New York photographer, Terri Gold, is fascinated by rituals. To capture her images, she has traveled all over the world for her ongoing project, Still Points in a Turning World. Her work focuses on Asia’s vanishing tribal heritage and she is working on a new series with dance companies in New York. Terri was chosen as a Lightroom Featured Photographer in Photoshop User Magazine and her work has been published by Random House, Penguin Putnam and Henry Holt. Her work was recently featured in aCurator Magazine.

Terri’s unique approach to her images comes from her use of infrared. I shot infrared film for many years, traveling with changing bags and developing the film myself and then lith printing the images in the darkroom. Now I use a digital camera converted to infrared by www.lifepixel.com/ . I am always looking for the dramatic skies that work so well with infrared but I actually use it in all light conditions. An interesting interview with Terri appears on the James Robinson Photography Blog.

My ongoing body of work, “Still Points in a Turning World”, explores our universal cross-cultural truths: the importance of family, community, ritual and the amazing diversity of its expression.

My earliest memories are of spinning a globe, always drawn to the last mysterious corners of the world. Photographing the people, festivals and sacred sites in the tribal areas of Asia, my passion is to visually capture the rituals that define our lives and to create images that explore our human connections as they are formed. This series is from my travels to Southern Rajasthan & Gujarat and the Southwestern region of China called Kham. The imagery explores the tribal cultures of the Rabaris, Bhils and the reclusive Jats and in China, the world of the Tibetan Khampas. In these villages the traditions of different millennia co-exist side by side.

My work is interpretive in nature. The photograph is the first step in the process. My technique involves creating imagery using the invisible infrared light spectrum. I shot infrared film for many years. Now, I use a digital camera converted to infrared and the digital darkroom to create the split-toned imagery. Working with infrared light adds an element of mystery when creating the work, which, I feel, suits the subject matter and the timeless quality of the images.

The differences between our many world cultures are fading away. We all lose when ancient skills and visionary wisdom are forgotten. As a “visual archeologist”, photography has become my way to honor and celebrate rituals and customs that may soon vanish and what it is that makes a people unique. I believe that sharing these stories can have a positive impact by providing a window on our common humanity.