Heard the one about the bloke who gets a new job offer? He weighs up the pros and cons of whether to accept it: after all, it will mean moving to a bigger  town,  him and his wife getting to know new neighbours, the kids settling into a different school and finding a new nanny, and him forming  a fresh  circle of mates to shoot the breeze with after work. He ponders for a while, then thinks why not   a change is as good as a rest, and after all you only live once

A pretty normal tale of  middle-class family life decisions only, if the bloke in question is footballer - sorry, soccer player - David Beckham - any career move is a media event.  And so, finally, the Becks roadshow rolled into town at  Los Angeles International Airport late Thursday evening and he officially became a new signing on the L.A. Galaxy roster on  Friday 13…
Used to covering  big film premieres, festivals like Cannes and perennial UK awards like the BAFTAs and The Brits, even I was surprised by the scale of the media interest and the slickness of the PR apparatus, there to facilitate coverage.

 Indeed, at LAX airport, there was no bunfight -  no unsightly fighting between camera crews, journalists and photographers running backwards and tripping over bewildered passengers, in the pursuit of the picture. The LA Airport Authority had co-ordinated a press pen along a hundred yard long walk-through to the side of the Terminal. A press officer appeared with a tannoy  giving regular (and accurate) updates on arrival time, which appeased myself, colleague Danny Moloshok and twitchy media who had arrived many hours earlier to bag prime spots. The sharp elbows in the press but were familiar but Mr and Mrs Beckham did their catwalk thing and passed down the whole walkway together with model-esque  poses, giving everyone the required time to get the picture. No need to stake out different exits, no need chase the lmo trying to make car shots. The only thing missing was a red carpet.

To the LA Galaxy ground, Friday morning to find stage, photo positions, advertising banners with DBs face and VIP seats all arranged for maximum impact. Indeed, the PRs  were so obliging that the pragmatically brought forward the whole signing show by an hour to make UK deadlines. Posh arrived first (so as not to divert attention from the spectacle of the soccer player with his new number 23 shirt), she is wearing an all pink getup and tirelessly playing to the cameras,  even I cant miss her as I struggle with the menu settings on my new Canon cameras. 

Stage presentation, ticker tape, crowds, shirt signings are all shot smoothly by Reuters colleagues Lucy Nicholson and Mike Blake, she filing raw pictures via Reuters Paneikon software and he hard wired into his laptop, on high speed internet Sprint data cards to deliver images to the editor in New York so that many strong pictures are on the wires  before David has left the stage.

 ……..and then it is over.

After all the hype, the choreography by the Beckham PR machine is impeccable and undeniably impressive. The range of interests from global news agencies, print, radio, televison and online media outlets which makes us all - including Reuters Pictures - complicit in also feeding and promoting  the Beckham industry, were matched and appetites, for the time being, sated.

But as with fast food (of which there is no shortage in L.A.) the pangs of hunger are only temporarily dulled. Aside from inevitable Pap coverage if the Beckhams pop out for a KFC Family Bucket between arranging the furniture and hanging the curtains, the next milestone will be the man kicking a ball.
 
His first predicted competitive (friendly) appearance, ankle willing, is scheduled for next Saturday against visiting UK allstar side Chelseahow coincidental is that? Not very, methinks.

Meanwhile I  am slightly baffled : Mr and Mrs Beckham were pictured leaving Heathrow on Thursday morning with three children in tow. Twelve hours later at Los Angeles airport just Mum and Dad appeared in front of the cameras. I do hope Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz arent left still trying to fill in their Department of Justice and Immigration forms. It took me long enough to get right and I’ve got qualifications….

Toby Melville is a Reuters photographer based in London

Its 0600 am Place de la Concorde, Paris and still four hours to go before the annual Bastille Day parade begins. Jean-Paul Pelissier and I negotiate our way past the sleepy all-night security guards surrounding the giant presidential review stand especially erected for the occasion and struggle up the back stairs with some 100 kilos of equipment.

 There is one specific image I am after today. The challenge is to bag a clean, tight frame of Frances president Sarkozy surrounded by the mounted Republican guard as he waves from a command car driving down the Champs Elysee. This year we have a new president so it becomes more important not to screw up. Unfortunately this president is a tad shorter than Chirac so the challenge is even greater.
Working against us:

1: A mere 15 second window of time to make the picture during which the president comes into view (some half mile away) until his accompanying riders are no longer seen in the background. We really are talking about a very, very long throw here!

