Sam Tarling Photographer

Picking up the pieces

2012-02-13T07:48:00.003-08:00

I missed the fighting in Tripoli on Saturday but on Sunday, myself and colleagues Josh Wood and Zak Brophy went to sift through (almost still smoldering) the rubble. We saw residential apartments in both neighbourhoods that had been wrecked by RPG/Energa fire, with people from both sides claiming that the other was entirely to blame.

This scenario is old news here, these neighbourhoods have been fighting for years. However, the current conflict in Syria has given them yet another reason to have at it, and sadly, likely the the funds to do so too. During the Civil War Lebanon was a sandpit in which the world waged its wars; it'll be a sad day if this becomes the case again.

Protests and potshots in Tripoli

2012-02-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

A new sight for me at the Sunni anti-Assad protests in Tripoli (that'll be the Lebanese one) on Friday was a small female contingent, albeit separated from the male demonstrators by a rather stern chaperone.

Following the protests, fighting erupted between militias in two neighbouring yet warring districts of the city. The hardline Sunni/Salafi and Alawite communities have been at each others' throats since the civil war but things are heating up here as it's now a sectarian microcosm for the fighting across the border in Syria. More about that from the tweets of the talented Mr. Joshua Wood here and the BBC. Sadly I filed too late too make the Reuters deadline, dammit.

Apologies for the watermarks but it's still an ongoing news story and bloggers are fond of stealing pictures and not attributing them.

A sunni milita man runs beneath a Free Syrian Army flag as he heads toward the fighting.

Streets empty as gunfire rings out.

Tripoli residents cautiously peer down the street at Bab al-Tabbaneh, the Sunni neighbourhood involved in the fighting.

So much for concrete

2012-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

On January 15th, a seven story building just two blocks from my apartment collapsed, killing twenty seven of the inhabitants. While Lebanese civil society rallied around those that survived and the community mourned those that it had lost, the Lebanese government's response was nothing short of disgusting. See here, how two of the survivors were arrested while still in hospital for having incorrect work visas, and here, how the residents of an entire nearby building have been kept out of their homes because opposing political groups are fighting over who gets the kudos of sending in engineers and check that it's safe. This tragedy quickly became a photo op for Lebanon's political elite who shouted themselves hoarse trying to out do each other with condemnations and calls for investigations.

For me, this was a coup; I sold picture to Reuters, one of the biggest news organisations in the world. It's easy to feel like a vulture, gaining success from other's misfortune, but such photos and stories are essential if those responsible for such travesties are ever to be held to account.

Ghost refinery

2012-01-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe in the today's world of Gulf oil Goliaths, but back in the 80s Lebanon's Beddawi Oil Refinery was once a crown jewel in the region's petrochemical industry, well, that was according to Salim Rizk, the former shift supervisor who was kind enough to show me around the mothballed plant this week. That's him below, entering the plant's control room for the first time in 20 years. Beautiful light, decaying machinery, great access. Good day.

Unhappy holidays: Ashura 2011

2011-12-06T07:11:00.001-08:00

Anyone in need of history lesson regarding Ashura, look here. In Lebanon most of those who mark the event stick to ritual chest-smacking and non take it to the extremes as those in the southern town of Nabatiyeh. It's a bit of a gratuitous event for me, no real news value as such but visually it's certainly arresting. Walking backwards amid a large group of excitable men vigorously waving large, sharp swords takes a modicum of faith; fortunately the inevitable spatters I had to clean off myself and my gear were all due to mourners.

Once were wrestlers

2011-10-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Actually the title of this post is total crap. These guys are very much still wrestlers and the brightest and best among them are being touted by some of the more optimistic voices as a way to offer an economic alternative to cattle rustling, an problem endemic across South Sudan. Commercialising the sport would be a small but useful boost for the world's newest country, which has hardly any economy to speak of. For the most part, the people have no cash; even if they did, hardly anything is produced here and there's limited options for transporting goods so it's not much like there is much to buy in the first place.

After two weeks here it seems that the country has a long, long, journey ahead of it - a fact acknowledged by almost every one we've spoken to - but there's a generally pervasive attitude that people are proud as hell of their new country and want to do right by it.

Telegraph live blog

2011-08-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

Pics from the fighting in Tripoli's loyalist Abu Selim neighbourhood made it onto the Telegraph's live blog yesterday. If anyone reading the text is wondering why it matters if the prisoners were black or not, it's because many of Ghadaffi's troops were/are hired mercenaries from elsewhere in Africa. As a result black Africans in Libya are currently getting a hard time from the rebels. The reason why the Telegraph asked about their ethnicity here was to show that they weren't necessarily all hired guns from abroad.

Troubles in Tripoli

2011-08-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

The fighting in Tripoli over the last few days has been mainly focused around the neighbourhood of Abou Selim, a very poor and staunchly pro Gadaffi area. Rebels troops have been slowly going through the area, clearing out snipers from the buildings. As of tonight it looked like they'd 'won' the battle of Abou Selim but with nothing to stop fresh loyalists taking up postions tonight it looks like this situation could drag out for some time.

A Gadaffi soldier is captured by the rebels

Above and below: residents are caught up in the fighting

Corpses of rebels captured by Gaddafi's forces are left on the street.

Five years on

2011-08-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

This month Executive took a look at how Lebanon's industrial sector has been faring after it was devastated by Israeli air-raids during the 2006 war. Factories and industrial sites of all shapes and sizes were prime targets for Israeli bombers during the 34 day conflict.

Islamists vs Assad

2011-08-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Islamist groups in Tripoli – Lebanon's northern city – have been staging protests against the Syrian regime for a while but tonight marked their first demonstration in Beirut. The protesters apparently clashed with a pro-Assad crowd early on in the event but were soon parted by a heavy security presence. There's a good report of how the evening played out here.

Assad supporters do their best to out-shout the Islamist demonstration, separated by lines of security forces.

