Sport is a dominant theme at the moment, obviously, because of the impending start of the Olympic Games in China. 

 Nevertheless I offer no apologies for selecting this picture by Darren Staples of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Juventus’ Mauro Camoranesi clashing in mid-air during their pre-season friendly soccer match at Old Trafford in Manchester on August 6. As I looked through the file of Reuters pictures it jumped out at me, and has everything a good soccer picture should have. Of course it’s sharp, tightly composed, is shot at the height of the action and, because the players appear to be so far off the ground, it conveys a sense of drama. Also, a very simple point, but one that is often missed - the ball is in the picture!

Continuing this mini-series of highlights from the Reuters picture file, my eye was caught by Robert Galbraith’s photograph shot in California on July 29. Robert was there to photograph the fires near Yosemite National Park, and saw this figure of an angel in the remains of a home burned in the fire.

In conditions such as this it is easy for the eye to miss what is nearby, because there is so much to photograph on a large scale, and it can be exhausting to work in an area that is dangerous and physically demanding.

We know that in its normal environment the figure wouldn’t have merited a second look, but the appeal of this image is not just that it is well observed in the circumstances, but also that it is simple, and the angel itself stands as a symbol of hope amid the charred destruction.

It didn’t take long this time to find a photograph that leapt off the screen. I had intended to select the one image from the Reuters daily file that knocks your socks off. The problem is I found two!

Of course Barack Obama’s speech at the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park in Berlin has to be a contender, for the subject matter if nothing else. But subject matter is not enough. Jim Young’s picture does the trick. It is not the conventional shot of a politician talking from a dais. The composition is pleasing on the eye; it contains, in a very simple way, all the elements necessary for a news picture and, despite the fact it is almost a silhouette, the figure of the U.S. presidential candidate is unmistakable.

The other photograph is an absolute winner, and much more of a silhouette. Of course animal pictures are always popular, but Radu Sigheti’s picture of a giraffe in Kenya, with birds sitting on it’s neck, is just a very simple and elegant image that speaks for itself.

Let me explain - because of course I don’t enjoy the misfortune of others.

In some respects the advent of new technology has been a backward step for photographers, for the simple reason that it is so boring and dull to look at. Politicians, and company results press conferences, have always presented a challenge to the creative photographer because they are often visually unexciting. But trying to find a hint of expression, when the financial markets head south these days, is a nightmare, because the computer screen has taken over the traditional trading floor.

Which is why it was such a pleasure to see Brendan McDermid’s photographs last week, of the floors of the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange, where traditional looking traders displayed traditional reactions, in a traditional setting.

Yes, new technology does have some advantages. No, there is no pleasure in seeing financial markets crash. But it’s just great to see a financial story illustrated with genuine emotion, and something that we, as human beings, can identify with.

Above - Traders work in the Oil Futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York

Above - A trader works in the Oil Futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York

Above - Traders work in the Oil Futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

When looking through the daily file of photographs moved by Reuters to newspapers, magazines and web-sites around the world, it’s the breadth and quality that makes the biggest impression.

Having said that, there is usually one image that sticks and lingers in the mind. It might not be a news picture, or it might be an image that strikes a chord with me and nobody else.

But what is undeniable is the pleasure of being surprised by something unexpected.

Take this photograph of a Ferris wheel against a stormy evening sky, shot by Heino Kalis in Valencia last week.    

 

It’s not related to a story. It’s not a photograph of anything we haven’t seen before. But it is well observed. It is also very simple, very uncluttered and very effective.

An interesting challenge is how to tell the story without including the subject in the photographs. It’s interesting because, by avoiding the obvious and familiar, sometimes a greater sense of the occasion, and the emotions involved,  can be conveyed.

For example, take the current visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United States.  Clearly the Pope was the centre of attention, and there are very good photographs of him that were taken and published in newspapers and on websites around the world. Photographs of him bring pleasure and comfort to millions.

 The fact that he is in the States is of interest too, and it is important to take photographs that locate him there. On the other hand we are familiar with photographs that show the Pope in person, and what strikes me when looking at the Reuters coverage of the current visit is just how much the passion, reverence and joy felt by so many, can be conveyed in photographs that don’t show him in at all.

 

Jason Reed’s photograph of the red carpet being unrolled at Andrews Air Force Base sets the scene for the arrival of a VIP

But it’s the facial expressions that truly convey the emotion felt - simply put, pure joy.

