A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 25, 2020

Okay, this week I failed as an editor because I can’t decide between two of Thomas Mukoya’s pictures so I am sharing both. In terms of beauty of image this takes the biscuit. A crush of warriors all pushing and shoving arcs from bottom right to near top left through a haze of dust being kicked up. I love the central figure, who seems to be trying to hold back the weight of the queue of beautifully dressed warriors. There is no escaping the expressions on each of their faces, especially, right on the edge of the frame, those gritted teeth.  Read on here  

Maasai men of Matapato jostle to parade as they attend the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

And the second image by Thomas, why did I choose it? Well it’s about scale. You get a sense of the thousands of people who are taking part in this ceremony, which is just about the only thing you don’t get from the image above. As far as the eye can see, there are sticks and faces and then more sticks and faces. Your eye is not really drawn to a single face, which gives you a sense of the scale of this event

Maasai men of Matapato attend the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Khaled Abdullah’s picture gives us a glimpse into grief at this funeral as you feel you have to peer through fingers poised near triggers that crush the viewer into the centre of the image. Three strong compositional diagonals, created by the finger, on the left, the line of the arm in grey that leads down to the heads, centre, and finally the stock of the weapon on the right, are a powerful counter to the fall of light. But even with all this, you just can’t look away from the boy’s eyes:  so sad. Or is that fury rather than sadness? 

A boy rides with Houthi followers on the back of a patrol truck during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent battles against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah 

The moment you look at Saba Kareem’s picture you are aware that this man is blind. You know this because he is not looking at the task he is working and by the way his fingers, some doubled back, are powerfully and skillfully exploring the task at hand. The sense of determination is palpable. Not an easy subject to photograph well, but what drives us to his fingers is the criss- cross of lines of the vehicle with its bonnet lifted and the light on the fingers set against the dark engine. Read on here. 

Mustafa Aziz, a blind Iraqi mechanic, repairs his car at a garage in Baghdad, Iraq September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Saba Kareem

An uplifting picture from Amr Abdallah Dalsh with a complex composition that shouldn’t really work but it does. Basically, everything is on the edge of the frame. It’s all quite truncated with heads, arms, hands and necks all cropped off in a way that would ordinarily be quite uncomfortable to look at. Your eye is drawn to the blues of the background, but finally what we see at the centre of this swirling truncated chaos is a wonderful smile that lifts the heart. 

A member of Al-Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope) chamber orchestra of blind women reacts after the first concert, following months in limbo due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the Manasterly Palace in Cairo, Egypt, September 20, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Intensity and determination are the immediate impressions we get from Raneen Sawafta’s colourful picture. But without the caption we are unsure what is happening. We know it’s a school setting, but the teacher’s gesture seems unusually exaggerated. Is she angry? No, the child is very relaxed, and watching intently. Are they playing? No again. The eye contact is fixed and not playful. They are learning. Better just read the caption. 

A Palestinian teacher uses sign language as she gives a mathematics lesson to deaf students at al-Hanan School for the Deaf, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 17, 2020.. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

A complex and intriguing picture by Thaier al-Sudani to illustrate a complex story, a doctor beaten by family members of a coronavirus victim. The hand coming into the frame really makes this picture. Not only does it point out the tiny gesture by the man sitting in the wheelchair, it also points out the figure in bed almost invisible behind, screens, tubes, bottles, masks and bed clothes. Read on here. 

Patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at Al-Amal Hospital, in Najaf, Iraq September 13, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Take the politics out of this and what is not to like about a picture with a pyramid of cash stacked up in the public place. Close enough to reach out and grab a handful, except of course for the armed guards standing close by. When I first started in journalism my mentor said, “One question you need to always ask is ‘how much?’ and don’t forget that.” It would be great to know what the value of this pile is in dollars, as the cash is donations to fund conflict.   

Houthi followers stand by bills of Yemeni currency during a ceremony held by Houthis to collect supplies for their fighters battling government forces in various frontlines, in Sanaa, Yemen September 24, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Monicah Mwangi has captured all the expression, concentration and effort in the face of a young potential Olympian weightlifter. You can almost hear the grunt as Keysha lifts the weights above her head. Once we get over the visual distraction of the wording in the background, which I don’t really mind, we get to see the weights. It’s a start, but my word what a good start. Read on here for the rest of Monicah’s affectionate story.

