A Week in Pictures Middle East and Africa April 19, 2019

Look at me! Listen to my protest! is the message from this picture from Sudan. The flame licking into the half-light of the evening highlights the protester’s glasses and open mouth so that he takes on the momentary appearance of a fire-breathing dragon. Once your eyes get used to the bright light of the flame you can see the thousands of protesters in the background, stretching into the horizon of the evening gloom. 

A Sudanese demonstrator chants slogan as he attends a sit-in protest outside the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 14, 2019.    REUTERS

A big, fun yellow picture, a big smile, curls of hair and hands emerging from a mist of yellow powder. The only other real colour is the red mask guiding us to the laughing eyes of the person on the right. There is no way you can look at this picture without feeling the warmth of a smile.    

A girl is covered in yellow powder during Egypt’s first Colour Run in Giza Egypt April 13, 2019.    REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany 

Ali Hashisho’s picture has a feeling of a post-apocalyptic scene as three unidentified figures stand framed in a ruined building, looking across a cityscape at storm clouds in the distance. Are they gathering or clearing? The dash of warm sunlight on the broken concrete pillar to the left gives us some hope.   

Children stand together inside a damaged house in Kobani, Syria April 3, 2019.   REUTERS/Ali Hashisho 

Omar Sanadiki’s pictures need a little text to help explain them. On the face of it, we see ruined buildings with vegetation. So what? Now understand that this peaceful verdant scene was recently the scene of fierce fighting in Aleppo, Syria. I include two images from Omar, because the pictures need some explanation. The most colourful image, with reds and yellows, just does not have enough buildings to illustrate the context of the story. So much for the adage ‘a picture paints a thousand words’. Read on here.  

Blossomed vegetation is seen over damaged buildings and the ancient citadel during a warm day of spring in the old city of Aleppo, Syria April 9, 2019.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Poppies are seen in full bloom during spring in Aleppo governorate, Syria April 14, 2019.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

What a wonderful picture by Umit Bektas as he plays with scale and space. Almost a silhouette, but thankfully not. Your eye is drawn quickly to the figures in the trees, a flag extended as it is waved back and forth. These men look far too big to be safely in the tree, and maybe this sense is created by the open space above them or the line of figures beneath them. See more from Sudan here

Sudanese demonstrators wave a flag after climbing a tree outside the Defence Ministry in Khartoum, Sudan April 16, 2019.   REUTERS/Umit Bektas 

It’s just a lot of fun, people hugging, laughing and enjoying a moment perfectly captured by Luc Gnago as Ivanka Trumps visits Ivory Coast amid a myriad of dancing shapes, colours, stripes, patterns and smiles. Normally these visits are very stiff and formal but this breaks the mould. 

White House advisor Ivanka Trump dances as she meets women entrepreneurs, at the demonstration cocoa farm in Adzope, Ivory Coast, April 17, 2019.   REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Baz Ratner’s image is a little unsettling. I think the obvious reason is the figure wearing full bio protective gear walking behind the woman and the child seemingly unnoticed. What can be going on that this this gear is needed but there is a child unprotected? This then brings you to the full-on eye contact from both the woman and the child. You are drawn into the picture and it’s then you begin to notice that the only natural elements in this image are the uncovered faces. Plastic gloves, plastic clothing, plastic mask, plastic background and plastic fencing in the foreground. It all feels very unnatural and in this environment you are captivated by the eye contact, and that is unsettling. Why aren’t these people protected too?  Read on here to discover the story of those who survived Ebola caring for children with the killer disease.      

Mwamini Kahindo, an Ebola survivor working as a carer to babies who are confirmed Ebola cases, holds a child outside the red zone of the Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2019.    REUTERS/Baz Ratner   

To describe Mohamed Abd Al Ghany’s picture of an old book as lush - very rich and providing great sensory pleasure - might be a step too far but it’s the word I kept coming back to when looking at this detail picture. The warm tones of the aged pages, wrinkled with time, make us want to touch the book. The clever crop, so you can’t see all the book, ensures we spend time looking at the ancient text, which is quite exquisite. You can see more artefacts and the restoration project here.   