A small stand against Assad

2011-08-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

After the violence that has met previous demonstrations of solidarity with the people of Syria, held in Beirut, the largest such gathering - held tonight in Martyrs' Square - went off pretty much without a hitch. I'd guess around 500 Lebanese and Syrians filled the monument area, holding candles and banners. Around 25 pro-Assad demonstrators turned up at the end and a short shouting match ensued between roughly the same number of anti-Assad demonstrators, with a strong police presence between the two. The 'anti' crowd were roughly hustled back into the middle of the monument area by ISF troops but regained their 'ground' on the outer slopes of the monument to hurl a few more chants before departing.

A demonstrator takes a quiet moment amid the anti-Assad protest in Beirut's Martyrs' Square

A small group of pro-Assad demonstrators picket the protest

ISF troops push anti-Assad demonstrators away from the pro-Assad picket in a bid to defuse the standoff

If monkeys can write Shakespeare...

2011-07-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I had some actual words published, but after the Israeli army's retarded response to Lebanon's Nakba day protest (and all my newspaper gigs falling through due to Israel's even more aggressive actions on the Syrian border) I put finger to keyboard to write up the day's events for Esquire Middle East, with a little help on the background info from Mr Wood. Click on the pages below to see them at a readable size.

A revolution comes unstuck

2011-07-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

A pro-democracy protester faces off against angry residents in the Cairo neighbourhood of Abbasiyah

Egypt's revolution took a sorry turn on Saturday (July 23) night. Some thousand demonstrators left Tahrir Square and marched toward the headquarters of SCAF, the military council currently not doing the greatest job in the world of governing post-Mubarak Egypt. The march was stopped by lines of soldiers behind barbed wire out side Noor Mosque in the neighbourhood of Abbasiyah. Around half an hour after the unstoppable force of the marchers met the immovable object of the military barricade, the inevitable occurred.

I didn't see who threw what first, but soon enough the Tahrir crowd were embroiled in running street battles with local Abbasiyah residents, angered by the demonstrators' presence and apparently bolstered by the infamous 'baltigia' thugs. Rocks, bottles and bricks rained down from the surrounding rooftops and side streets as the Tahrir protestors responded in kind: trashing cars, store fronts and probably homes in the process. There may have been more protesters in Tahrir following the events of Saturday night than there had been for a while, but this seemed like no way to fix the waning popularity on the Jan 25th movement. As a doctor spectating from the neighbouring hospital said to my colleague Remco Andersen of the Dutch paper Volkskrant for whom we were both on assignment in Egypt: "Egyptians fighting Egyptians. What a mess this has become."

Popping the cover cherry

2011-07-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

So lil ol' me finally managed to get something printed on the cover of a magazine, which is nice. The subject, Othman Belbeisi, is just about one of the most interesting and genuine people you could hope to meet. After the 'shoot' he regaled me and my assistant-for-the-day Naziha Baassiri over coffee and shisha with tales of the frankly crazy situations he faces on a near daily basis. As the head honcho of the International Organization for Migration in this neck of the woods, Othman is tasked with helping the region's domestic workers - possibly the most powerless of all the social strata in this part of the word - get out of all kinds of scrapes, mostly from escaping the clutches of crazy tyrants, be they Libyan 'Leaders' or Lebanese Madames. Anyway, JO's (a Jordanian magazine) own Cory Eldridge says it far better, see his story below, along with a nice nearly-candid shot I was able to take of Othman while enjoying his tales of derring do, an amazingly elderly grandfather and why Jordanian shishas are just better.

The workers of Qatar

2011-06-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

These images were taken during a whistle-stop visit to Qatar last weekend, all (apart from the supermarket shot) were taken inside residency compounds for migrant workers – mostly Nepalese, Sri Lankan and Indian. These guys' attitude to my presence was by far the most accepting I've come across – a refreshing change from the usual ladles of suspicion heaped upon photographers. What I saw of their living conditions ranged from basic to downright disgusting; considering the profits being reaped by the development firms for which they ultimately work this situation is both unacceptable and unnecessary.

Salafis and strikes: Cairo

2011-06-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Egypt's Salafis are a conundrum. They resent their portrayal by Egyptian and Western media as

bogeymen intent on taking over the world, then tell you that, in as much, this is exactly what they'd like to see happen. The Salafis we met were very welcoming and certainly knew a thing or two about how to eat a sheep; rest assured, should a global caliphate arise it'll likely come with more good food than you can shake a Quoran at. Intrepid reporter Sarah Lynch will have a far more insightful view on this whole situation in next month's Esquire Middle East and an insight into the economic effects of labour strikes in Egypt in next month's Executive.

Israeli soldiers shoot palestinian refugees on Lebanese border

2011-05-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday 15th May, Palestinian refugees around the Middle East demonstrated against their expulsion from their homeland by Israel in 1948, calling for their 'right to return'.

Here in Lebanon, a group of around 100 refugees and their Lebanese supporters decided to express their frustration by throwing stones over the border fence below the village of Maroun al Ras. There were around eight or so Israeli soldiers on the other side of two large, substantial fences. They responded to the rock throwing by firing live rounds directly at the protestors, from about ten meters away. Look in the right hand corner of the first picture below and you can see how close they were. Look above the shoulder of the man in the picture above and you can see a fellow protestor who was shot just minutes, if not seconds before.

Up to ten protestors died yesterday and there were reports of up to 70 wounded. One eye witness saw a demonstrator who was helping another who had been shot already also get shot himself, in the back, as he helped the wounded man away from the border.
Quite how the Israelis considered this an appropriate response to the demonstrators' actions seems unbelievable.

Reasons to be cheerful

2011-04-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Refugees from the Lebanese community in Abidjan, the recently embattled Côte d'Ivoire city, arrived back in Beirut last Thursday. The Lebanese have been in Côte d'Ivoire since the late 1800s and I can only imagine how hard it must be to leave your entire life behind you; there were some truly moving moments as families were reunited. Still, worried for their loved ones or not, the guys waiting soon reverted to type as a MEA hostess (above) made her way out of the arrivals hall.

