Dhobi Wallis

'Dhobi Walli' in Hindi means 'Washer Woman' - 'walli' being a very useful suffix meaning 'woman who does' (so I would be a Photography Walli!) and these photos were shot on the upper Ramganga River in Northern India where I spent some time last year.

The ladies and children in these photographs live in the local village and their nearby spring had dried up meaning they had to come and do all their washing in the river instead. I am surprised that I am choosing to show these images in black and white because the very thing that made me pick up my camera originally was the vivid and beautiful colours of the fabrics they were washing against the relative muted colours of the surrounding landscape...there was just something about the images when I saw them without colour. Ultimately, what I love is the sculpting of the late afternoon sun and the expressions on the children's faces who were enjoying playing in the water while I took their pictures and which remind me of one of my favourite places in the world.