I received an email from Richard Hudson a member of our group that brought some interesting observations about Koudelka and other photographers documenting social behavior.
Josef Koudelka video links are at the bottom of this page, don’t miss them!
Richard’s email:
Walter – Richard — I wondered how you singled out Josef Koudelka for this meeting, but now I understand why. A great choice, demonstrating how superb documentary work lives beyond its own time. The challenges for outcast cultures, exiles and immigrants may be worse today than when Koudelka shot this work, when there seemed to be a bit more compassion for other people than we see today.
But – I hope on Wednesday we can keep our focus on the ART, rather than the underlying social and political issues.
Help us understand what distinguishes Koudelka’s work from that of the many other photographers who have and are documenting gypsies, immigrants, exiles, etc.
What might we learn from Koudelka that can inform our own work?
In 2025, are there different conventions for telling these stories?
Google AI kindly gave me a list of examples – these are the ones besides Koudelka. There’s some superb work here.
Gypsies & Immigrants
Renowned documentary photographers have covered issues of migration, exile, and displacement, including the lives of Romani people and refugees. Some of the most notable figures include: Documenting Romani communities
Brian Sokol: Through his portraits of people in refugee camps, Sokol focuses on the individual human experience of displacement, creating images of love, family, and play
Cristina Salvador Klenz: Klenz is an American photojournalist who, in 2022, published Hidden: Life with California’s Roma Families. The book documents the lives of Romani families on the West Coast, providing intimate portraits of a rarely seen community.
Iain McKell: The British photographer is known for his book The New Gypsies. His work offers a dreamy, fashion-influenced look at modern-day travelers in the U.K., focusing on those who have chosen a nomadic lifestyle.
Joakim Eskildsen: For his project The Roma Journeys, Eskildsen photographed Romani life in seven different countries, creating a rich portrait of contemporary Roma culture.
Documenting immigrants and refugees
Dorothea Lange: A foundational figure in documentary photography, Lange documented the plight of Dust Bowl migrants during the Great Depression. Her work is famous for its compassionate images of displaced families.
John Moore: The Pulitzer Prize-winning Getty Images photographer has extensively documented immigration and border issues, particularly focusing on the U.S.-Mexico border. His book Undocumented covers the stories of asylum seekers fleeing violence in Central America.
Giles Duley: An award-winning documentary photographer and triple amputee, Duley has dedicated his work to capturing the lives of refugees. His book I can only tell you what my eyes seedocuments the 2015–2016 European refugee crisis.
Lynsey Addario: A Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Addario has extensively covered humanitarian issues, including documenting Syrian refugees across the Middle East.
Asher Imtiaz: Born and raised in Pakistan, Imtiaz resettled in the United States in 2016. He focuses on the immigrant experience in America, aiming to create photographs that are “mirrors that reflect back our common humanity”.
Nicolo Filippo Rosso: This Italian documentary photographer covers displacement, migration, and humanitarian crises around the world, from Latin America to the Middle East.
Rohingya refugee photographers: A group of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh—including Zia, Abdullah Habib, Mohammed Salim Khan, and Shahida Win—are telling their own stories through photography. For their work, they were recognized with the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award.
Giovanna del Sarto: During the 2015 refugee crisis, this Italian documentary photographer created the project A Polaroid for a Refugee. She gave the people she photographed a Polaroid portrait, giving them a physical memento to carry on their journeys.
Looking forward to it… – Richard
Thank you Richard Hudson for your input.
Videos about Josef Koudelka:
English