A GRADUATE in photography from University of London, Claude these days is busy capturing the tribal life along Andhra Pradesh-Orissa border. From the interiors of Bhadrachalam to the deep Araku valley, he has covered almost all tribal communities for his second coffee table book titled `Tribal India.' His first effort `Whispers from the sands,' a glossy visual compendium of breathtaking landscapes clicked in Khaleej, was a hit.

Claude, who set out as an advertising photographer, and after a stint in London, Milan and Paris shifted to telly commercials and corporate documentaries. He moved to Australia and produced several award winning films for the Royal Australian Navy. "Staying at one place and in one field means stagnation.'' There he was. He left Sydney for Dubai and returned to his first love - photography.

Curiosity, patience and a sense of composition are essential for being a complete photographer. "And most important is sense of timing," he bares his secret.

The burly image-grapher (he loathes the word `lensman') is mighty pleased when he talks about his Arabian Heritage postcard series. "I produce two million postcards of this series every year which are very popular in the Gulf Peninsula,'' he says. Back to his latest rendezvous. "Tribal India is very beautiful. Tribals are most enchanting people I have ever met and the landscapes are stunning. Flowing clear water and tranquil woods are simply amazing,'' he muses.

But what pains Claude is their living conditions. "The tribals are caught in a survival loop. They need to be brought into modern life while preserving their culture and tradition,'' he argues.

Education, medicare and respectability is what, he feels, they desperately need. Claude is clicking tribals for the website of Naandi, an autonomous foundation. But isn't he doing the work freely? "It's not altruism. Invoicing my work with the tribals will be nothing but demeaning them and those lovely experiences I shared with them,'' he shots back.

Deep in the woods of Srisailam, he was down with malaria for some time. "For the first time in my 52 years, I fell ill." "But it was nothing when compared to the joy I felt on having them smile for my camera,'' Claude goes candid.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Life    Bangalore    Chennai    Coimbatore    Delhi    Hyderabad    Thiruvananthapuram