Syrian strife spills into Lebanon

2011-03-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Given the fairly firm grip Syria still holds over Lebanon, it was only a matter of time before the unrest there found its way across the border. Today a number of Syrians in Beirut took to the streets in support of Bashar Assad's regime; two protests organised somewhat provocatively in strong Sunni areas saw violence - one demonstrator was shot in the stomach in a drive by shooting, at a second protest demonstrators were set upon by onlookers. I caught up with a around 150 protestors who were yelling Assad's praises outside the Syrian embassy. After around an hour they then proceeded to march all the way back to Dora, where they'd come from this morning.

Lebanon's secular movement finds its stride

2011-03-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Exhaustive counting of the protestors who turned out today to mark their displeasure with Lebanon's sectarian malaise numbered roughly between 'rather a lot' and 'bloody loads'. It's good to see this movement gaining momentum but sadly any viable alternative to the confessional system of (mis)governance that has been slowly poisoning this country for far too many years seems far from clear.

Swapping shells in Ras Lanuf

2011-03-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday the Rebels claimed victory after exchanging artillery fire with pro Gadhaffi forces just West of Ras Lanuf. The town had seen heavy aerial bombardment the day before so we tentatively took a four hour drive South to see how things would shape up.

After hanging around the town for a bit, myself and videographer Sarah Lynch decided to head to the front a few kilometers down the road. After half an hour or so of little going on, an artillery barrage was launched by both sides lasting some 20 minutes. It was impossible to see who was achieving what in amongst it all but the day was concluded with an enormous explosion; a nearby oil refinery had gone up, sending flames some 500m high. In case you were wondering, the guy on the floor in the brown jacket got up and walked away after.

From Salloum to Benghazi

2011-03-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Refugees crowd the Egyptian border

After an almost 20-hour drive - two busses, thee cars - from Cairo to get here I'm finally in Benghazi. There were hundreds of foreign workers stranded at the border with Egypt without the money or the papers to get home.

Today I saw where the rebels are 'training' their 'troops:' young boys – one I spoke to was 15 and others looked younger – and old men, bellies and all. How effective they are is hard to fathom; reports from both sides are so wildly different it seems almost impossible to gauge what's actually happening. What is undeniable is that the generosity of many of the Libyans I have come across so far has been humbling. Yup, sounds massively cliche but none of this would be possible without them. It's dangerous here, a grenade was chucked at our hotel last night (only found out when we saw the glass being swept up this morning) but within hours volunteer security guards were all over the place. We're looked after, and it's a godsend.

Libya's new immigration authority

Training (and below)

Marching for secularism in Lebanon

2011-02-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

There are lots of things 'wrong' with Lebanon, and almost all of them are what makes it the incredible place that it is. Except Sectarianism. It is a cancer that rots this country, perpetuated by the old warlords of the civil war who went on to become politicians. These zaims, who draw their power from their religious constituents, have created a profoundly entrenched reliance on their patronage – a textbook case of 'divide and rule'.

A few hundred or so Lebanese citizens marched through Beirut today, despite a massive rain storm, to vent some anger over the seemingly unshakable stranglehold the Sectarian system and its leaders have over the country. Sadly, unlike other countries in the neighbourhood who've weeded out their perennial dictators, the situation in Lebanon is so goddam complicated; the day of the protest there wasn't even a government in power to overthrow.

Mafi benzine!

2011-02-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

If the rumour mill is right, Lebanon should be running out of petrol right about now. Drivers were panic buying on Thursday night and throughout Friday, with huge tailbacks at those gas stations that remained open. It's apparently all due to political wrangling to lower taxes on petrol (or 'benzine' as it's called here), rather than a physical lack of supply. Sadly it hasn't made a dent on the constant congestion that plagues this city.

Esquire's Cairo spread

2011-02-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneaky preview of the feature by Josh Wood and I which Esquire Middle East will be running next month. I'm quite looking forward to seeing this one in the flesh, as it were.

In and around Horsh Beirut

2011-02-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Beirut is often criticized for being a 'concrete jungle,' but between the city-proper and its southern suburbs lies a beautiful 80-acre park. Except hardly anyone is allowed in. The LA Times have the back story covered here. The surrounding neighborhoods are pretty deprived and their residents would benefit more than most from the escapism that such a place can bring.
Safe to say there's more than a few people who are upset about the waste of such a resource, and one such group Nahnoo (means 'we' in Arabic) commissioned me to take some pictures of and around the park to be used in an upcoming drive to get the place re-opened for all and sundry.
The park itself is beautiful - wander off the track and get lost among the trees and it's hard to remember you're in Beirut at all.

Mubarak's mob

2011-02-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from a Pro-Muabrak demonstration Josh Wood and I ran into last Wednesday morning, our second day in Cairo. These boys sure loved their President and filled Mohandaseen square, across the river from Tahrir, in what we were told time and time again was an effort to show the world that there was no united Egyptian voice calling for the end of Mubarak's regime.
The protest was vast and there were a huge number of legitimate demonstrators; many whom I spoke to were all-out in favor of Mubarak, like this lady here...

But there was also an element who thought that whilst he should not stand at the next election, if Mubarak were to leave immediately as per the Tahrir protester's demands, then the country would face even deeper chaos. "We don't want to be like Iraq" was one sentiment repeated over and over.

However, compared to the demonstrations in Tahrir the previous day, there was clearly far more tension, particularly aimed toward myself and Josh – who found many a shady Mukhabarat man lurking behind him whilst he spoke to members of the crowd. For every time I was stopped and often told to take peoples picture, there were those who were fairly adamant that I shouldn't be there at all.
This anti-foreign sentiment, seeded by a relentless campaign on state television that 'Israeli agitators' were posing as Western journalists, led to the somewhat crazy situation myself and Josh found ourselves in on Thursday, which eventually led to us leaving the country. Still, I managed to get a ton of stuff in the few brief days I was lucky enough to witness one of the most interesting events of recent years and I'll be getting up here as soon as I can, before y'all start saying "Sam, shut the f*ck up about Egypt."

