Steve Crisp, reflecting on transition from black and white to colour, leaves Reuters

Steve Crisp (photo), who has seen news pictures move from a single black and white photo taking 15 minutes to transmit to a colour image now taking seconds, is packing up in Beirut and leaving Reuters.

For the past nearly eight years he has been responsible for pictures coverage from the Middle East and Africa, covering big stories such as the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war.

He joined UPI news pictures in 1978. It was taken over by Reuters in 1985 and became the core of the new Reuters News Pictures operation.

Besides Beirut, assignments included London, Dubai, Singapore, Bonn, Brussels and Zurich.

“I’ve covered various Olympics and World Cups, plus the fall of the Berlin Wall and Asian tsunami and an awful lot more,” he said. “My great pleasure and honour has been to try and serve the many great photographers and picture editors who work for Reuters.” ■