‘Codex Syriacus’, an ancient copy of the Gospels in Syriac, is seen on display in St. Catherine’s Monastery in South Sinai, Egypt, March 7, 2019.  REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany 

Hard to ignore the wonderful beam of light in Ammar Awad’s picture of clergy during Holy Week in Jerusalem. Equally hard to ignore is the candle-lit procession of worshippers in the Holy City. These pictures really speak for themselves so I will let them do just that.       

Members of the clergy take part in the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony on Easter Holy Week in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2019.   REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Worshippers take part in a procession during the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony on Easter Holy Week in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2019.   REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Week in Pictures - Middle East & Africa, February 16, 2018

A last minute update to the week's selection from Middle East and Africa of Luc Gnago's wonderfully composed picture using classic thirds and complementary colours of orange and blue. The picture of the tree against the blue sky on the orange earth would have been nice enough but three girls walking from left to right, all equally spaced in line, one, two, three or A, B C to fill the space perfectly make this image just a little bit special.

Girls carry water on their bicycles at a dispensary in Nedago village near Ouagadougou, Burkina faso, February 16, 2018.   REUTERS/Luc Gnago

A series of air raids by the Israeli Air force and anti-aircraft counter attacks by Syrian forces prompted a quick response by Ammar Awad, who headed to the Golan Heights. The main questions at this time were: ‘Whose move and what happens next?’Ammar’s picture of the signpost, the waiting woman and the cut-out figure of a gunman sum up the moment of watching and waiting. 

A woman sits near a sign at Mount Bental, an observation post in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that overlooks the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing, Israel February 10, 2018. REUTERS/ Ammar Awad

If the cut-out of the gunman in Ammar's picture above is classic in its shape, I think Baz Ratner's running boy is another classic. The boy's legs are almost at full stretch, his arms are clearly defined, and water is splashing up behind. It is an irresistible pick for the week.  

A boy runs across the Turkwel River running through Lodwar, in Turkana County, Kenya February 6, 2018.  REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Satish Kumar’s picture is a wonderful combination of busy line and shape through shadow and structure. There are too many triangles to count as your eye races to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in the middle distance to the tiny shape formed between the hands of the woman taking a picture of her friend.

A visitor takes photos at the 71st floor of the Gevora Hotel, the world's tallest hotel, in Dubai, UAE February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Satish Kumar

The eerie cold blue light from a mobile device highlights the face of the fighter in a room bathed in the warm glow of firelight, creating an almost theatrical scene in Khalil Ashawi’s terrific picture. Shadows flickering in the light on the wall soften the unmistakable shape of his weapon in the background. At the same time the fighter’s covered features are frozen like ice in the harsh blue light.  

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army fighter holds a cell phone in the town of Tadef in Aleppo Governorate, Syria February 12, 2018. Picture taken February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Faded glory has got to be the understatement of the week to describe Amr Abdullah Dalsh’s picture. The colours are muted, every poster is torn or faded and the piles of rubbish look as if they have been there for years and will be there for years to come. I can’t imagine for a minute what these men are talking about, but I sense they are in no hurry to finish their conversation. I think this is a wonderful and timeless picture.

An Egyptian man waits in front of Pepsi products shop for customers at the shanty area Zabaleen or "Garbage City", the poorest part of Cairo, where thousands of Copts make a living by recycling everything from plastic bottles, food remains, carton and metal on the Mokattam Hills in eastern Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

On the day police recommended that Netanyahu should be indicted for bribery, Nir Elias had a lucky break with the light as the prime minister walked into the spotlight. An inch lower and his eyes would be in shadow and the essence of the picture would have been lost. What also makes this picture for me is the fact that the sliver of light ends in black shadow on both sides of the frame, suggesting a momentary glimpse of something going on. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) arrives ahead of a planned address at the Muni World 2018 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Nir Elias

In Bassam Khabieh’s picture, the boy’s arm and his cheek echo the shape of the Red Crescent logo. The circles of the emblem are also echoed in the wheels of the bike and the truck, all combining to make a very complicated composition. There is there is no telling if this boy is holding his head in relief because supplies have reached Douma, or in concern that it’s not enough. But either way, I think the tension in his locked fingers tells a story of concern. 

A boy gestures near a Syrian Arab Red Crescent truck in the besieged town of Douma, eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh 

A sea of faces stretching to the furthest horizon, with people’s arms crossed in unison, makes Tiksa Negri’s picture quite striking. The only break in the flow to the rear of the picture is a single flag being waved. I can almost taste the dust being thrown up by these thousands of people.

Supporters of Bekele Gerba, secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), chant slogans to celebrate Gerba's release from prison, in Adama, Oromia Region, Ethiopia February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

A surprise press conference late in the evening by South African President Zuma gave Siphiwe Sibeko access to a historical moment. On the face of it, a simple assignment -- man speaks at podium to announce his resignation – but it’s much harder to make it something special. Throw in strong light and a long shadow and you have a special moment well captured by Siphiwe. I have added a second picture that was well used and which demonstrates that ‘bread and butter’ pictures are as important as thoughtful, creative images. Think too about the caption as we edit this live. Zuma arrives as president, all smiles, and we don’t know what he is going to say. At the end of his address he announces his resignation and leaves press conference as a former president. 

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma arrives to speak at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma looks down as he speaks at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko 

A Week in Pictures Middle East and Africa February 9, 2018

I can’t stop looking at Khaled Abdullah’s stark and very sad picture. The children’s tiny, frightened faces peer out from a busy, colourful image. To me, the sadness in their eyes fills the frame, so all you can do is feel for their suffering. How much worse can it get? You live in war zone, you are only a child, and you and your sibling both have cancer. 

A boy and his sister who both suffer from cancer lie on a bed at a cancer treatment centre in Sanaa, Yemen, February 4, 2018.    REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

How could I resist highlighting the bizarre scene of a masked gunman scrolling through his phone, sitting on a red sofa in a grey, rubble-strewn street in al-Bab, Syria? I think Khalid Ashawi’s centrally composed picture is as striking as it is bizarre, so no resistance from me, it’s here.

A Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter is seen in the eastern suburbs of al-Bab, Syria, February 4, 2018.   REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

To me, the strength of Ismail Zitouny’s almost abstract combination of texture, tone, wood, metal and cloth is that it takes quite a while to understand that you are looking at the wrapped figure of a woman. Her invisibility mirrors the plight of the displaced people who cannot return to their homes in the ghost town of Tawergha. More pictures here.

A Libyan woman displaced from the town of Tawergha stands at a camp in Tripoli, Libya, February 5, 2018.   REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

The ghost-like figures that appear from the smoke and dust of the aftermath of an air strike in Bassam Khablieh’s picture haunt me far more than his other images of blood-stained pavements taken at the same time. Why? The people seem to be drowning in the streets as they run from the devastation, putting me in mind of the first line of Stevie Smith’s poem ‘Not Waving but Drowning’: ‘Nobody heard him, the dead man.’

Civil defence members and civilians are seen running after an air raid in the besieged town of Douma in eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, February 6, 2018.   REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

It’s not clear what everyone is looking at, but what is clear is the desperation in the faces of those gathered behind the wide-eyed, open-mouthed security officers in red berets in Ibraheem Abu Mustafa’s picture. I feel as if every pair of eyes has a sad story to tell. The man in the rear of the image pushes his passport forwards, giving us a clue as to what this picture is about. Story here.

Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces stand guard as people ask for travel permits to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened by Egyptian authorities for humanitarian cases, in the southern Gaza strip, February 7, 2018.   REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Wild swings in the stock market provide great opportunities for making and losing lots of money but they also provide photographers with an opportunity to shoot thoughtful and clever pictures. Not easy when you consider the only ‘action’ is people sitting at screens. I love the circular composition of Faisal Al Nasser’s picture, where the top line of the screens curves round to visually link with the curve of the balcony in the rear of the picture. This shape is echoed by the trader’s agal holding his keffiyeh in place. And in Satish Kumar’s wonderfully graphic image below that, I love it that investor has momentarily taken his eyes of the screen to look directly into the lens. At this moment, did he lose money or make it?

A Saudi trader observes the stock market on monitors at Falcom stock exchange in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 7, 2018.   REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

An investor looks up from the screen at the Dubai International Financial market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 7, 2018.  REUTERS/Satish Kumar

In what initially looks like a curious mixture of street theatre and a Zombie run, Amir Cohen has captured a picture that draws you in as your interest is piqued. What is actually going on? Some faces painted white in a reverse Al Jolson style, others half painted white. Once you move beyond the right to left gaze of the focal point of the image you are zigzagged uncomfortably to the rear of the picture to see dark eyes and pale death-like faces. Two words stand out: Israel and deport. Story here.

African migrants protest against the Israeli government’s plan to deport part of their community, in front of the Rwandan embassy in Herzliya, Israel, February 7, 2018.   REUTERS/Amir Cohen

It’s not often I feel I can share a sports picture from the Middle East and Africa region, but Mike Hutchings’ eye-watering picture of an awkward delivery during the one-day international between South Africa and India seemed to select itself today.

South Africa’s Aiden Markham gets hit by a delivery from Hardik Pandya during the Third One-Day International against India in Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, February 8, 2018.   REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Omar Sanadiki’s pictures from rare trip to Aleppo reveals slow signs of the city coming back to life. Once you look beyond the massive hole in the foreground and the destruction of the city to the horizon, you begin to pick out tiny details: cars moving, people walking about and sitting at a table. A small hardware store has opened for business and what looks like a food stall on the left has three customers. You do have to look hard, but it’s there. So I think there is a little hope here.    

People and cars are seen in the streets of old town Aleppo, Syria, February 8, 2018.   REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Khalil’s Ashawi’s picture is full of tension and action. What really makes this picture work for me is that in addition to the strong light coming through the pillars as the gunman runs for cover, the barrel and aiming sight of the rifle are silhouetted against the light on the wall. If you use your thumb to take away the end of the rifle, the image is much harder to define and you lose the immediate sense of ‘gunman’.  Read the latest from this conflict here.  

A Turkey-backed Free Syrian fighter is seen in the eastern suburbs of al-Bab, Syria February 8, 2018.   REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

   

2018

A week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, October 27, 2017

I had to update this post today with Tiksa Negeri's pictures of VWs in Ethiopia as a demonstration how it can be fun to illustrate business stories with eye catching visual ideas. In short VW announced their earnings on Friday, here's the headline, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) lifted its profit target for the year on Friday after cost cuts at its core autos division helped it outstrip third-quarter earnings forecast. Great financial information but a little dry to illustrate. And here one of several great pictures about VW's in Ethiopia. Reuters also illustrated this story in the tradition manner so there was choice. 

A model of a Volkswagen Beetle toy is seen inside a Volkswagen Beetle car at a garage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 8, 2017.  

It’s not often that a press conference by an oil minister will result in a great picture but Khalid al-Mousily has achieved just that. A lucky break for Khalid makes for a riot of colour: the sea of coloured microphones, the reds of the background and the red, green, white and black of the Iraqi flag on the right. Amid all this colour there is no doubt in my mind that the world is listening to what Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih has to say.

Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih speaks at the opening of the Baghdad International Exhibition, Baghdad, Iraq October 21, 2017.   REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

Flares, flags and fans all combine to make a great picture by Amr Abdullah Dalsh that puts me in mind of Visions of Hell by Hieronymus Bosch. The small human figures on the left seem to be competing for the ball of flame, while the giant mythical image of the bird brings the mind’s eye back to the fact that these are soccer fans cheering on their team with a passion,  and not Hell.  

Fans light flares during the CAF Champions League semi-final between Al Ahly and Etoile du Sahel at the Borg El Arab stadium.    REUTERS/Amr Dalsh

 I just have to keep coming back to try to understand why I like Baz Ratner’s picture of protestor wearing a mask so much. Is it the bizarre tilt of the head in the expressionless mask, or the riot of clashing purples, blues and reds? Maybe it’s the strong graphic shapes made by the circle of the handbag, the string of pearls or the V of the purple jacket or even the eye to camera contact of the mask with no eyes. Not sure – what do you think?  