One night in Tahrir

2011-02-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

It took a few hours of persistence to get into Tahrir square this evening, but I made it eventually. By the time I arrived, the anti-Mubarak protesters had barricaded the street by the Egyptian Museum just north of the square, using metal sheets and burned out vehicles. The protesters rained a literal hail of stones upon the pro-Mubarak 'demonstrators' – some of whom were captured and found to have security service ID's and are largely believed to be a government orchestrated 'rent-a-mob' – who had attempted to take Tahrir square earlier in the afternoon.

The traffic must have been two way - I was taken to a make shift hospital in a precinct beside the square where doctors were treating a stream of injured demonstrators.

Tonight it really felt like the Tahrir demonstrators were fighting for their survival - many of the pro-Mubarak crowd were believed to be armed with sticks, knives and such. It sounds corny to repeat, but one old guy smashing up kerbststones to be thrown said: "We are doing this for our freedom." He looked me straight in the eye and meant every word. It sent shivers up my spine.

Cairo: Heroes of the 'hood

2011-02-02T03:17:00.000-08:00

After the police disappeared from Cairo's streets and violent looters – widely believed to be in the employ of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime – caused havoc throughout the city, residents took matters into their own hands and formed 'neighbourhood committees' on every street corner. These might look like alarming pictures but they're not. The guys I spoke to last night were some of the friendliest I've met in Egypt and from a wide spectrum of society, students, professionals, shop keepers and the like, young and old, all out to 'do their bit.'

Although the fate of Egypt could still swing either way, and today pro mubarak supporters have taken to the streets, last night there was an amazing feeling of hope that just maybe a 30-years-too-late change might be possible.

Josh Wood's story about this, for the International Herald Tribune is here.

A little taste of revolution

2011-01-30T04:38:00.000-08:00

Some 400 members of Lebanon's secular Left marched on downtown Beirut today. Rightly pissed about the country's 'government' and rising food prices, the demonstrators called for change. Those I spoke to said they had been inspired by the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt-esque movement and were hoping for a revolution of their own. Maybe when the sun comes back out...
There's a good commentary on the protest at the Lebanese voices blog, here.

Anti Mubarak protest in Beirut

2011-01-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Police guarded the Egyptian embassy in Beirut today with riot gear and razor wire as around 200 or so protestors gathered to demonstrate against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the actions of Egyptian security forces over the last few days. Not exactly reminiscent of the chaos currently unfurling in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt, but, hey, every little helps.

It ends with a whimper

2011-01-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

And so Lebanon's 'Day of Rage' yesterday wound up with a few hundred clearly sectarian supporters pitching up for a bit of chanting in Martyrs' square. And a disturbing rendition of the national anthem (below). A good account of the whole sorry state of affairs can be found here, courtesy of Dana Moukhallati. The New York Times has a nice picture round-up, here.

Tires of fire

2011-01-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy day in Beirut, with a handful of hardcore Sunni supporters protesting against the selection of Najib Mikati as Lebanon's premier, after Saad Hariri's government collapsed earlier in the month.

Most of the protesting took place in the Northen city of Tripoli but some hundred (at most) demonstrators blocked off the Cola intersection for a good portion of the day, as well as other skirmishes around the city. No doubt the world's press will tell us the whole country is a ablaze, but for now, in Beirut at least, the busses are still running and everything is pretty much normal - bar the obvious.

Esquire's Alexandria spread

2011-01-20T04:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from my cold and wet jaunt to Alexandria in December, which will be in next month's Esquire Middle East. (un-subbed)Words, as ever, by Mr Josh Wood.

Beirut's Synagogue and Jewish cemetery

2011-01-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are a little rusty on your Swedish, the headline below reads "Hezbollah supports Jewish shrine," or so says google translate...

Swedish national daily Svenska Dagbladet printed my pictures of the (almost) reconstructed Beirut Synagogue and old Jewish cemetery to accompany a story by freelancer Emma Löfgren on January 2nd, which made for a nice start to the year. The guy in the picture is Anthony, the decorator responsible for getting the Synagogue back into shape which, rumour has it, may have been destroyed by Israeli shells in the first place...

A damp day in Alex

2010-12-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

I was in Alexandria on some freelance assignments a couple of weekends back and managed to arrive pretty much at the exact same time one of the worst storms the city has seen in recent years. Western tourists are a bit thin on the ground at this time of year so I think I was something of a novelty for the locals. Fortunately, this translated in a positive way and people seemed very receptive to having their pictures taken by this strange, wet, whitey.

Of ministers and men, machines and magazines

2010-11-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

A bit of an odd- ball collection but it's been a busy few days. First up is Lebanon's Finance Minister Raya Hassan, followed by welding in the Bekaa Vaalley, cardboard recycling and, finally, Samia el Solh, editor of the newly formed women's 'business and empowerment' magazine, Push, the first ever issue of which came off the press yesterday.

International Herald Tribune

2010-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

International Herald Tribune is the "global edition of the New York Times," so having a picture printed in it (that'll be the wee tiny one on the right) from my recent trip to Lebanon's southern border feels pretty gosh-darned premium. That's Josh Wood's uber-massive story it's running with.

The thin blue line

2010-11-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

Nepal was one of the first countries to supply troops to the UN mission in Lebanon, sending five observers to the country in 1958. Today this modest mountainous country is responsible for the longest section of the UN demarcated 'Blue Line' between Lebanon and Israel, much of which crosses farm land - always a sensitive area when villagers can't harvest crops on land that has been in their families for centuries. I spent an afternoon running after a Nepalese unit as it patrolled such an olive grove, along with journalist Josh Wood for an upcoming piece in Esquire and maybe even the International Herald and Tribune, which would be nice.

