Appunti di fotografia [48] – Josef Koudelka
[…] it is a great success for me to do two or three good photographs a year. And another success is that, when I wake up in the morning, nothing hurts. I can go outside, I feel good and I can photograph. That’s what photography is. Get up in the morning and get out and go to look. And if you find something interesting to photograph, and you finish the day with a few rolls, and you think: ‘Something might stay…’ That’s what the difference is from selling shoes and taking photographs. You sell the shoes, you go home, you have money and thats’ all. [You’ve got] nothing that stays.
Josef Koudelka, in Koudelka: Shooting Holy Land
For 25 years, and this is my longest photographic project, I have been interested in how contemporary man influences the landscape. I have made 10 books on it.
Then I discovered the wall. I grew up behind a wall so I knew what it was. For me, the good photographer is not the guy who goes on the street for 10 minutes and takes this fantastic picture. The good photographer must create the conditions so that he can be good.
Josef Koudelka
Non so cosa sia importante per le persone che guardano le mie foto. Quello che è importante per me, è il fatto di farle. Io non lavoro per provare il mio talento. Io fotografo quasi tutti i giorni, tranne quando fa troppo freddo per viaggiare a modo mio.… Quando vivi in un luogo a lungo, diventi cieco perché non osservi più nulla. Io viaggio per non diventare cieco.
Josef Koudelka