There is no shortage of videos on YouTube that feature photographers out in the world, taking pictures. Many…too many… feature young, hipsters shooting film. These videos are one of the reasons that the aftermarket for old, analogue cameras has exploded over the past few years. What was once old equipment that no one wanted is now commanding ridiculous prices on Ebay. If there is a new YouTube video released featuring an up-until-then obscure camera, the price immediately starts creeping up. But the curmudgeon in me has to also tip my hat to these neophytes, since they are truly the ones keeping film photography off of life support.

I prefer my vicarious photo shooting viewing to be centered on masters of the medium. There is one film in particular that I’ve been wanting to see for some time. The movie is called Koudelka Shooting Holy Land. I’ve been waiting to see if it would pop up somewhere for free, but alas, I finally caved and dropped 10 bucks to stream it at home. Was it worth it? Absolutely. It is an often quiet meditation on the challenges of finding inspiring subject matter, and approaching it with a critical, yet compassionate eye. Koudelka shot the areas in Israel that are the meeting points between Palestinian lands and Jewish settlements. The photos resulted in an amazing book from a few years back that I’ve written about previously, titled Wall. It was a joy to watch him wander through environments that at one turn were mundane, and at another, quite tense. Koudelka navigates it all with a world weary resignation that I found charming and inspiring.

Some of the most compelling moments in the film occur when Koudelka navigates the hyper-security measures in place at border crossings and checkpoints. For a photographer who first came to prominence documenting the Soviet invasion of his native Czechoslovakia in 1968, he is no stranger to working in challenging situations. Yet most of Koudelka’s interactions with the authorities amount to mostly gruff but docile harassment from military people who are more concerned with threats of violence and not an old man with a panoramic camera. Still, hearing a voice shout from a watchtower as he sets up a few of his shots is enough to give me concern for his safety. Yet Koudelka slowly, deliberately continues his work, unfazed and unintimidated by the powers that keep watch over a complicated mix of politics and differences in faith, all while adding to the tension and division that the photographer himself is quietly, critically assessing. If you get the chance, spend the 10 dollars and watch a master at work.

Reflections on current events.

I never aim to be overtly political with my words and my work shared here. At the same time, it’s impossible to not see external influences on what I create, if a reader or viewer is so inclined to apply that barometer. When social winds shift, when power structures pivot, when nature reminds us of our place, when things look dark, when winter descends…it is bound to be reflected in the things we (and I) produce. Such has been the case, certainly over the past four or five years, even more certainly over the past 12 months or so.

There are walls both real and imagined. There are barriers we put in place to keep others out, or to keep some safely in. There are means of control for the greater good. There are structures in place that do more damage than they benefit. What happens when barriers are breached? What happens when the levee breaks? What happens when the center cannot hold? There exist entanglements, blockades, fences, wires, ignorance, stupidity, close-mindedness, racism, classism, elitism, hatred, judgement, misunderstanding, a lack of empathy, a lack of a moral compass, a lack of thought for others beyond ourselves. This is universal. This is a human issue. This is our struggle. This is our challenge. For you. For me. For all of us. Life is not always fair, not always logical, not always predictable, not always good. We can love each other, we can hate each other, we can tolerate each other, we can ignore each other, we can try to understand each other. We can seek to hide behind barriers real or imagined, without realizing it’s we who are being trapped.