Exercise: The Roma Journeys-Gipsies.
Before I read the Cia Rinne interview I looked at what images were available on the web of the two projects and brain-stormed the first impressions of each set.
The most obvious difference was that they were taken at different times and so that had to be taken into consideration. The use of colour in the later images has to be ignored as it can seriously change the feel of a scene.
Koudelka. 1st. impressions
Different/self contained/family/proud/isolated posed/uninvolved/formal/outsiders.
Eskilden. 1st. impressions.
Different/self contained/family/proud/isolated/happy/involved/relaxed/outsiders.
The life the Roma led seemed similar but the presentation was different. After reading the Cia Rinne interview and some background on the Koudelka set I started to see where the difference in presentation lay. Koudelka remained an outsider and photographed the Roma as such. Although he got to know the people he photographed from the outside. Eskilden on the other hand not only got close to the Roma but learned their language and at times lived with them.
Eskilder’s close relationship with his subjects shows in the far more relaxed spontaneous shots he obtained. Life looks far less grim, the people happier and the feel of the settlements lighter.
From the outset it would seem that Koudelka wished to show the Roma from the position of an informed outsider, whereas Eskilden wished to show the Rome from the inside. At first glance the images appear, only, to come from different eras but on closer inspection the photographers intentions from the start were different.
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