The same view through different lenses
“I start looking for the beauty around me,” Alexandra (Petrova) Wootla muses as she scrolls through pictures of her first days in Rochester.
Alexandra and her husband, Bharath Wootla, met in Paris during the fall of 2007 while waiting in line for three hours to get their student visas. Alexandra, from northern Russian, and Bharath, from the south of India, were worlds apart in their upbringing but quickly found common ground through their shared passion for photography. Bharath was smitten and immediately asked for a date. Alexandra accepted but now sheepishly admits, “I was actually really impressed that he had a bigger camera while I only had a simple point-and-shoot. I really wanted to see the pictures!”
Three years and after many photo shoots later, in what Alexandra describes as beautiful “cinematic” Paris, they find themselves married and needing to relocate for Bharath’s post-doctorate and fellowship medical training. In the choice between Switzerland and Minnesota, they decided to take a chance with the unknown, and, as Bharath remembers the exact date, on September 28, 2010, they started their “American Experience.”
Although Alexandra had a master’s degree in French, for the first year, she was not fluent in English. They also did not have a car. So, while Bharath went to work in the Neurology Department at Mayo Clinic, Alexandra began walking everywhere and exploring her new city through the lens of her camera. They both had no formal training in photography but instead were all self-taught and learned through experimentation. “We experimented with different ways of doing photos,” Bharath explains. “The way we took pictures. Different styles. High Dynamic Range or HDR. Long Exposure. This was 2011-2012, so it was relatively new then, but pretty popular now.”
Alexandra remembers, “I had to go capture and show it through my eyes.” She started to photograph the same places, but in different seasons. Later, when they got a car, they both grabbed their cameras and headed out to the local communities to see for themselves the natural beauty. Eventually, they decided to start a @Rochester_MN Instagram account to share their pictures. This was when Rochester was first beginning to thrive with new stores and restaurants. They attended grand openings and made tons of new friends. Alexandra and Bharath were often complimented on their pictures and were asked about the exotic locale. They pointed out that this was still Rochester, just taken from a different perspective.
Over the years, their little family expanded, as did their business. Their Instagram now has close to 14,000 followers. Their photographs are currently featured as part of city-wide promotions. They also now do portraits, weddings, senior pictures, and commercial properties as part of AB-Photography.us. Bharath also has now switched departments at Mayo and is working on “the business side of science” by helping with innovative technology development and project management. As he stresses, “Basically we took the time to adapt, and we have embraced where we are.”
“We are so impressed with all the action that is going on in Rochester now since DMC,” Bharath comments. “There is a budding social scene, especially around 3rd Street and things are open past 8 p.m.” Alexandra adds, “We are friends with couples of so many different cultures. It is nice to have a sense of community. This is why we always try to support local businesses.”
The Wootlas are calling Rochester home now, although they still consider themselves “global citizens.” They are looking forward to honoring their unique cultures by starting new traditions. On Valentine’s Day of this past year, both Alexandra and Bharath became official U.S. citizens together.
Maka Boeve moved to Rochester from South Florida during the 1991 Halloween blizzard and has never quite thawed out. She has Communications and Education degrees from the University of Florida and University of Minnesota. To support her travel junkie habits, she has been a high school substitute teacher for 19 years, but has secretly always desired to go back to her journalist roots.
Cover photo: Submitted