Sewage on Beirut beach

2010-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Looks nice, yeah? Shame that the lovely reflection is in fact coming from a pool of stagnant water which flows freely from a storm drain straight onto one of the few remaining public beaches in Beirut.
These were for a massive story Executive is running this month by Sami Halabi about the myriad problems within Lebanon's water sector. Sounds boring, but when you've been waking up wondering if you'll have water today for the last few months like many here in Beirut, it makes for a compelling read – in short; government is shit, resources are mismanaged, usual story. I'm sure Sami will have the more eloquent version on his blog soon.

Zabaleen feature for Esquire Middle East

2010-10-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

So Esquire gave me and Josh Wood a whole 8 pages for our feature on the Zabaleen. Awesome. Cannae wait to see this in print, which won't be too hard now as they've finally managed to get the Middle East edition on the shelves over here.

Flags for 'Amjad

2010-10-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

A love of Mahmoud Ahmadenijad seems to go hand in hand with an insatiable appetite for vigorous flag waving. If somehow the authorities could have tapped the collective kinetic energy Lebanon's flag wavers over October 13th &14th, Lebanon's shitty power situation (3hr+ a day blackouts) could have been solved for good. Hundreds of thousands of grateful Lebanese, mainly Shiaa, filled stadiums in Hezbo stronghold suburb of Herat Hreik and the southern town of Bint Jbeil, which were both fairly well flattened by Israel in 2006 and rebuilt with Iranian cash. And they sure did love waving them flags. I guess when someone's payed for your home to be repaired, horrific human rights abuses far from home can be conveniently overlooked.

Also, if anyone says Hizbullah don't know how to party, then show them this video. I'm expecting a reality-talent TV show appearance anytime soon.

Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah addresses Herat Hreik's Al-Raya stadium

Tyrant on the tarmac

2010-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I went over the last two days Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kept turning up (usually about three hours later than expected). It got a bit embarrassing in the end, we ran out of small talk and just had to avoid making eye contact. It's been exhausting but premium fun, more photos to come...

Angelo Gaja

2010-10-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

Angelo Gaja, apparently quite the luminary of Italian fine wines, was in town to introduce his top-class tipple ($360 a bottle, anyone?) to the Lebanese market. Not providing tasters for thirsty hacks was shockingly remiss...

Good morning Lebanon!

2010-10-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Alright, so the top one, Chabrouh dam in the mountains above Faraya, was taken in the evening, but the three below required hauling my lazy hide out of bed before sunrise to drive to Harissa, overlooking the Jounieh bay just north of Beirut. Mornings are great for the soul but for the body, not so much.

Zabaleen - Cairo's unsung heroes

2010-09-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

It's the flies that strike you first, followed swiftly by a chorus of curious young voices: "Welcome! What's your name?" and the reserved gazes of the slum's older residents, wondering what this next bunch of whiteys wants with their lives.

More than 60,000 Zabaleen, mostly Coptic Christians, live in Manshiyat Naser (Garbage City) beneath Cairo's Muqattam cliffs. The Zabaleen, literally 'garbage people' in arabic, have made their livelihoods from recycling Cairo's refuse since the 1930s. Despite recycling some 80% of the refuse they collect, the Zabaleen get little or no thanks for their service to the city and often live amid intense squalor.

I visited the Zabaleen one afternoon last week during a trip to Cairo with Middle East reporter Josh Wood after watching the fantastic documentary Garbage Dreams which follows the Zabaleen over a number of years. I can't quite put my finger on why, in these situations, I'm (literally) a pig in shit but that afternoon was the most rewarding and engaging of our entire week's trip. The Zabaleen fulfill such a worthwhile (if unglamorous) role, it was an honour to be able to document their work. Knowing I was able to get a taxi and a shower afterwards probably helped.

In the Guardian...sort of

2010-08-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Above is the picture that didn't get printed by the Guardian along with a story about labour rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, which my good friend and esteemed colleague Mr Richard Ian 'Art' Hall had published in last week's Guardian Weekly. The kid on the right is seven-year-old Hasan Hameid, who wants to, but sadly probabaly will never get the chance to, be a doctor.

A publication from back home is a something of a holy grail for us, so congratulations are in order. Anyway, they said they didn't have the budget for my photo and ran a subscription wire picture instead.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and freelancer Ahmed Moor, who worked with Rich on his Guardian story wrote a piece for the Guardian website's 'Comment is Free' section. He needed a mug shot and happened to be filing from our office, so I was more than happy to help him out and, hey presto, got a picture on the Guardian's website. One day it'll be the big one beneath with my name on it. Below is another picture the Guardian didn't like (it chopped his hair off), but it's my favourite of the three frames we took by my office window.

The new Palestinian labour law also came up at Executive this month, below is my favourite shot from a series I took for our story.

Missing

2010-08-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

These women hang out in front of the UN building in Beirut, protesting the fact that their sons were kidnapped during the civil war; those still living languish somewhere in the depths of a Syrian prison. Every day they maintain their vigil in the hope of some kind of closure. Syria withdrew from Lebanon five years ago but there has still been no official word on their missing sons, just scraps of hope from fellow inmates who have been released.
Anyone good at French can read more about in Sebastien Malo's article for Montreal broadsheet La Presse.

Airbag upgrade

2010-07-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Possibly my most eye-opening assignment to date, but chances are these shots will almost certainly not get used for the story on health tourism they were intended for – not the kinda thing you want to see with your toast in the morning! After getting me all smocked up, the guys at the clinic were quite happy for me to snap away. The dehuminisation of their patients was probably more unnerving than the gory details; these guys were true comedians and it was easy to forget that there was a real human being amidst all the cutting, poking and stuffing. It was an implant replacement – whip off the nipples and shove in a bag filled with salt water. And all before lunch.

Austere Akkar

2010-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Akkar, Lebanon's northenmost region, was pretty much an extension of Syria until their soldiers withdrew in 2005. It's stunningly beautiful but is pretty much goddarn penniless. The three people here are all involved in or own small businesses which have been given a helping hand by Relief International to get their projects off the ground and bring some much needed dollar into the area.

