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Bewitched by Indian belles
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"There are tall beautiful girls with long legs in south India and they would be the right material to become models in the fashion capital of the world, Paris", says Michele Wambaugh.
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Hand in hand let's walk my dear.
She has come a long way ever since she had presented her first group exhibition at the International Salon of Photography in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1970. That was followed by exhibitions of `portraits' and `Images of women' between 1976-79 and from 1980 onwards she has been annually conducting solo exhibitions of the photographs of performers, whom she caught `off-guard' backstage.
Meet, Michele Wambaugh, a painting and drawing major and a self-taught photographer of Houston, Texas. She was on a visit to the City of Destiny recently.
While visiting Varanasi in January 2001, she had a dream of an Indian woman floating in the waters of the Ganga. "The woman in my dream was fully dressed up and had her hands spread out. Back in the US, she worked hard to capture her imagination on film. In October the same year, she realised her dream with the help of a model. The picture was featured in the top photography magazine of the US. Buoyed by the success, she had embarked on a new series on "Indian women" for exhibitions in Europe and the US.
Michele Wambaugh.
"There are Indians in the US and Europe, who have not seen their motherland. They can get a feel of her on seeing my photographs," she says. And what does she click? Her favourite subjects are women and children. That does not mean she leaves out men. The women on the street to Bollywood stars, poor and rich women, babies to grandmas - all excite her. This apart, she is capturing the images of Indian women in the US and Europe as part of her current series.
While the pictures of Indians will be of interest to NRIs, the pictures of those Indians living abroad would attract the attention of their counterparts here. Michele has given a slide lecture at the Chitra Kala Parishad in Bangalore on January 4.
She has photographed women in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Karnataka during the last two years. "There are tall beautiful girls with long legs and high cheek bones in South India and they would be the right material to become models in the fashion capital of the world, Paris."
A tribal girl of Araku snapped by Michele.
She is impressed by the tribals of Araku, and describes them as `plain and friendly' people. How does she overcome the communication problem with them? "I use the universal sign language and they respond very well. They often carry a baby in their arms and are a good subject for the shutterbugs," she says.
A father and mother teaching their kid to walk his first steps, atop the Kailasagiri is something she is really fascinated with. "They present a happy family," she says.
Michelle's aim is to hold exhibitions of her photographs and has plans to publish a book in 2005.
B. MADHU GOPAL
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