight of the window. But I doubt it as that would make no sense for this type of fun and controlled shoot. Either way it’s a great picture that got me thinking. Read on here.  

Stacy Ayuma, 8, is seen after plaiting with the "coronavirus" hairstyle, designed to emulate the prickly appearance of the virus under a microscope, as a fashion statement against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Mama Brayo Beauty Salon within Kambi-Muru village of Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya