A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 4, 2020

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 woman is seen through the window of a police van after being detained during a protest against gender-based violence outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham 

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 Hutchings

A 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. 

A Palestinian man wearing a protective face mask looks through a hole in a torched house where three children of Al-Hazeen family were killed in a fire ignited by a candle used to light up their room during a power cut in the central Gaza Strip September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

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.  

An Israeli soldier detains a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against Jewish settlements in Jbarah village south of Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

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 view of is seen through the window of Israeli flag carrier El Al airliner carrying a delegation of Israeli and American officials before the plane lands in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias

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.

A Palestinian boy climbs a wall as he watches a barber on a street during a power cut and a lockdown following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Gaza City August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

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.

A Shi'ite Muslim man bleed after hitting his forehead with sword and beating themselves during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani 

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 Abdallahya

Khadjou 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 Bensemra

A 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 Omar

People 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 Gnago

Policemen 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 Gnago

Police 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

Elephants are seen as they cross lake Kioko in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya, August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Supporters of the Imam Mahmoud Dicko and other opposition political parties attend a mass protest demanding the resignation of Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Bamako, Mali August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Rey Byhre

An Israeli soldier beats down smoke with a fire broom in an area that has seen blazes caused by fire balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, near Kibbutz Nir Am on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip August 17, 2020. Picture taken August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Smoke and flare are seen in the sky, as pictured from Houla village near the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon, August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher 

An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel August 25, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Palestinian man uses his mobile phone as he sits at the doorsteps of his home on a hot day during a power cut after Gaza's lone power plant shut down amid tension with Israel, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip August 23, 2020. Picture taken August 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The Iron Dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles as rockets are launched from Gaza towards Israel, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Rita Faraj Oghlo, 31, looks at her phone in her mother’s house after her family were forced to live there because their home was damaged in the Beirut port blast in Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 

A boy jumps in the Nile River during hot weather on the outskirts of Cairo, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Cranes stand around the remains of site, that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, stands in Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, August 30, 2019

At first glance Mohamed al-Sayaghi’s picture looks like the confused scene from some sort of blast or explosion, but it’s not. You are drawn into the image through the chaos, eyes searching out the focal point of the white flour sacks on the ground. Deeper into the image you make out the side of the truck, laden with dozens of sacks and then you finally see the men at work. They are disposing of sacks of flour that are considered expired or contaminated, in a country that faces areas of malnutrition.

Workers dispose of sacks of wheat, provided by the World Food Program (WFP), which is reportedly expired, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen August 28, 2019.    REUTERS/ Mohamed al-Sayaghi

Mohammed Salem’s picture is divided in two by the classic shape of an AK47 rifle cutting diagonally through the image of the funeral cortege of a Hamas security force member. On the right, comrades stand to attention with calm respect either side of the body and  you can just see the dead man’s face. To the left people reach in to try to take pictures with mobile phones. A picture that reflects the confusion surrounding the death of this soldier in a bomb blast in Gaza, and that carries echoes of the internal division within Gaza. 

Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces carry the body of their comrade Salama Al-Nadeem during his funeral in Gaza City August 28, 2019.  REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Two days earlier Mohammed Salem was illustrating the power cuts that Gaza is facing. With an image that is almost totally black Mohammed teases with just enough detail to let the viewer know this is in a narrow street with people trying to go about their business. There is a hint of sky squeezed between darkened buildings. A distant figure walks through the only pool of light of the ground and a figure stands in a light that illuminates his face and arms as he chats with a friend who reaches out to him.   

Palestinians use their mobile phone torches during a power cut at the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, August 26, 2019.   REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

What is most striking about Khalid a-Mousily’s image is the uncertain look on the boy’s face on the left of the picture and how the composition of the image leads you back to him. Although initially you are quickly drawn away from his face by the visual noise of the red and white flowers, the grieving man on the right and the centrally placed man with his head in his hands, the flow and shape of the design takes you back to the boy. His face shows a mixture of emotion:  he’s confused, concerned and frightened at the same time.  

Relatives of Kazem Ali Mohssen, a brigade commander of the Popular Mobilisation Force, who was killed by an attack from an unmanned aircraft close to the Syrian border in Anbar, mourn during his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq August 26, 2019.     REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

Alaa al-Marjani’s picture has a bittersweet feel to it. Every compositional point and edge has been slightly cropped off and I feel cheated as I instinctively want them in frame. The bottom edge and point of the woman’s dress is just out of frame, the decoration at the top of the image is neither in nor out, I even want the lines of the carpet to flow exactly into the corners of the frame, but they don’t. But what a wonderfully complex image this is, bold shapes of flat black tones arranged around the warmth of the rich brown doors; complex and beautiful gold and silver script all divided up in a classic thirds format and squeezed just in.    

An Iraqi woman is seen at the Imam Ali shrine at the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf, Iraq, August 23, 2109.   REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

A gentle visual smile from Thomas Mukoya as he illustrates the census in Kenya by using a mirror in one of the homes to double the number of people in the image. The illusion is a little harder to detect as the mirror line is not central. 

An enumerator uses a census laptop to record details of a family participating in the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya August 24, 2019.   EUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Underexposed, flare in the lense, no people in the image and very little colour. On paper,  Afolabi Sotunde’s picture should not work but it does. As part of a series of picture stories to mark the 400^th anniversary of the start of the slave trade from Africa to North America this intriguing image is from one of the many historic sites associated with the trade. Although it has a faint feeling of hope it is tinged with sadness. As your eye moves from the single, almost derelict hut and away from the line of trees under a cool sky you finally notice the gentle roll of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Once you notice this you can almost hear the waves in the still air, giving you time to reflect on what happened here 400 years ago. You can see the full story here.   

A shrine is seen on a beach where thousands of African slaves were once loaded onto ship in the historic slave port of Ouidah, Benin, July 17, 2019.   REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

I can’t help feeling a little uncomfortable as it dawns on me that of Fawaz Salmon’s picture from Yemen has similarities with a picture of a big game hunter standing, foot on kill. Death, pride and destruction all captured in one frame. A fighter stands, foot on vehicle, as a fuel tanker with a burned-out cab burns in the background. At his feet a man holds up a two-finger salute of victory.

Southern separatist fighters patrol a road during clashes with government forces in Aden, Yemen, August 29, 2019.   REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

From the mists of time in my head comes the Flanders and Swann 1950’s Hippopotamus song “Mud! Mud! Glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood” and I am delighted by Abdullah Rashid’s picture. Cool blues and greys take any heat from the picture as people enjoy the water and therapeutic muds of the Tigris River very much like the imaginary hippo cooling itself in the song. Go on Google it if you don’t know it, it will make you smile. 

People sit in water after being covered with mud, which is reported to help treat skin diseases, on the banks of the Tigris River west of Mosul, Iraq August 20, 2019.   REUTERS/Abdullah Rashid  

Ronen Zvulun’s image of a man playing with a dog has a very edgy feel to me. You can’t quite see what the dog - and that is a big dog - is jumping up to grab in its mouth. The  man looks just a little apprehensive, but still keeps tight hold on his can of beer. It is a party after all. This all set against a graffiti background where the slow shutter speed seems to blur the letters and the shadows so we can’t quite get a firm visual grip on the details. It’s taken Ronen many weeks of shooting to get this story together, hence the January date on this image, but now it is released you can see it all here.    

A man plays with a dog as a party takes place in a nearby basement, known as Strauss, that is occasionally used as a venue for underground parties in Jerusalem January 25, 2019.  REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The best smile of the week has just got to Baz Ratner for this wonderfully affectionate picture from Mozambique as the country prepares for the Pope’s visit. You just can’t grab enough visual joy from this image fast enough, that friendly toothless smile, the warmth of the tones created by the evening sunlight, the fizz of the cloth texture, colour and patterns and the corridor of the Baobab trees that lead you off to the horizon. All combined it makes you just want to visit.   

A man rides on the back of a cart pulled by a bull though Baobab alley near the city of Morondava, Madagascar, August 30, 2019.    REUTERS/Baz Ratner