Koudelka, grain

If it is a great image, grain will not destroy that and may enhance it. A boring image cannot be rescued with or without grain. I know as I have produced so many of them.
 
Apologies for resurrecting such an old thread. I spent a few days in Prague recently and went to an exhibition of Koudelks's work - simply amazing to see these images printed large, some actual prints dated from the 60's and 70's while most were newer prints of the older negs. In regards to the question on grain.. so happened to come across this profile of Koudelka online, wherein it mentions:

Koudelka used an Exacta camera with a 25-millimeter Flektogon f4 lens for his first project photographing the Gypsies. He shot this project at a max of a 30th of a second on an East German 400 ASA movie film, but pushed it as far as possible in a hot developer. Sometimes up to 3200 ASA.
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Which probably explains the amount of grain. Personally I find the grain enhances the power of these images, certainly for the early Gypsies work.

Anyone interested in reading more about Koudelka, especially the events around the Prague invasion, may want to take a look at this: https://aperture.org/blog/josef-koudelka-68/

A great read IMHO. Loved this from the interviewer too:

Harris: I read a great quote by Ian Berry, who I gather was the only Western photographer in Prague that week. He said: “The only other photographer I saw was an absolute maniac who had a couple of old-fashioned cameras on string round his neck and a cardboard box over his shoulders, who was actually just going up to the Russians, clambering over their tanks and photographing them openly. He had the support of the crowd, who would move in and surround him whenever the Russians tried to take his film. I felt either this guy was the bravest man around or he is the biggest lunatic around.” Apparently, Josef, this brave lunatic was you.
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