AN Alfrick photographer is opening her latest exhibition in Worcester tomorrow (Saturday).

Diane Barker has visited Tibet twice in the last 18 months and her show Drokpa - People of the Solitudes documents the lives of the nomadic people of this remote land and the stunning landscapes that surrounds them.

Diane was born and still lives in the Old Swan Inn in Alfrick. Trained as a painter, she turned to photography and her work has appeared in publications as diverse as the Financial Times, Marie Claire and New Scientist.

She has travelled extensively, with journeys to India, Pakistan, China, Australia and the Americas.

Diane's fascination with Tibet stretches way back to the 1970s, when as a very young hippy, she visited a friend living near Hay-on-Wye.

"He had some Tibetans staying with him, including His Holiness Karmapa, one of the country's major spiritual leaders. These Tibetans just weaved their magic over me, they are such spiritual people."

It was not until years later she managed to visit the country, under the control of Communist China.

Following a brief meeting with Tibetan nomads, Drokpa, on a photo assignment in Ladakh, she decided to try to find a family she could visit.

Attempts to get in touch through the usual channels failed until she looked up Tibetan nomads on the internet.

This put her in touch with a Tibetan man living in Austria who was able to make the proper arrangements.

So Diane enjoyed several months in the country dubbed "the Roof of the World", living with the nomadic inhabitants.

"They are amazing people. They are still controlled by the Chinese, but they have rebuilt a lot of the monasteries, 80 per cent of which were dynamited by the Chinese after their takeover."

The exhibition, at Worcester City Art Gallery, Foregate Street, runs until January 5. On Saturday, November 17, at 2.30pm, Diane will be giving a talk at the gallery.