 

Erin Siegal’s photograph of a nun waiting for the Pope to arrive at a rally in New York conveys the joy perfectly

 

Max Rossi captures the uninhibited emotions of a nun at the same event

This girl can’t contain her emotions any longer as the Pope arrives at the New York rally, captured by Max Rossi.

But it isn’t just faces that convey emotion - there other scenes that are just as graphic. However, I was trying to choose photographs that do not actually show the Pope, but as this is a photograph of a photograph,  I don’t really think it’s cheating!

Brian Snyder’s photograph of a woman holding up a greeting  at the New York rally conveys an emotion in a very simple way.

For the photographer there are numerous rich images to observe and capture, that serve to convey the emotion in a very elegant manner.

 

Max Rossi’s photograph shows a bishop waiting for the arrival of the Pope at the Saint Joseph seminary in New York

 

Brian Snyder’ photograph, shot at the same event,  gives an idea of the length of time people were prepared to wait to see the Pope

 

This photograph by Larry Downing speaks for itself, although I have left the original caption to give all the facts any picture editor could need -

“Sister Chantal Peyton of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in Newark, Delaware, (L), uses a pair of binoculars next to Sister Julie Horseman of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in Washington D.C., in the stadium before Pope Benedict XVI conducts Mass in Washington Nationals Park during his visit to the United States, April 17, 2008″

Of course, a Papal visit attracts people with a variety of views, and the photograph below conveys emotion too, albeit different from any of the other pictures here.

 

Larry Downing’s photograph shows demonstrators waving signs in front of the White House as the Pope leaves after attending a welcome ceremony

…and finally, here a photograph of the Pope (even though you can’t see him), which is aesthetically pleasing - but the heavy security reminds us that a visit by the Pope arouses emotions in some people who might want to take their feeling further than waving banners.

 

Carlos Barria’s photograph shows the Pope, in the Popemobile,  passing St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on April 19

The State visit to Britain by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni drew widespread attention not the least from the massed ranks of photographers and televison crews keen to record the couple’s every step.  No cliche was left unturned as members of the press vied with one another to describe their partnership.

But… a state visit by a French President would always draw interest, and with the added glamour angle you had a winning formulae.  The drab world of formal visits was to be given a makeover - I for one hoped so. In my view, the visit was not so much a breath of fresh air blowing away the cobwebs, but a mix of contrasting elements standing together. With this visit we hoped to  see contrasts of age, style and appearance. In addition the sense of anticipation was heightened because the people involved represented the historic differences between the English and the French. Would they come together in a new entente cordiale? Would the charge be led by the French President? Not on your life, it was led by his wife, the amabassador extraordinaire.

Did Carla Bruni-Sarkozy disapoint? Here are the photographs, judge for yourselves.

(Apologies for the cliches and metaphors - all of them mixed)

France’s first lady Carla Bruni is off to a good start as she rides in a carriage with Britain’s Prince Philip on route to Windsor Castle. Photograph by: Darren Staples

 

Bruni rides in a carriage on route to Windsor Castle.    Photograph by: Darren Staples

Usually there are are so many obstacles that either get in the way or need to be included in a photograph, that simple clean shots can often be missed. Here is a good example of a simple but solid picture of Bruni with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.   Photograph by:Kieran Doherty

 

This photograph shows the many contrasting elements of the visit, as  Bruni  speaks with Prince Philip during the welcoming ceremony at Windsor Castle.  Photograph by : Philippe Wojazer

It’s wasn’t all about Bruni of course, and we needed a pciture of her husband too. However, his expression tells us more about her (or, at least, his feelings for her) than about the situation.  She is applauding him after his address to members of both Houses of Parliament at Westminster.  Photograph by: Stephen Hird

Another example of the expression on the faces of others telling us something about Bruni herself, as she and Nicolas Sarkozy meet war veterans after laying a wreath at the statue of General de Gaulle in London. Photograph by: Darren Staples

 

The mood of the moment captured perfectly as Sarkozy and Bruni share a laugh as he delivers a speech at a meeting with the French community in London. Photograph by: Philippe Wojazer        

 

Here is another example of a simple, clean and effective photograph as Bruni visits the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.    Photograph by: Kieran Doherty