2: The heat waves at such a distance render everything soft (Sarkozy riding in a jeep amongst 150 steamy horses does not help either). So we prayed for overcast weather. But this was not to be and the temperature at 0600 was already over 30 degrees, rising rapidly. The same image in years past had been made with a 600mm and 2x doubler or 800mm f5.6 but had always required a large pull and plenty of sharpening because of the heat distortion.

….right around here should do the trick

Working in our favour:

1: A thermos full of strong expresso.

2: The Beast! A 1200-1700mm f5.6 IF-ED Nikon zoom converted to Canon. The tripod a gigantic Manfroto with a video head.

The photo position on the review stand is very narrow and photogrpahers are usually packed in like sardines, which is why we are there real early.  Even those using regular long lenses and monopods are frowned on by the military press attaché. Our lens instantly grabbed his attention as we proceeded to occupy a good part of the 3 meter wide press box. Ooh la la, it is too BIG Monsieur, it will
not FIT !!!But it did.

Mal readies “The Beast” 

 The two of us set up The Beast, using, with abandon, many meters of Reuters tape to secure the position.
 For those wondering, the 1200-1700 is manual focus (remember that?), but it is in
fact easier to shoot this picture manually than with an autofocus, which has trouble locking onto a tiny figure amongst hundreds of riders bobbing up and down.

Jean Paul took his 300-800mm to another nearby podium to shoot from the opposing
angle.

By the time the parade started at 10am it was over 35 degrees. President Sarkozy climbed abord the open command car at the top of the Champs Elysee some 2 miles away and I watched through 1700 millemeters of glass as the shimmering mirage-like image slowly descended Paris massive avenue. After about 15 minutes, Sarkozys vehicle, surrounded by the riders, was almost within range.

The Canon Mk IIn was set up with two cards, one recording high quality JPGs the other (SD) recording RAW. With only manual settings possible between the Nikon lens and Canon body, the excellent light allowed a healthy 2000thth at f.11 at 800 asa, more than enough to compensate for the considerable lens shake.

But then things started to go pear-shaped. President Sarkozy, known for his exuberant U.S style politics, ordered the entire parade stopped as he jumped from the command car half-way down the Champs Elysees and plunged into the crowd to greet the astounded bystanders and tourists. Luckily, Paris staffer Philippe Wojazer who had been standing by at the Elysee Palace press room had caught wind of Sarkozys plan and had ran the short distance from the palace to be there just in time. Chirac would never have dared such a break from tradition.

…..he’s in there somewhere!!

Sarkozy returned to the command car and continued the descent of the Avenue, but it took him a few moments to regain his composure and start waving to the crowd again.
This was right in my target area. With only seconds left to go until the riders moved out of frame, I focussed in on Sarkozy, a nice large image in the viewfinder, but he was waving only to one side of the avenue, his hand mostly blocking his face. Then it was over.

Indeed a lot of time and effort for a less-than-perfect frame. But we did push the limits a lot further than the opposition, who were there with their standard 600mms and monopods.

Whether it be intelligent use of remotes, trying unusual lenses, using new untested technology or simply taking the risk on a totally unorthodox shooting position, daring to be different is what distinguishes Reuters photographers from the rest. After more than 30 years in this business the biggest kick is still from taking a measured risk and pulling it off.

Who knows, if it’s overcast, perhaps well try our parade again next year with The Beast and maybe add a doubler! Lets say 3400mm and be there!

Mal Langsdon is Reuters Head of Pictures Operations for  France, BENELUX, Italy, Iberia and Greece, based in Paris
 

The following ran on Reuters on Monday July 16 2007 at 10:36 EDT  

Reuters seeks U.S. probe into killing of Iraqi staff

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Reuters on Monday asked the U.S. military to conduct a full and objective investigation into the killing last week of two of its staff in Iraq after evidence emerged casting doubt on explanations given for their deaths.

Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40, were killed in Baghdad on Thursday in what witnesses said was a U.S. helicopter attack and which police in a preliminary report called “random American bombardment”.

The U.S. military in a statement issued just after midnight on Thursday described the incident as a firefight with insurgents. It has said the killings were being investigated.

“Our preliminary investigation raises real questions about whether there was fighting at the time the two men were killed,” said David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters.

