Mohamed al-Sayaghi

Mohamed al-Sayaghi

Based
Sanaa, Yemen
Born
Sanaa, Yemen
Status
Photographer
“The camera is my eyes, through it I see everything around me.”

Beat

Politics, economy, sport, entertainment.

One Shot

. Sanaa, Yemen. Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi
A woman holds her malnourished child at a therapeutic feeding center at al-Sabyeen hospital.
“I took this photo during an assignment at a therapeutic feeding center at al-Sabyeen hospital in Sana’a. When I saw the child, I felt this strange sense of how important it was for me to capture the moment showing the difficult humanitarian situation facing children in Yemen amid the continued conflict.”

Profile

I remember taking pictures as a boy when my family bought our first camera. After that, I took photos as part of my graduation project at the media college of Sana’a University. After I graduated, my photo taking skills improved when I worked as a reporter for Arab magazines and local newspapers.

I learned photography as a hobby at first, then I began shooting landscapes. I later took pictures to illustrate the stories I wrote for Arab magazines and local newspapers.

I love photography. The camera is my eyes, through it I see everything around me. I can’t imagine living without photography.

My first assignment for Reuters was in September 2011 during the uprising against the rule of Yemen’s then President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It was difficult at first to keep abreast of what was going on around me as the story was developing dramatically and rapidly but I was amazed at what was happening. I felt proud to be covering such a story even though that in itself sometimes involved risks due to the anti-media atmosphere and the lack of awareness among people about the importance of photojournalism.

Covering the Yemeni uprising and conflict and has been the most important assignment for me, and one that last left the biggest mark on me.

Breaking news coverage excites me the most as well as feature stories, because the challenge is to take a strong picture for a very wide audience interested in these kind of stories at the international level. I also like to cover humanitarian stories because it makes me feel close to people's concerns and suffering.