 Keysha Atiky, granddaughter of Kenyan weightlifter Mercy Obiero, lifts weights during a training session at a gym within Umoja estate in Nairobi, Kenya September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

 

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 27, 2019

It’s rare that a set piece, pool position picture makes an image that will catch my eye.  Normally these staged and heavily controlled events make for cold and functional images that are “for the record”. Not so Toby Melville’s image from South Africa. What attracts me most is the obvious warmth in this picture and as I try to figure out why I get this feeling, my conclusion is the eye contact. Both figures are leaning into each other, intent on listening. Baby Archie is focused on Tutu’s eyes too. The curve of the shoulder line, Meghan’s arms and Tutu’s pocket handkerchief complete a compositional oval that keeps our attention in the centre of the image, with that warm eye contact. You can see more from the tour here.  

Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, holding her son Archie, meets Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town, in South Africa, September 25, 2019.   REUTERS/Toby Melville

Mohamed Torokman’s picture is black, almost completely abstract and full of menace. Your eyes skip around looking to make sense of what is going on and, after being drawn into the far distance by the light, you are brought sharply back to the hard, curved line of the tyre. It’s then you see the masked face of the protester, your initial sense of tension confirmed. But as you begin to work out what the protester is doing, moving tyres to be burned, you also get a growing feeling of determined calm from him.  

A demonstrator carries tyres to be set on fire during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, near the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the Israeli occupied West bank September 23, 2019.   REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Tonally and visually, Mohammed Salem’s picture is very similar to the image above, but the main difference is that your eyes jump immediately to the focal point, the face. And the moment you look at the face, you can’t look elsewhere. The lines of the shadows are intriguing as they cross the man’s face, you focus into the tiny juncture of the corner of his eye as he looks out of the frame and the line of shadow. It looks all very mysterious until you read the caption: he’s doing his laundry!

A Palestinian man sits in his home as laundry hangs to dry in Dier al-balah refugee camp in central Gaza strip September 22, 2019.   RUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A news feature picture by Khaled Abdullah improved, I think, by the little crop to remove the figure on the right who is wearing a high visibility jacket. I hope you agree the crop improves this image by letting your eye be drawn to the dancers’ faces and away from the yellow jacket. Have a look at both the cropped and uncropped versions and see what you think. 

Houthi supporters perform the traditional Baraa dance during a ceremony held to collect supplies for Houthi fighters in Sanaa, Yemen, September 22, 2019.    REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Houthi supporters perform the traditional Baraa dance during a ceremony held to collect supplies for Houthi fighters in Sanaa, Yemen, September 22, 2019.    REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Philimon Bulawayo’s picture is powerful with its simple circular composition shot from above. The ring of the white bucket top echoes the circle of the black well. I like it too that the circle of the grass has been cropped off at the bottom of the picture, the rings giving feeling of ripples on a pond reaching the edge of the water. The woman looks exhausted as she struggles to collect water. 

  

A woman fetches water from a well in Warren Park suburb, Harare, Zimbabwe, September 24, 2019.   REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

Mohamed Nureldin’s image is busy and deep, it’s full of action and colour and you are kept busy picking up all the details. The cool of the glass and metal buildings contrasts with the warmth of the colours of the crowd. The harsh light ensures you can never quite make out what is going on, who is holding what flag, which hand belongs to whom and what the people in the background are standing on, but you come away with an overall feeling of peaceful protest.

Protesters attend a rally calling for a stop to killing in Darfur and stability for peace, next to a building in front of the ministry of Justice in Khartoum, Sudan, September 23, 2019.   REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin  

Giant hands envelop a tiny creature, but this image really works for one reason only, the mouth of the turtle is open. If you didn’t get the visual clue of an animal’s head it would be hard to see what is going on, and it would not make any sense. Amir Cohen’s sophisticated use of a very small depth of field ensures that we don’t miss that all important detail. If the mouth was shut and everything was in focus it would look like a grey/black blob being held. You can read on here.

A child holds a newly-hatched baby sea turtle born at a protective nesting site set-up as part of the Israeli Seat Turtle Rescue Centre conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019.   REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Eissa Alragehi’s picture is a pleasant, well composed and well-lit portrait of a fresh-faced boy sitting in temporary camp for the displaced. How long does it take you to notice that the boy is missing a leg? When you do notice it comes as shock, and what was a moment ago pleasant is now distressing. Read on here.

Ismail Abdullah, 12, who lost his leg in an air strike two years ago, poses for a picture in his hut in a camp for the internally displaced people in Khamis of Hodeidah province, Yemen August 31, 2019.   REUTERS/Eissa Alragehi

A week in Pictures Middle East & Africa December 8, 2017

Clashes erupted in the region after US President Donald Trump’s announcement to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Mohamed Torokman’s picture is as much about the US flag being in tatters as it’s about clashes, for me symbolising the almost global condemnation of this decision. The figure reaching down, their hand creates a moment’s tension between dark shapes and the skies that leads us down into the flames of the picture with what I feel is a growing sense of unease. Click here to see a gallery of images for the clashes. 