“For the sake of their memory and for the sake of all journalists in Iraq we need a thorough and objective investigation that will help us and the military learn lessons that will improve the safety of journalists in the future.”

Residents and witnesses interviewed by Reuters said they saw no gunmen in the immediate area where Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh were killed in Baghdad’s al-Amin al-Thaniyah neighborhood.

They said they were not aware of any clashes in the area leading up to the Apache helicopter attack around 10.30 am local time.

Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh had gone to the area after hearing of a U.S. air strike on a building around dawn that day.

On Sunday, the U.S. military returned to Reuters two digital cameras that belonged to Noor-Eldeen which were taken by American soldiers from the site of the deaths.

No pictures taken by Noor-Eldeen on July 12 show clashes between militants and U.S. forces. The pictures show no gunmen, nor residents running for cover.

The U.S. military said last week it had called in “attack aviation reinforcement” after coming under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Nine insurgents and two civilians “reported as employees for the Reuters news service” were killed, the statement said.

IMAGES

One picture on Noor-Eldeen’s wide-angled lens camera was taken from behind a window that has a bullet hole in it. Two old women dressed in black are walking towards the window.

Other pictures on the wide-angled lens camera show what appears to be the aftermath of an earlier shooting incident. The images can be timed from the camera’s internal digital clock.

Around this time, Noor-Eldeen’s long-angled lens camera shows four frames of a U.S. military humvee at a crossroads.

What appears to be the last picture taken while Noor-Eldeen was alive is on his wide-angled lens camera. It came some 10 minutes after he photographed the two women.

The picture shows the top of someone’s head who appears to be falling to the ground or crouching as dust sprays off the top of a wall.

Some 20 minutes later several shots on the wide-angled lens camera show the lower legs of a U.S. soldier and another soldier’s shadow. It appears the camera is being carried and being bumped by a leg, resulting in several frames being shot. 

More than three hours later, two more pictures were taken on the wide-angled lens camera. They show a slightly out of focus American soldier sitting in what appears to be a barrack.

ACCESS TO EVIDENCE SOUGHT

Schlesinger said Reuters was seeking the following from the U.S. military in Baghdad:

** An explanation of why the two cameras were confiscated.

** Access to any cameras onboard the Apache helicopters that were involved in the incident.

** Access to any voice communications between the helicopter crews and U.S. ground forces.

** Access to reports from the unit involved in the incident, in particular a log of any weapons taken from the scene.

Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh were among three Reuters employees killed in Baghdad in the past week.

Gunmen shot dead an Iraqi who worked as a translator for Reuters last Wednesday. His family have asked that the name of their son, 30, not be mentioned.

Two other Iraqi journalists working for Reuters have been killed by American soldiers since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Two foreigners, a Palestinian and a Ukrainian, have also been killed by American troops.

The U.S. military has said its soldiers acted lawfully in those cases.

Iraq is the world’s most dangerous country to report.

The Committee to Protect Journalists in New York has estimated that at least 149 reporters and media assistants have been killed since 2003. The vast majority have been Iraqis.

Dean Yates is Reuters Bureau Chief, Iraq 

So frequent is the incidence of violent death in Iraq now that news media tend to report only multiple fatalities — fifty killed by a truck bomb, the bodies of thirty workmen found in a Baghdad suburb, five killed by an improvised roadside bomb. These numbers have no faces and it is left to the photographers and camera crews to show us the people behind the statistics. Even so these events are unfolding a world away from many of us but when colleagues and friends are among the victims the scale of the suffering is brought into pin sharp focus.

Yesterday two Reuters colleagues, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh were killed in Baghdad. Namir was only 23 but had already produced a body of work which stands as testament to his talent and energy and the potential he will never now fulfil. Saeed, 40, married with four children was not a journalist but no less dedicated to covering the news and one of the largely unsung local heroes without whom it would be impossible to report the story on the ground.

The following are among the tributes to the two men received from colleagues and friends.

Dean Yates, Baghdad bureau chief: “Namir and Saeed were much loved members of the Baghdad bureau. They were always smiling and cheerful despite the horror in their country and the risks they took in their work. Their deaths leave a big hole in the Baghdad operation that will never be filled. We deeply mourn the loss of our colleagues and friends. The Baghdad bureau has been flooded with messages of sympathy from Reuters staff all over the world. This is a testament to the bravery and dedication of our Iraqi staff.”