The angle of the dangle

2010-07-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Taking the award for possibly the coolest press conference to date (probably the only 'cool' press conference, in fact) was the launch of Dinner in the Sky in Beirut. We were only given champagne, but corporate parties or people scared of flooding can part with enough cash to eat for a year at ground level in exchange for the experience of some serious aerial mastication - Michelin starred chefs, the works. Not sure if it tastes better at 40m high but it's certainly premium fun. Just don't invite someone with a weak bladder. This feature is running in Jazeera airline's August inflight magazine, so they had to photoshop everyone's champagne glasses out as it'll be out during Ramadan; kinda killed the bottom shot as it was nicely filling the space next to his elbow but there ya go.

At the races

2010-07-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

Beirut's horse racing track or the 'Hippodrome du Parc de Beyrouth', to use its official title, is an oasis of history in a city that is barely recognisable from 10 years ago. To walk from the busy highway through it's grand gates for the first time is akin to discovering some ancient paradise - pseudo roman ruins, bushes and towering pine trees float in a lake of trimmed grass, ringed by the dark sandy track. Ascot it ain't, but the concrete stands and formica chairs still waft a hint of the French colonialism which built the place back in 1918. The same old dudes sit in the same old chairs every weekend, unless, that is, they're standing up screaming at their horse.

There's seemingly no visible sign to divide between the 'cheap seats' on the left and the exclusive smoking lounge tucked away in rarified air-conditioned exclusivity, but the unspoken class segregation takes place with impeccable efficiency. Slinging a camera or two around your neck means you get to see the show from everyone's seat, should you chose to, and the race track presents an interesting microcosm of the country's social strata. This place is a goldmine for pictures, so there might be a few more of these to come.

Life is hard...

2010-07-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes as a photographer and a journalist you get asked to do things that take great courage, to take one for the team... such as trying one of France's oldest champagnes, Ruinart, which is about to forge it's way into the highly competitive Lebanese drinks market. After carefully checking numerous 'flutes' throughout a mind boggling maze of creative canapés (foamed cheesey potatoes or champagne dipped in dry ice, anyone?), I can happily say it's safe to drink. Lebanon, you're welcome. Below, the founder of the feast, Ruinart's Jean Marc Galot.

Fadlallah's funeral

2010-07-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Guardian had this to say about Lebanon's most senior Shiite cleric, who died of a longstanding illness on Sunday and was buried today. Hundreds of thousands of mourners jammed the streets of Haret Hreik, a suburb in South Beirut on what felt like one of the hottest days of the year so far. The guy in the last frame is misting the crowds with a much welcomed water hose - not so great for cameras. Haret Hreik is usually off limits for photographers who don't have a very good reason to be there, so it was nice to actually be assisted by the Hezbollah officials who'd usually be taking a very different view.

A nausea-inducing stop motion video of all the day's frames is here - first attempt at this, needs some tweaking but it gives you an idea of the scale of the day.

Natural born killers

2010-06-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, not so natural. They're carefully bred to be hardcore fighting machines you'd think twice about playing fetch with. To see just how they're bred visit the website of the kennel these shots were taken at, feminists might be better to stay away...

This was an assignment that raised a few moral quandaries in the office, especially when we were trying to pick a shot for the cover. Taste won out over sensationalism and we went for the usual illustration. Read the story here. More up on the Executive site here.

He's in fashion....

2010-06-16T10:12:00.001-07:00

No, I haven't bought a beret, taken to sporting scarves or adopted a mononym but the magazine is doing a big fashion supplement this month, hence the expensive model in expensive clothes, kindly lent by upcoming and established Lebanese designers. Abir was about 6ft tall to start with and in the skyscraper heels so we spent an afternoon feeling like dwarves. There was make up, stylists, people and everything. I had people to hold things. It was splendid. Dahling.

From leaf to lips

2010-05-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

As part of a special report into the country's Tobacco industry, I got to take a look inside the factory that produces Lebanon's homegrown, homemade 'Cedars' cigarettes - photos of the whole production process can be found on the photo gallery page here.

Cheers Time, don't mind if I do

2010-05-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sami Halabi, our deputy ed, was patient enough to sit for me while I tried my hardest to recreate a poor mans' version of Marco Grob's portrait of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which was featured in the May issue of Time magazine. The lighting in it was awesome and there's no better way to learn than nicking tricks of those you admire.

Regular freelancer and drunken assailer of the Holiday Inn Nathaneal Massey was my guinea pig for the first attempt. The set up was all wrong but the shots came out kinda cool anyway.

Talking heads

2010-04-22T12:41:00.001-07:00

A few head honchos from Lebanon's banking world gathered to listen to the above talking about banking stuff at a nice hotel. My attention got as far as the awesome steak rolls...

They yacked for ages, which meant a) I really needed those steak rolls by the end and, b) plenty of time to play with the lighting. Below is Yasser, Executive's editor in chief who was hosting the talk (i.e also capitalising on a journalist's innate ability to score great free grub).

Cars and canapes

2010-04-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ladies, cars and canapes greeted visitors the Lebanon Motor Show 2010, the first in a few years, and the subject of the magazine's first ever online web gallery. This to be the first of many, which means more ~~work~~ fun for me. Hopefully the fruits of a trip to the south with UNIFIL will be used for the next one.

US invasion - Christian Science Monitor

2010-04-07T07:50:00.001-07:00

This shot of former Los Angeles Laker C.J. Giles – now of Beirut's league topping Al-Riyadi – is to pop my US print cherry on April 12, with an appearance in Boston weekly CSM to accompany Josh Wood's piece on American basketball players in Lebanon. The keen-eyed will notice it's credited to NEWSCOM, rather than me. Bloody typical! Hopefully that little wrinkle will be ironed out before it hits the printer...

Eli Khoury

2010-03-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Eli Khoury was one of the key figures behind the Cedar revolution, which booted the Syrians out of the country after Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005.
This was probably my favourite portrait session so far: a whole hour and a half while Khoury, head of Quantum advertising agency and owner of Now Lebanon news service, among other things, was interviewed for the magazine. Such a different feel from the usual five-minute CEO circus and tonnes of time to try different lighting set ups in their space-age 'Quantum Towers' office. Even the tea mugs made me look dowdy.

