Inspo Links | Josef Koudelka

Josef Koudelka. Czech born 1938. He documented the Russian invasion of Prague in 1968. He shot the events and had the negatives smuggled out of the country so they could be published anonymously because Koudelka was still working in country and feared reprisals if his name was known.

Koudelka was signed on as a Magnum photographer shortly after the Prague story was published. Are you as big of a Magnum groupie as me? This book is both affordable and an amazing look at contact sheets from some big names in that agencies roster. Just go buy it!

Koudelka shot (and is still shooting) some really interesting projects. Roma peoples, the holy land, and a project on industrial landscapes. Just to be clear- this post isn’t trying to be an exhaustive history on the dude, more of just an introduction to anyone out there reading.

Below are a couple that I liked from those projects named above. And no I didn’t crop these. Koudelka moved into this panorama format for most of his career. He used a Fuji GX617 for years until transitioning into digital where, get this, Leica made a one off unique to him digital panorama camera. You think you’re a big shot photographer…? Has Leica made you your own personal camera yet?

Last but not least here are some quick and dirty docs about our man Josef. These are both worthwhile watches and the channels themselves are worth a subscribe if you’re interested.