 

Bruni could hardly put a foot wrong, all she had to do was turn up to impress, as she proved when she arrived for a state banquet at the Guildhall.   Photograph by: Stephen Hird

The term ‘multimedia’ is used quite liberally these days, and means different things to different people. In reality it is an opportunity to be grasped, and will probably be what we choose to make it.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq conflict Reuters has produced a multimedia piece. It pulls together the combined expertise of stills photographers, video camera operators , graphic artists, text journalists, and the multimedia producers. The various professionals are given freedom within their own discipline, and the different formats are brought together in a unified medium. The still image has not been devalued, but its role has been transformed. If this piece is an example of the multimedia project of the future, the still image is there too, as powerful as ever.

They say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This has been true of the photographic coverage of the Shuttle launches where, surrounded by the latest technology, the retrieval of images from remote cameras close to the launch site had been slowed down because photographers were forced to wait for hours after lift-off before retrieving the cameras.

However, attempting to improve its service by speeding up the delivery of important images, the Reuters team in the US has worked over a number of years with camera manufacturer Canon and wireless provider Sprint Mobile Broadband to offer a solution. Images from the four cameras using short telephoto lenses and set up within a few hundred yards of the launch pad were sent via wireless internet at super-fast data speeds using a uniquely designed transmitter from Canon. The images were received and passed on to editing desks from the cameras in near real time, as opposed to the hours taken in the past.

These two photographs show the set-up in place near the launch pad.

This set-up together with software developed by Reuters to receive, edit and transmit photographs has reduced the time it has taken from image retrieval from the launch pad cameras to transmission on the Reuters wire by 95 percent.

The system was used successfully for the past two launches of Atlantis and Endeavour on February 7 and March 11, 2008. Here are two photographs, taken using the system, of the March 11 launch.

It may have been a tough week for Paul MacCartney and Heather Mills,  enduring their divorce hearing at the High Court in London, but it was a tough one too for the photographers assigned to cover the case. 

It was tough for two reasons. First, because McCartney and Mills  drove into the court car park, giving the
photographers only seconds to pick them out as they walked between vehicle and court entrance. The second reason was the pressure on the photographers, faced with almost identical scenarios on each day of the hearing, to shoot a varied file of photographs.

However, although the photographers  had a difficult job they could be forgiven for feeling a touch of sympathy for the reporters assigned to cover the proceedings. The judge hearing the case, behind closed doors, gave strict instructions to McCartney, Mills and the assembled legal teams, not to leak any details of the case to the media. This meant that the reporters had virtually nothing to report on, except the expression and demeanour of  both McCartney and Mills. The only way they could study the expressions was from the photographs.

It therefore fell to the photographers to capture day-to-day differences in expressions and body language outside the court, thus telling the story, as far as it could possibly be told under the circumstances.

The week started well. The photographers knew that there was a chance that they would see nothing at all. But McCartney and Mills drove into a part of the car park that was visible from the pavement, knowing they were in full view of the assembled media.

       

Stephen Hird’s photograph of Heather Mills arriving on day one (above centre), and Kieran Doherty’s photographs of Paul McCartney leaving the court, certainly gave the reporters something to write about. More importantly, at the end of the first day we had photographs that at the beginning of the day we doubted would be seen at all.

Day two, and the expressions and body language told a different story from the day before. McCartney, Mills and the photographers had quickly found their stride - the photographers knew which entrance to stand at, and McCartney and Mills seemed to understand that their demeanour could influence public opinion, and attempted to appear cool in front of the cameras.

     

By day three it was clear that photographs of McCartney and Mills were not going to be in short supply, and it was time to look for something more interesting. But first, of course, there was no excuse for not shooting the, by now, routine arrival pictures.

  

But then the photographers found time to experiment, as the following images show. The equivalent of a cyclist standing on the saddle on one leg and shouting out ‘Look no hands.’

              

On day four there was nothing left to prove, except to make it all look so easy, with some elegant and solid pictures.

        

         

Day five at last,  and the photographs continued to flow as the daily events had become established as a ritual.

        

         

At the beginning of the week there was no certaintly that the pair would be seen at all, and by the end we all wondered why we had ever doubted it.

However, before we happily pat each other on the back - the hearing is set to continue…

All photographs by Dylan Martinez and Kieran Doherty, unless otherwise credited.