Alastair Macdonald, former Baghdad bureau chief: “It seems like yesterday Namir was dancing with us in the garden, taking pictures all the while, and Saeed was smiling proudly, always seeming like he was looking after us all. We are all going to miss them both terribly. Namir was our favourite little brother with a big heart and a great talent, who achieved great things in such a short time.”

Steve Crisp, Middle East Pictures Editor: “On Namir, what can I say but such a tragic waste of such an outstanding young talent. Namir had boundless enthusiasm and always wanted to help. I will treasure the time I spent sat in the garden in 45 degrees plus heat filing pictures from my laptop over the satphone because the office comms were down and watching him work on setting up colleagues laptops and satphones into the early hours. I can still see him walking out of the compound with his cameras slung over his shoulders laughing with Saeed on his way to his last assignment.”

Tributes specifically to Saeed Chmagh:
Thaer al-Sudani, 30, Reuters photographer, Baghdad:
“Saeed was a driver who truly protected us photographers. He would always be at our side no matter how much risk he was putting himself in. Many of us felt he was a better shield than an armoured vehicle. He would always tell me that he would not hesitate to lose his life to protect one of us. Sadly, he was right.”

Saad Shalash, 28, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“Abu Salwan had a kind heart with no sectarian hatred. He loved his work and always protected the journalists. He would never stay out of contact with his friends for too long and would always strive to be there at your time in need. He never upset anyone and was always a very quiet man.”

Muhannad Mohammed, 35, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“He was a very simple person who avoided trouble at all costs. He helped everyone and would never let two colleagues argue. Whenever someone did he would mediate to ensure we kept a friendly atmosphere in the bureau.”

Atheer Salim, 28, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“I knew him before the war even began. He was a man of principles and high values. He used to always think of his family, especially his mother and father who needed constant medical care after his younger brother died in an accident. He was the only man who supported them and three other families. He was the peacemaker of the office.”

Mussab Al-Khairalla, 25, Reuters reporter, Baghdad:
“Saeed was a very humble and polite gentleman. He was a very loyal friend who was there for you at every moment. Saeed supported three families as well as his parents but never complained of the burden and even committed himself to helping other families in his neighbourhood.”

——————————–

Tributes to Namir Noor-Eldeen:

Thaer al-Sudani, Reuters photographer, Baghdad:
“Namir was a brother before he was a colleague. His presence always lightened up the mood in the office. He was a very courageous man who had a great eye for a photograph. He was a very generous man who began to give away a lot of his belongings to friends. He had all the attributes of a great gentleman.”

Sattar Raheem, 40, Reuters cameraman, Baghdad:
“We always remember his smile. He was a special man who was trustworthy and always keeps his word.”

Saad Shalash, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“However I describe this man I will not be doing him justice. If you asked him for money, he would borrow off someone else to help you out. He always felt an obligation to help the weak.”

Muhannad Mohammed, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“I treated Namir like a younger brother. He always asked me for his opinion and I felt he was very happy with his succesful career and had huge ambitions for his future.”

Atheer Salim, Reuters driver, Baghdad:
“I loved his outgoing personality. He loved to help whenever he could. The nice thing about him was his unlimited generosity in addition to his bravery and cool head. We used to nickname him “The Tiger” in the office because the word fear doesn’t appear in his dictionary.”
Namir was one of the first Iraqi photographers that I met in Baghdads office before my embed with U.S. troops this March and he was so curious how to fix Kareem Raheems, another wide angle lens with a simple mini screwdriver. So I made him happy to check his photo equipment to tie up all his screws. Following his work over the past it was fantastic now to know personally the face behind his pictures, to talk about photography, laugh about the life during dinner in the courtyard of the Reuters office and to discuss about the daily life in Iraq. I was curious to listens when he was talking about his daily life during this terrible war. The hard working circumstances when he get out to cover a story and he was like sponge when I told him about how it is to life and work in a peaceful country, like Germany. What a gap, but both of us are journalists and Iraqi journalists are risking daily their life to witness the war for the world that we dont forget what really happens in the streets of Baghdad.

Every one of us has to have a lot of respect about their work! Saeed Chmagh was one of the drivers, who drove me back to the airport before living for Amman and before we said good bye, we said to each other: take care and be save! Sometimes its just a catchword, but when you work and live in Iraq you hope always that y return home save and alive. We lost two fantastic colleagues and persons.

