About
BIO
Teresa Craig
As a photographer and writer with a unique perspective, having resided in the Middle East for 25 years, I am deeply intrigued by the people and their way of life. My journey has been a profound exploration of the tools they employ to navigate daily life, their rituals of joy, and their resilience in the face of adversity.
With the influence of modernization and globalization through media and technology, resulting in the diminishing impact of oral traditions and histories, my passion is to preserve through photographs and writings some of the unique qualities of these cultures. I believe that by doing so, the following generations in the Middle East, as well as other world cultures considering the region, will be able to reference the beautiful building blocks upon which the Middle Eastern society has been built and will hopefully continue to expand upon.
As a photographer and writer with a unique perspective, having resided in the Middle East for 25 years, I am deeply intrigued by the people and their way of life. My journey has been a profound exploration of the tools they employ to navigate daily life, their rituals of joy, and their resilience in the face of adversity.
With the influence of modernization and globalization through media and technology, resulting in the diminishing impact of oral traditions and histories, my passion is to preserve through photographs and writings some of the unique qualities of these cultures. I believe that by doing so, the following generations in the Middle East, as well as other world cultures considering the region, will be able to reference the beautiful building blocks upon which the Middle Eastern society has been built and will hopefully continue to expand upon.
During my leadership of numerous photographic expeditions in Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus, I have come to deeply respect the individuals I photograph. To me, photography is not just about capturing an image, but about engaging with the unique perspectives and life experiences of those in front of the lens.
The individuals I photograph come from diverse walks of life. Some are village leaders, well-established and respected, while others live in challenging conditions, such as refugee camps or on the streets. They are orphans, widows, the elderly, and the physically and emotionally scarred; their lives shaped by war, poverty, and oppression.
Each of them has a story to tell, a story that is not just a reflection of their present, but also of decisions made generations ago. Their lives have deeply impacted mine, and I consider it a profound privilege to capture the lives of Jewish and Arabic-speaking peoples through my camera and writings.
My Story
How this came about…
Coming from a family with six siblings, raised by very passionate parents who never held back on expressing their emotions at any time day or night; they loved music, dancing, movies, large family gatherings and picnics in the park (were they Middle Easterners clothed in middle-class American clothing and culture? I think so!).
Needless to say, home life was always active and my father never let the grass grow under our feet. He moved us around nearly every few years when we I was growing up. By the time I was 18 years-old, we had moved at least 8 times – major moves, meaning selling large portions of our belongings and all nine of us piling into the family station wagon (as it was called then), pulling a small U-Haul trailer behind the car. This was the beginning of my personality forming years.
I’ve always loved history, culture, people, ethnic foods; the sights, sounds and smells of new places. I grew up loving music, especially when my father would turn on his record player/stereo in his den and invite my two younger sisters and me to join him. He would turn his music up loud, sometimes Greek music with a happy beat that would make my siblings dance to the tune. Such good memories.
I enjoyed art, paintings and drawings (especially when my father would randomly take a pencil and piece of paper and draw something rather rough, but always beautiful and interesting – he didn’t do this often enough). And, best of all, I LOVED drama and theater. I was and am an extrovert that thrives on expression, movement, intensity of a story. Community theater would be my favorite as I enjoy actors collaborating together to create a story around life events. Working with others who are as passionate as I am inspires me to want to create more!
Photography and story telling are now my passion. I am certain I married a man somewhat like my father. I have moved 40 times in 39 years of marriage, have lived in three continents, and 14 cities. I have learned as much of a language as was possible to learn to ask and say those things most important. Photography and writing In my own life has been borne purely out of the desire to record as much of life as possible – people and their environment, and those things that make up the culture around me. Six books have resulted from these writings, Numerous photographic expeditions and exhibitions have been done, as another expression of my passion is to empower others into their god-given talents.
This story now culminates into my journey of recording past and present encounters with those people whom I have met and lived around, especially those in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. As I am maturing in my life, I am now able to choose my projects and presentations. Chronicles of the Middle East is this heart-felt journey that I am privileged to travel. Please join me on this adventure.