Carlos Slim does Beirut

2010-03-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Carlos Slim: he's only the richest man in the world! Not the most engaging speaker on the planet but he still filled the business school lecture hall at AUB this afternoon.

These students weren't so pleased that a country as poverty stricken as Mexico could also provide the worlds wealthiest.

In other rich people news, here's Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan and Renault.

Tea with Fatah

2010-03-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

Changes to the Fatah leadership inside Lebanon's camps has been causing something of a ruckus of late, so myself and reporter Josh Wood took a trip to Badawi camp north of Tripoli to find out more from his friendly Fatah contact. While waiting for him to arrive we shared tea and watched some fairly 'unique' chess being played. We ran out of time for a walk around the camp but should be back up there soon, this time with my umbrella for some proper portraits. Should be fun.

Palestinian refugee camps - Esquire

2010-03-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneaky peek at a rough version of a ten page spread looking at Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, which I worked on with freelancer Josh Wood for Esquire Magazine's Middle East edition - it should be out in glossy goodness next month. This was a fascinating project to work on, possibly one of the most important issues facing the region, so props to the Esquire guys for giving it the coverage it deserves.

Iraqi elections

2010-03-09T02:03:00.001-08:00

Iraqi voters in Lebanon took to the polls over the weekend to take part in their national elections. The ink stained finger shows that a vote has been cast.

Joe Ayoub

2010-02-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

Joe Ayoub of Brandcell marketing is another Executive contributer and takes the award for Beirut's coolest offices so far. You'll be able to read his words of wisdom next week sometime.

This blog is getting a bit monochromatic, apologies. Also, I think I should invest in a small step ladder - these last few pictures make it look like I'm about 3ft tall.

A useful man to have around...

2010-02-25T09:48:00.000-08:00

Walid Noshie has probably spent a small fortune searching for some 380kg of gold that was lost off the coast of Lebanon when a plane caught fire and crashed just after take-off back 1957. Sound familiar? No surprise then that it was this guy who Hariri called to help coordinate efforts to locate the flight recorders of flight ET-409. No sign of the gold, yet, but he did find both black boxes. There's a big interview in this month's magazine.

Karim Makarem

2010-02-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

I finally sunk my teeth into the first of a bunch of portraits of business leaders who regularly contribute to the magazine. After an aborted attempt to get on the roof we settled for this interesting curved wall in the offices of the oft quoted Karim Makarem of Ramco real estate advisors, one of Beirut's top real estate figures. Curvy walls are bloody great. So are subjects who are quite willing to give you a reasonable chunk of their time to let you shoot them without making you feel like you're clogging up their schedule.

Corporate location portraiture is usually an exercise in overcoming a combination of far-too-busy-for-you subjects and less than ideal surroundings, but today was a refreshing change.

A Lebanese Valentines day

2010-02-18T02:20:00.000-08:00

Five years ago on February 14 a bloody great bomb tossed chunks of Lebanon's then Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, all over downtown Beirut. Now each year a (steadily dwindling) sea of flags waving mark his passing, al la the 'Cedar Revolution' of March 14, which booted the Syrians out of Lebanon.
Sadly not everyone could enjoy the day happily and a few sorry souls were escorted home courtesy of the Red Cross, after finding themselves on the wrong end of a rapidly descending flag staff. Given the close confines and the surprise circa 30º temperatures perhaps a few scuffles were inevitable.

Touffar for Esquire gulf

2010-01-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

This would have been my first magazine appearance but they put it back a month till March so Executive, which prints next week, pips them to it. Touffar are heavily politicised rappers from the Bekaa valley area of Lebanon. I couldn't understand a word of the concert but it was apparent they were pretty pissed. The unsubbed version of US freelancer and all round nice guy Josh Wood's story, as it will appear in next month's edition of Esquire gulf, is below. Cheers to Touffar for letting me blind them with flashes for the entire concert.

Bananas in Beirut

2010-01-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

Turkish author Ece Temelkuran was in Beirut at the end of December for an interview with Turkey's second best read daily Milliyet by journalist Devrim Sevimay, which appeared in the paper on January 3. Her new book, "Sound of Bananas," the story, among other things, of a Filipino maid and Syrian construction worker living in Beirut, is out soon but you'll need to be pretty hot on your Turkish or Arabic to read it.

Ashura

2009-12-27T07:30:00.001-08:00

Although most of the Shiite community have toned down their commemoration of the death of Prophet Mohammed's grandson, those in the Lebanon's southern town Nabatieh still go the whole hog. The head is cut with a razor and then smacked repeatedly to make the blood flow, or, as per the really messy ones below, the head is repeatedly struck with some force by a massive great big poke your eye out sword. For you here in all its gory goodness...

For news on the bombs that marred the observation of Ashura in Beirut's suburbs have a look here

Happy to oblige

2009-12-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

Richard Ian 'art' Hall, Foreign News Editor at The Daily Star and all-round gent recently started a blog. Good enough excuse for some photo making...

Beirut Marathon

2009-12-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

Over 20,000 runners took to the streets of Beirut today - those pictured here were some of the 245 who slogged it out for the whole 23 mile marathon course. In the rain. I discovered the hard way that my new flash trigger didn't bounce, just as the first runners crossed the finish line so, sadly, there were no sweaty-just-about-to-die shots.

Haifa Wehbe - apparently she's big stuff on the pop scene out here. Daily Star sports supremo Kenny Laurie blagged me all the way into the VIP area to take a picture of him with her; I was so carried away with the light-bouncing opportunities afforded by the tiny white tent we were in I totally forgot to get him in the frame. Kenny, I'm sorry - but look closely and you'll see he's reflected in the right hand frame of her AVs. Out of the box, right?

Bad day to be a sheep...

2009-11-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

The Muslim world celebrated Eid al-Adha festival today, which was bad news for ovines. Families buy a sheep, which the butcher promptly slaughters. A third of the meat they eat, a third goes to their relatives and a third is given to the poor.

