Koudelka Shooting the Holy Land
Koudelka Shooting the Holy Land is very much a photographer’s film. For much of its 72 minutes, we watch Josef Koudelka contemplating and maneuvering for his next shot. If not a master class, certainly a reminder of the intentionality a great photographer puts into his work. He discusses getting the right shot, sometimes trying to go back to the same place over years only to find his original was the best he would get.
Gilad Baram, Koudelka’s assistant and the film’s director shows great intentionality too. The restraint of the film is remarkable; it doesn’t try to do too much and it’s never in a hurry. We linger, sometimes as long as 30 seconds on photographs showing the result. We're invited into Koudelka's thought process without him ever articulating it.
I've seen a lot of photography documentaries now and this one seems to be the most pure, which I realize is a bit vague for a description, but nonetheless that's what it is. It's not the most informative or lively; just a man and his camera trying to get the best images he can.
Here's some backstory you might enjoy:
I've enjoyed discovering otherwise obscure films at the Darkroom Rumour streaming service, which is where I found this one:
Quick note: I keep a list of photography related films on Letterboxd:
