Syria – a people under fire – London exhibition for ex-White Horse News reporter

Photographer & former White Horse News reporter Sam Tarling,

FORMER White Horse News reporter, Sam Tarling originally from Bratton, has had his photography featured in a solo exhibition in London entitled ‘Syria: A people under fire’. 

The exhibition featured photos from inside Syria as well as refugees now living in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Sam has been covering the Syrian conflict since the outbreak of fighting in 2011 and has been working across the Middle East for major news outlets including The New York Times, AFP (Agence France-Presse) and The Telegraph as well as aid organisations such as Save The Children, CRS and Oxfam.

Sam said, “I learnt a lot working for the White Horse News and it was a really good grounding. Then over four years ago I moved to Lebanon and started working for a newspaper there and now I am freelancing.”

Talking about one of his most striking images, Sam said, “I photographed a family in a refugee camp in North Lebanon for a fundraising campaign for Save The Children. They only had a few blankets during the winter and nothing on the windows; it was terrible. It was a long time before anyone was able to help them.”

Sam’s mum April who lives in Bratton said, “I think it is phenomenal that my son, who left the White Horse News to spend a month in Lebanon and never came home, is in London putting on a one-man show. I can’t believe I have a son that is so talented. I think his photography is brilliant.

“I do get very very scared for him sometimes, especially when he gets stuck in places and he can’t get out. It’s a mixture of being scared and being proud, but he is prepared to go in there and get the story out because he’s passionate about what he is doing.”

Sam’s photography career has taken him to South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Bosnia and he is going to Kenya next, to take photographs for Oxfam.

You can see more of Sam’s photos at www.samtphoto.com.