A Palestinian protester prepares to burn a U.S flag during clashes with Israeli tropps at a protest against U.S President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the West bank city of Ramallah, December 7, 2017.   REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

It would be quite easy to scroll quickly past images of a funeral from the West Bank, they are, after all, not rare; but I never do. I take time to look at them all. I study the faces of the dead and the faces of those mourning. Sometimes I am captured by a picture’s moment and transported to the funeral. For me Abed Omar Qusini’s picture is one such example. The harsh light picks out the face of the pallbearer, the angst on his face obvious, the hand then points you back to the dead from the shadows. You are led back along the red, white and green of the flag into the shadows of the crowd of mourners, who are slowly shuffling from right to left. Then, caught in the light on the far left, a surprise, a new life. 

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian man Mahmoud Odah during his funeral in the West bank village of Qusrah December 2, 2017.   REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

Walking slowly through the dust created by a shelling a boy rubs his face in a picture almost entirely drained of colour. I could have chosen images of the dead being dug out of rubble or the injured being carried but this picture by Bassam Khabieh, for me, portrays a feeling of exhaustion, loneliness and isolation, for me a visual interpretation of the rebel held enclave of Ghouta.

A boy is seen during shelling in the town of Hamoria, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

A striking portrait of a man accused of being an ISIS bomber is seen through a complex web of vertical and horizontal black lines and shadows created by the cell bars. What for me really makes Muhammad Hamed’s image very intriguing are the dark and shadowy figures that surround the man who stands in strong side light looking directly at you. Is this the face of a member of an organisation that has created so much fear, destruction and terror or is he innocent and wrongly accused? The alleged crime; setting off a car bomb that killed six people and injured many others in a refugee camp on the Jordan Syria border.

Five Syrians, accused of facilitating the Rukban bombings in June 2016, react during their trial at the state Security Court in Amman, Jordan, December 4, 2017.  REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

In a scene that looks like something created in Hollywood Thaier al-Sudani captures a wonderful business as key members of the Iraqi government meet with Russian oil magnates. All suited and booted they walk as if in carnival parade, their matching white helmets and red lanyards making them appear like soldiers, a troupe of dancers or victorious members of a football team leaving the field of play. A question I have; is the man on the left very tall or is his size an optical illusion? If he is in the foreground why does the man on the right appear smaller than him? If you look at the man on the right his feet he is nearer to the photographer and therefore should appear bigger? I let you think about that.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jaber al-Luaibi and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Dyukov, head of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft walk during a tour of the Badra oilfield in Kut province, Iraq December 6, 2017.   REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

In Amr Abdallah Dalsh’s football picture I think we all know what is being thought by the sportsmen in the picture; Emilano thinking ‘Please no! Please! Please no! And the referee Malang is thinking ‘No chance son, I’m not interested, move along here’. The picture is perfectly timed, the praying hands, the one eye wide open staring past the hand that lifts the whistle that’s just about to touch the referee’s lips. Wonderful and no doubt a microsecond later the shrill sound of the whistle and the moment, that Amr has frozen in time, broken.

Auckland City’s Emilano Tade appeals a decision by referee Malang Diedhiou durng their Cup World Cup match against Al Jazira in Al Ain City in United Arab Emirates December 6, 2017.   REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

 Something that never fails to intrigue me is how a small part of a picture can change the feel of an image as a whole. In Mohammed Al-Sayaghis picture of fighters attending a funeral we first look at a scene of men brandishing their weapons and shouting, what we can assume, are slogans of retribution and oaths of undying revenge for their fallen comrade in front of a mosque, an angry and aggressive picture. What softens the mood is the man on the right doing a selfie. It seems to me that he is not capturing the funeral for prosperity, historical documentary or potential propaganda; he is capturing himself, for himself. 

Houthi fighters attend the funeral of their comrades who were killed during the recent clashes in Sanaa, Yemen December 7, 2017.   REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Sayaghi

Although taken last March but only published this week as part of a special report is would be hard for me not to include Luc Gnago's picture of what appears to be two men on a white cloud looking at darken clouds in the skies. Personally I might have been tempted to crop it to remove the brown earth at the bottom of the frame, but the dark tone does help to balance the composition against the dark skies. Either way a fun and gentle image. Click here to see the rest of Luc's pictures and the special report about Monsanto. 

Farmers work in a cotton market in Soungalodaga village near Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso March 8, 2017.   REUTERS/Luc Gnago