Portrait of Bella Girl
This is a Bella girl who is a slave of the Touareg. She was part of a wedding celebration we attended in Northern Niger. I caught her expression at the exact right moment. Luck happens. Her face is lovely here. Those dreamy eyes! What does a desert girl dream of? Most likely the man her family will choose for her to marry. Girls are the same the world over in that regard.
"I'll do it my way"
A mature Fulani woman is somewhat famous for her huge earrings. These are a traditional syle, but she has made hers a statement of her personality. Every photographer who goes to Mopti, finds her and photographs her. I tried to get a new viewpoint by sticking my 28mm lens in her face. We do what we can, don’t we?
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
I met this Berber girl washing clothes in a stream in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco. She was dressed as if she were waiting for me to come to take her portrait. She had lengthened her eyebrows with liquid kohl and made a temporary tattoo on her forehead. Berber women are often very beautiful…when they are young. They have regular features and perfect posture due to carrying things on their head. Remember when, well, you don’t remember, but I do…remember when we were told to carry a book on our head to achieve good posture? It works! We should have done it. Women and men who have carried things on their heads exude a confidence and grace that is enviable.
The blue lips of a Fulani girl of Mali. Fulani girls are thought to be the most beautiful in West Africa.
Fulani girls are said to be the most beautiful in West Africa
A Berber bride wears her veil of red. This is after the night of co-habitation. The red spots on her dress prove she was a virgin. She is proud to display this sign. She’d be sent back to her family, if she couldn’t.
Berber bride sits in state