Dr Wave Kashweeka,
Principal Veterinary Officer stands over the carcass of an elephant found near
Seronga, in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Thalefang
Charles
At first glance we
are not sure if the screen on the left is a TV or a mirror. Ari Jalal has used
the mirror hanging in the temporary accommodation to enable us to both look in
and out of this room at the same time. We
get a sense of people being busy, the hurried tension of a small space, change
happening. I love the body language of the young man in the doorway, as though
he is saying “come on, get a move on”, but can’t out of respect to the others
he shouldn’t really rush. Read on here.
Yazidi displaced
family of Nayef al-Hamo is reflected in the mirror as they prepare to leave
their home in Sharya town and head back to Sinjar following the outbreak of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and economic crisis, near Dohuk, Iraq July 3,
2020. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A wide and slightly compositionally chaotic
picture from Philimon Bulawayo as the eye chases around looking for a focal
point. It’s rather visually uncomfortable with figures running out of the frame
left and right and the line of trees and sky cutting mercilessly across the
frame into the head of the central figure, who seems to be coming up for air.
But it’s what written on the sign that comes as bit of a shock and is
uncomfortable reading.
Health workers
carry placards as they protest against economic hardship and poor working
conditions during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Harare,
Zimbabwe, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
Two terrific pictures
by two photographers working on one story about the convergence of the Nile. In
the first by Zohra Bensemra we are immediately intrigued by the brown swirling
mass “penned” in by trees left and right, a centrally placed figure making us
wonder what is going on. I love the detail of his shoes on the right-hand side
of the frame and the dappled light coming through the rough and ready roofing
as we slowly begin to understand he is squashing mud with his feet. Read on here.
David Plantino,
35, a pottery maker from South Sudan, kneads mud with his feet, that will be
used to make pottery at a workshop in an area known as the 'Potters Village' in
Alqamayir, Omdurman, Sudan February 16, 2020. "I have been a pottery maker
for 7 years, I relied on the Nile river like most people around me here for
water and the mud", Plantino said. "Both are the foundation for
people who rely on pottery to make a living." REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Mohamed Nureldin
Abdallah entertains us with a beautiful abstract curve through his picture
leaving us unsure of a sense of scale. We are initially confused by the flat
grey shape that has a mirror-like quality and then the abandoned chairs snap
into focus. We are looking at the waters edge of the Nile.
Chairs are left
facing the banks of the Blue Nile river in Khartoum, Sudan, February 15, 2020.
REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Just how much do you want to swim in that
pool? Ahmed Jadallah’s picture is pleasing on so many levels: the colours, the
shapes, the teasing shadows of the trees and the tantalising ripples on the
water and that small figure, arms stretched out luxuriating in the warm water. Dive in and have some fun, I wish.
People swim at a
swimming pool in the Atlantis The Palm hotel, as the Emirates reopen to tourism
amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates July 7,
2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
Anees Mahyoub’s picture is striking as the
graves are so deep, dark and so close together. What is to stop the walls of
sand and mud falling in the diggers? But it’s the small details next to the sad
and ugly gaping holes that gives this image its strength: like the pickaxe
between the graves and the feet of the bystander. Read on here.
People dig graves
at a cemetery where victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are buried in
Taiz, Yemen June 23, 2020. Picture taken June 23, 2020. REUTERS/Anees
Mahyoub
A very busy but at the same time simple half-length environmental portrait by Muhammad Hamed works so well that you just want to meet this doctor. The direct eye contact draws you straight into his gentle, concerned but reassuring face past all the visual noise, his clean white jacket helping you make that journey. Once you have looked him in the eye then you can enjoy the rest of the room. I love the echo of his fingers in the brochure dispenser on the left of the image
Jordanian doctor
Nizar al Halaby poses at his clinic in Amman, Jordan, July 5, 2020. Picture taken
July 5, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
I think Yamam al-Shaar has captured a
moment of work that seems like it will never end. A single figure, masked
against coronavirus set against a wall of boxes. Not an inch of respite for her amid the boxes
that completely fill the frame and bear down on her.
A worker wearing a
face mask holds an ice cream box inside an ice cream factory in Damascus, Syria
July 2, 2020. Picture taken July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar
Is this bride dancing in Amir Cohen’s
picture dancing? Why is she letting her beautiful wedding dress get dirty? Why
on earth would she want to be photographed in an area that looks like an
industrial estate? All these questions raised by a beautifully composed and
side lit picture enables the viewer to make up their own story for this strong and
affectionate standalone image of happiness.
A bride walks on
the shore of the Mediterranean Sea as she is photographed before her wedding
amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ashdod, Israel July
6, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
I feel in Thomas Mukoya’s picture as if this train is bearing down on me. I am the proverbial rabbit in the headlights as others scatter left and right away from its path. An effect created by careful exposure to allow the highlight of the train’s light to burn out. A quick look at the track and you see the kink in the line so we know it’s not travelling all that fast, time enough for me to scuttle away too.
A commuter train
arrives at a makeshift station, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), at the Kibera slums, in Nairobi, Kenya July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas
Mukoya
In Mohamed Azakir’s wonderfully lit picture a yellow
cushion seems to come to life with a facial expression that sums up the whole
situation. It’s only then we notice the central figure in the gloom, and the candle
light is neither kind or romantic but a necessity as powers cuts mean no
electricity. Read on here.
Badiaa, 75, lights
a candle and a portable light to light up the room due to a power cut in
Beirut, Lebanon July 6, 2020. Picture taken July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed
Azakir