Chris Helgren, Reuters Chief Photographer, Rome:

“In the world’s most dangerous country, where the deathtoll is more of a statistic than tangible reality, it would be easy to shuffle off the memories of another two journalists. But this is more difficult given the body of work produced by photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, who was killed along with longtime and driver Saeed Chmagh. While the questions of who did it or why is up in the air, friends and colleagues are grieving, and photographers will see yet another great portfolio pass into the archives.

When he first came to my attention, Namir was an energetic teenager in the northern city of Mosul whose family was involved in photography and video. He took an interest in the trade and with training, and a few critiques, it quickly became obvious he was going to become one of the new stars in Iraqi photojournalism. He had an urgency that suited the front pages of the news business but also a tender eye that brought humanity via quiet moments to a vicious war. One of the first pictures he sent me was of bewildered U.S. Army soldiers surrounded by a flock of sheep, another I remember was of a wounded Kurdish girl with her legs in bandages while wrapped in a faux fur coat, or one of a boy picking up shards of broken plates in the family dining room after an ammunition dump blast rocked their house.

Unfortunately, instead of the sight of UK photographers arriving en masse to a football match or entertainment event, Iraqis head off to work to document tragedy. There are few “good news” stories to be had in this war, and wars by definition are tales of violence. And to get there, drivers like Saeed Chmagh are indispensible. Saeed had a reputation of being fiercely loyal, and appeared fearless to me. If you ever needed to get quickly to a dangerous area, passing chicanes of barbed wire and boobytraps, Saeed was your man. But he also had a very quiet, loving side and spoke often of his kids. He leaves a wife and four children.

The deaths of these two men will hit the small photographic community in Baghdad very hard. They are the latest in a far too long list of our colleagues, from several news agencies, who have fallen in this war. They will not be the last, but I would hope that they would be remembered as people and not numbers.”

Bob Strong, former Chief Photographer, Iraq
Namir was an editors dream. He was the best photographer in Mosul, he was on top of every story, and if he didn’t shoot the pictures himself, he knew where to find them. His nose had been broken more than once, he’d been shot in the leg, detained, harrassed and threatened, but his quick smile and energy never faded. He lived more in 22 years than most people do in a lifetime and it’s very very sad to know I’ll never get one of his bearhug greetings again.

Saeed was such a gentle man in a chaotic and violent world, I sometimes wondered how he managed to survive. He took me to the Green Zone one day in 2004, and on the way back he got a call from his wife. His face lit up as he spoke to her, and when the call ended he turned to me smiling and said by way of explaination in his broken english, ‘my habibti, my wife, my love’. In the midst of suffering and daily carnage, Saeed could still laugh and show up for work everyday.

My deepest sympathies to the families of Namir and Saeed.

A tribute to Namir’s work has been compiled by his colleagues.

Kandahar Air Field (KAF) is a sprawling NATO military base in southern Afghanistan, ringed by desert and mountains and home to some 10,000 foreign troops and support staff, all living inside the wire, meaning within a secure perimeter set up by foreign forces. It is built on a swamp and smells like it too. “Emerald Lake” is the festering cesspool emitting sulphur fumes that permeate the grounds. Pity the Romanians whose tents line its bubbling shores.

On my first day in Afghanistan, camp is a sweltering mess of muddy roads due to unheard of summer rains hitting the desert. Kandahar town is flooded and houses are collapsing due to a week of precipitation. Farmers crops are at risk of rotting, which could makea lean winter season even leaner. I’m here for a three week embed with Canadian troops and my tent, shared with several other Canadian hacks, is three inches deep in water. My folding army bunk hovers above the slop.

The base is impressive, with all the various nationalities of the NATO force living in their own tented areas, protected by reinforced concrete barriers. Most people gravitate towards the American facilities. They have a full-sized basketball court and Olympic-sized gym and weight room. There is a mini strip mall called the Boardwalk, complete with Tim Hortons, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Green Beans, which is just like Starbucks and provides all the usual options ranging from blueberry muffins and cheesecake to mocha frappe lattes, world music CDs and “Oral Fixation” breath mints. All the clients carry guns slung over their shoulders or on hip holsters. There was a sushi restaurant, but it closed down after a salmonella outbreak. The Amerian PX store is awesome, selling everything from Sports Illustrated (swimsuit issue) and Esquire magazines, recent DVDs, camping clothes and gear, hunting knives, gun cleaning equipment, junk food, pet food, foldable deck chairs, shelving units, stereos, computers and other electronics. I can buy none of these things where I live in Africa and since it’s all subsidised by George W., prices are fantastically low. I do some shopping.

