I wanted to comment about two images I saw in the news recently. The first from the image bellow which was about the recent Abu Qutada story. The story was about the fact that he is considered a threat to the U.K and has been released from jail without deportation. The story is not what I want to bring to your attention here. Firstly I wanted to bring to your attention to what struck me about the casual respect, if any for the equipment that these papp's (paparazzi)  have. There must be close to £10,000 just perched on the wall, not even pointed at the subject himself. It just looks like an accident waiting to happen. I hope that they are placed there with the thought that they will give some sort of capturing advantage. My only foresight of that being the case is some sort of remote shutter set up, or that the cameras are positioned there for an advantage over other papp's. 

Secondly what struck my about the image is the amount of photographic coverage that features in this single image. Photographers and their cameras flood this image in which I'm sure Abu will be using to his advantage as he appears to have a casual and acceptant manor to the media attention.  9/10 photographers shoot people of interest for some myself. This picture is a clear indication that this is not always the case. Abu appears to be using the media attention to gain public focus/attention to his story. I'm glad to see such a picture as this gives me a heads up, as I have not yet experienced a national public interest story to shoot. Its photography on another level which makes me really happy because it serves as a remainder, that I have only scratched the surface of my photographic career. There is still plenty of work out there for me to get. 

The second image bellow is from the recent conflict in Gaza. I wanted to bring focus to this image as I felt that it has been one of the best I have seen this year. If I could give an award I would hand it to the photographer of this image. It is by a photographer call Adel Hana who work features in the AP (associated press). 

"The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent news gathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on news gathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.

AP’s commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings." - www.ap.org

Apart from National Geographic I would love to capture images for the AP, it would also be amazing. I think highly of this image because it is one that is engaging for a viewer. I felt that I was part of this group of young men in the middle of dealing with what they are going through. It is not your typical from the air news at 10 helicopter shot. It feels more personal than that. It feels that must have be taken from the perspective of someone who is caught up in the conflict itself. This gives me a much better understanding on how the world captures events just from the footage alone. We live in a world of political media interference and monitoring. Gaining accesses to actual independent footage is like gold.

 I like that the image puts the people as the main focus first over the surrounding destruction, which is presented in a tasteful display of focal depth. The images is both contextually and aesthetically giving intended to report and document a problem to the world.