From Stage to Gypsy by Joseph Koudelka

Koudelka's earliest professional photography job was taking stage stills for the Ja Branou Theater in Prague.

This job deeply influenced his future shooting techniques and work style. He said: "The director of the theater allowed me to take photos freely during the rehearsal. I walked around among the actors on the stage. Go and shoot the same scene over and over again in different ways. This taught me how to achieve the most complete and perfect situation in an existing situation. I still continue to use the same method to work. . ” “A large part of my photography revolves around festivals, events and other occasions that are held every year. The process of these events is more or less fixed, so I know exactly what will happen next. I know the actors, I know the story, I know the stage, and when those actors and I are at our peak, a good picture can be produced."

"Sometimes. , I can achieve this goal immediately, but usually due to various reasons, I just can't achieve the best situation of a scene, so I have to keep shooting until I succeed. At the same time, repeated efforts also help me and make me Guaranteed: I will achieve the most complete and extreme Koudelka's way of shooting life and the streets as a drama and a stage is very special.

And when he changed the subject of photography from the theater to gypsies. After his life as a human being, this kind of devotion to photographing Gypsies for almost his whole life is even more rare. After he traveled to the Gypsy communities in the Czech Republic, he expanded the scope of his photography to the entire Czech Republic. Continental Europe includes Romania, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Wales, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and other countries. Since Koudelka left the Czech Republic in 1970 for asylum, he has become a stateless person. Although he settled in the UK, he spent most of his time wandering around Europe just like the gypsies he photographed.