On Your Doorstep Issue 6 | Page 44

During my years as a photographer I have come to know the area and its summer residents (malgari/cattle ranchers) very well. They are my “family” and they often joke about the “mad photographer” that walks around the pastures on very misty mornings before sunrise with her camera and tripod. I decided to use my photographs to tell the story of this magnificent area in northern Italy. For the past two years I have exhibited in the grounds of the Hotel, and have dedicated my exhibition to the area and its people. This year my exhibition will consist not only of landscapes but black and white photographs depicting the work that the “malgari” and their families do when producing their milk and cheese. BIOGRAPHY: I was born in Arusha, Tanzania in Africa below the slopes of Mount Meru and her majestic neighbour Kilimanjaro. My school years where spent at Arusha School and then at the International School Moshi. My childhood days are filled with memories of having glorious fun at our family’s coffee plantation called “Maswere” and numerous holidays with grandparents and family at Lake Manyara, Mombasa, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. During the 70’s my parents left Tanzania for greener pastures in South Africa, firstly Durban and eventually to Johannesburg. During my 30 years in South Africa, I developed an intense love for this “Rainbow Nation”, from 44 the Drakensberg, (Eastern Transvaal) Mpumalanga, Wild Coast, the Garden Route to our beautiful mother city Cape Town. I studied Fine Arts in Durban, where I ventured into the world of photography, loving the hours in the darkroom developing predominately black and white photos.