The sheep seemed in no way distressed before they were killed, their throats cut with a simple knife. They made no sound, just the rattling gasp of the air leaving their lungs for the last time.

The twitching was unsettling.

It's called soccer out here...

2009-11-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

This was for a Daily Star story about a Lebanese football academy that just established ties with Manchester City, of all places, so expect to see this guy on telly some time soon. The power went out just after this happy accident occurred, myself and reporter Kenny Laurie scurried off while the kids stuck out in the pitch black.

The occupation of Beirut

2009-11-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

At 6.30am on Sunday 22nd it was as if an occupying force had taken over Gemmayzeh and much of south Beirut; barely a soul was to be seen on the streets, save for clusters of soldiers on almost every corner, checking credentials of passers by. With representatives from every conceivable branch of Lebanon's armed forces gearing up for a parade just 10 minutes away it was understandable that security was tight. Anyway, press cards are a wonderful thing, so here are some pics for everyone who a) couldn't be arsed to get up, and b) probably wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the action anyway.

Slim pickings

2009-11-03T09:02:00.001-08:00

In the running for one of Lebanon's smelliest jobs, these guys scrape a living sorting rubbish at the monstrous dump in Sidon. Story is here

From acorns come oaks, and all that...

2009-11-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

Derec Gruen, centre, is pretty much the Jesus of cycling; riding round the world and taking the revolution of Critical Mass with him. Ok, so only seven people turned up for Beirut's first meet-up, but who knows what could happen in the future? Let's just hope if those cyclists decide to run with the whole religious analogy thing they can be kind enough to skip the crusade/inquisition bit...

A proper explanation of all this nonsense is here

Dom Joly, back in Beirut

2009-10-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

Comedian Dom Joly - born and raised in Lebanon - was back in Beirut last week to research his latest book and took an afternoon out to speak to the Daily Star - see Josie Ensor's story here.
This was a fairly tough assignment given that I had a few minutes in the midday sun to create something striking. However, with the help of Josie as as voice-activated-light-stand and some judicious tweaking in Lightroom, it all came together in the end. Thanks also to Dom for some excellent posing.

The night of the cold pizza...

2009-10-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Even the delivery boys had a tough time on Thursday when police in Beirut implemented a new law banning the use of mopeds after 6.30pm. Can't imagine there were too many happy take-away customers that night. Full story here

"We're used to making the news, not being it..."

2009-10-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Three veteran journalists were fired from the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation last week, they say due to their involvement with the right-wing Christian LF party. Story here.

He was in Doctor Who, y'know...

2009-10-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

"So David it would be great to grab a quick portrait before you get going, if you have a minute."

Well, the man gave me five - which in blisteringly hot school yard somewhere in the midst of Beirut's Dahir suburb was just enough time to throw a light up against a convenient wall and bring you this. David Morrissey - respected actor and all that jazz - came all the way to Beirut to let some Palestinian kids have some fun with drama. Read all about it here

Please sir, I'd like my house back..

2009-10-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Palestinian demonstrators and their supporters gathered in central Beirut’s Martyrs square today to protest against government failure to begin reconstruction in Nahr el-Bared camp.
Considering they were fighting for their homes to be rebuilt they were very polite about it all, and jumped back on their busses just an hour and a half after arriving.

Full story.

Sandy cracks

2009-10-05T10:38:00.001-07:00

Francophone Games end today. Good bye to the beautiful press center at Camille Chamoun Stadium which has been a home from home (from home) for the last week.

Beirut beats

2009-10-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Meet Omar Offendum. A man who knows things. The Syrian hip-hop artist and poet played an intimate show at Beirut's Walimat last weekend and showed once again that if just once the bright young folks with ideas were left to rule the show, things might just end up ok.

If a middle-east eminem you'd happily invite home to illuminate your folks sounds like your kinda brew, then have a listen.

- thanks have to go to Omar for not complaining once while I repeatedly blinded him throughout his set.

Beefcake

2009-10-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Francophone to the face: Ludovic Groguhe of France rearranges the nose of Romania's Constantin Bejenaru to resemble a bacon sandwich filled with too much ketchup...

Semi-finals of the 2009 Francophone games: Finals are on Monday.

High Flyers

2009-10-02T04:02:00.000-07:00

Decathlon pole-vault at the Francophone Games. Still no spectators, save for a few school groups. None the less, some fairly impressive defiance of gravity.

Who is watching the Francophone Games?

2009-10-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Despite something of a media fanfare for the opening ceremony and a whole shed-load of free tickets, the only people at the 2009 Francophone Games seem to be either athletes, officials, soldiers or press. It seems a shame to piddle on Beirut's bonfire but one can't help but note the rows of empty seats, even when Lebanon are competing. I'm yet to cover the boxing or table-tennis or football but so far the volleyball, athletics, basketball and judo have all had fairly small crowds.

Still, it's good chance for lots of fun photography and free food. Great combo.

Beach volleyball - Lebanon style

2009-09-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

That is, surrounded by soldiers with guns. But's that's all just part of the scenery, right?

There are still a few days of the Francophone Games beach volleyball left at the Edde Sands resort, just south of Byblos. It's worth it just to check out the resort but if that's not enough to convince you, try these for size...

here for more info on the games... Jeux de la Francophonie

monday 1st june - many happy returns

2009-06-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Fitting, perhaps, that this blog should begin with a birthday. Above is 90 year old Lewis Walters whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making today. A veteran of WW2 and a retired telephone engineer, Lewis was as nice an old fella as you'd ever hope to meet. Poor guy spent his big day on the phone to the builders though as he's still trying to move back into his bungalow which was flooded in January. This picture was grabbed quite quickly beside his favourite peach tree with a bare off-camera flash and a healthy dose of sunshine.

Below is another 'old man' (sorry dad!) showing just what can be done with a portrait when you've got the time, the right light and aren't shooting for a paper which has more content than space....