A supporter of Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta wears a mask of his face before a Jubilee Party campaign caravan rally in Nairobi, Kenya, October 23, 2017.    REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Against a background like stars in the night sky, a fighter walks past a shop front riddled with bullet holes in this perfectly framed picture by Khalil Ashawi. The bright white light bleeding in around the armed figure in a darkened room removes just about all colour to create a monochrome, stage-like feel to this quiet but menacing picture.

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks as he holds his weapon in a damaged shop in the town of Tadef,  Aleppo Province, Syria October 23, 2017.    REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

It’s great to get some good news from Yemen and this rather haunting picture of 19-year-old Saidi by Abduljabber Zeyad is the third time we have photographed her in a year. Her story over the last year is as dark as the background in this picture, when Abduljabber photographed her earlier, looking skeletal and close to death. We have followed up on her story as she has slowly recovered, which you can see here.

Saida Ahmad Baghili, 19, who is recovering from severe malnutrition, stands in the door of her family’s hut in al-Tuhaitad district of the Red Sea province of Hodeidah, Yemen October 20, 2017.    REUTERS/Abduljabber Zeyad

Also from Yemen and by Abduljabber is this striking image of girls attending school that has been damaged by shelling. I feel a little as if am watching life going on in a nature program, where a remote camera has been set up to give the viewer a closer look at the daily life of a shy and reclusive creature. As with nature programs ,the subjects, in this case girls, seem oblivious to the fact that we can see them and that a shell has torn a hole in their school. 

Girls attend a class at their school, damaged by a recent Saudi-led air strike in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen October 24, 2017.   REUTERS/Abduljabber Zeyad

A stark and brutal image of little Hala al-Nufi, aged 2-1/2, photographed by Bassam Khabieh, is something you cannot take your eyes off.  Her face wrinkled as if she is 70 years old, her dry tears and contorted expression share her physical pain with the viewer. Should this picture be seen? In my opinion yes , but with sensitivity and balance. The whole story can be seen here. 

Two-and-a-half year old Hala al-Nufi, who suffers from a metabolic disorder which is worsening due t the siege and food shortages in eastern Ghouta, reacts as she sits on a bed in the Saqba area, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria, October 25, 2017.

On October 26, the Kenyan election was re-run amid fears that there would be a repetition of the blood-letting seen after the election in 2007. This still might happen as the process continues (let’s hope not). I could have chosen a number of pictures from the clashes: tear gas fired by police, those killed by gunfire, or stone hurling protesters. Instead I have chosen this quiet image by Thomas Mukoya. One of the places where voting could not take place was Kibera and for the process to be complete voting as to take place here. The soldier squeezing his large frame through the small gates of a primary school that was supposed to be used as a polling station seems to sum up the constitutional struggle that is taking place. You can see the whole file, from the voting to the fighting, here.

A policeman walks through the gate at the Kibera primary school during presidential election re-run in Nairobi Kenya, October 26, 2017.

Okay and change of heart here is a picture by Thomas Mukoya that has come in just now. The water caught and frozen in mid air as flames tear through the slum properties.

People try to put a fire in properties set ablaze by rioters in Kawangware slum in Nairobi, Kenya October 27, 2017.    REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya 

I had to update this post today with Tiksa Negeri's pictures of VWs in Ethiopia as a demonstration how it can be fun to illustrate business stories with eye catching visual ideas. In short VW announced their earnings on Friday, here's the headline, Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) lifted its profit target for the year on Friday after cost cuts at its core autos division helped it outstrip third-quarter earnings forecast. Great financial information but a little dry to illustrate. And here one of several great pictures about VW's in Ethiopia. Reuters also illustrated this story in the tradition manner so there was choice. 

A model of a Volkswagen Beetle toy is seen inside a Volkswagen Beetle car at a garage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 8, 2017.