Theres also a camp massage parlour, but without “the happy ending.” I try it anyway. The masseuse is a stocky Kyrgystani woman actually named Olga. She smells likes onions and beetroot and gives a massage that still hurts two days later.

Walking back to my tent, I’m offered a lift in a pick-up truck by a drawling grunt from Arkansas who introduces himself as “Bulldawg” and tells me a lewd joke about the difference between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Keeping to the speed limit, Bulldog takes me on a 16km/hr tour of the base, near the old dumping ground for all the rusting Soviet hardware from previous failed efforts to win a war here, and along the air strip where Chinook helicopters clatter in and out of camp.

This is a nice place to run come evenin time, good view of the mountains, nice sunset n all. But dont do it alone. A mortar round come in an tag you and you be stuck here, aint no-one to get help. Theres Taliban over there watchin us right now, you can be sure.

Bulldog laughs when I asked whether the Americans also have a rule like the Canadians about non-fraternization (i.e., no sexual relations allowed on base).

Awww, thats bullshit man. We can die any day and they want us to stop livin? Hell no.

The Americans do have the same rule about fraternization and the same ban on all alcohol, but the Dutch dont. They are allowed to drink and shag as much as they like. I wouldnt be surprised if they had another kind of coffee shop on their tented grounds.

I must stop writing now. I’ve eaten too many Oreo cookies and feel kinda sick. Plus, there’s a Chicken Royal with cheese dinner awaiting me at Burger King. Life is rough in war time. Soon I’ll find out how different life is “Outside the Wire.”

Finbarr O’Reilly is a Reuters photographer based in West Africa. Originally from Canada, he is on assignment in Afghanistan covering Canadian military operations against Taliban forces.

From Oleg Popov, Reuters Chief Photographer Israel and Palestinian Territories.

Hawara…..this is the name of the biggest army check-point on the West Bank, seen as a symbol of the occupation, dividing the southern and northern territories and controlling the movement of Palestinians from Nablus and Jenin. After several cases of stolen cars with Israeli number plates (Israeli are yellow, Palestinian green) appearing in and around Nablus, we received a fax from the Israeli army commander in northern West Bank, banning the entry of cars with yellow number plates into Nablus.

The same day the Israeli army entered Balata refugee camp, on the outskirts of Nablus and as I drove towards Hawara in my Israeli registered Mitsubishi I contemplated the prospect of lugging 50 kilos of camera equipment through the half kilometre-long check-point. I decided to try the direct approach with the broadest possible smile on my face I drove up to the young Israeli soldier at the barrier and produced my press card. Did you get the fax banning Israeli cars from entering Nablus?” he asked. This car is not Israeli, it is JapaneseI joked. “Really? OK, go ahead, he said and waved me through. Laughing like crazy, I drove slowly into Nablus.

If you are keen to work 24/7, without days off for months, risking your life on daily basis but working with some of the best and most highly motivated photographers on the planet to cover a huge variety of news and feature stories, then the Jerusalem office is the right place to be. It has a unique mix of Israeli, Palestinian and foreign photographers, working together as a unified Reuters team. Some of our Palestinian photographers are based in the West Bank, others are in the Gaza Strip. Two of our team are Palestinians with Israeli IDs which enable them to work in Israel as well as the Palestinian territories.

After nearly three years here I am still surprised by the speed at which a story develops. Within a few hours a minor incident can develop into a local war. Coverage and safety decisions need to be made in seconds. A wrong call on my part can send photographers in the wrong direction and cost us key pictures or worse.

For me the Gaza Strip is a special place. Most of the stories in the region begin and end there. With the risk of kidnapping over the past few months Gaza has not been a foreigner-friendly place but since Hamas forcibly took control they have welcomed foreign journalists and guaranteed their safety. Several days ago I went to Gaza to see the guys and was shocked by the discipline of the drivers in its normally chaotic streets. When I commented on it I was given the simple explanation, “if someone drives through a red light, the Hamas traffic policeman shoots out his tyres”.