Candid Conversations: Paolo Pellegrin and Ksenia Kuleshova

Paolo Pellegrin's formative interactions with the photographers he admired were "mute" – a dialogue through the pages of their photo books, which he consumed religiously in his youth. In this new series, Candid Conversations, the world's most experienced and esteemed photographers will connect with today's rising stars, facilitating a sharing of knowledge through the photography community that wasn't available to a young Paolo.

Here, the 10 times World Press Photo award winner and Magnum Photos member joins fellow Canon Ambassador and documentary photographer Ksenia Kuleshova in conversation. One of the most prominent documentary photographers of her generation, Ksenia, like Paolo, has won the W. Eugene Smith Grant. She is known for her work exploring unseen aspects of life in conflict areas, such as her series on Abkhazia, a largely unrecognised state in the South Caucasus that suffered significant damage during the Georgian-Abkhazian war in the 1990s.

Paolo: I come from the pre-internet world where these exchanges were really hard. Maybe somebody who reads this will find something which triggers a thought or an idea that they recognise about their own journey. I read a couple of interviews of yours last night. I really liked when you talked about the power of 'dream'. I recognise that. I think you are, as I was and to some degree still am, quite possessed by what you do. I think that's absolutely necessary to be able to do this work at its fullest.

Ksenia: It's a privilege to hear that from you. It's always a big inspiration to have such conversations, to see different visual languages and approaches in the photo community. And, of course, to learn from people with such big experience…

Paolo: "Big experience" – you can just say "old". No, I share that. It was a pleasure for me to discover your work in the last couple of days, reading where you come from, your thought processes and what animates you. That is always enriching.

Ksenia: I think it's also very important to document this big event from another angle, in another light – not just struggle, but this joy and pure emotions. Being together as a family is a gift of this time.

Paolo: Agreed. And when I was shooting, I was also thinking that this is something my girls will rediscover one day, when I'll be very old and blind, or I'll be gone. They will find this box of prints, and it will be a memory of that time. That idea was close to me.

Ksenia: Speaking about the necessity of documenting global events… war conflicts were always very problematic for me. I admire the bravery, but I have a feeling that some young photographers want to go to war because they want to be famous. Where is the line between the desire to make a name for yourself and the necessity to document a conflict?

Paolo: Before I try to answer that, I should really tell you that I never thought of myself as a war photographer. I come to photography from another perspective, which is more humanistic. There is, of course, a strong interest in the relationship that photography has with history and the idea that we can use this medium to record facts... but it was more about storytelling.

Ksenia: What would your advice be for young photographers who plan to go to war for the first time?

Paolo: Proceed slowly. Understand there's no rush. I know what you're saying: there is, especially in young photographers, this desire to go and to expose themselves in that space. There is a large picture where we deal with macro issues of history and countries, but then there's the individual stories of the people that you encounter. The latter is such a fragile and delicate space that you have the privilege to enter. You have to treat it with the best of yourself and understand that it could be you – how would you like to be treated and photographed in that situation?

Ksenia: We're often a bit overwhelmed by sad and difficult stories. Of course, it's very necessary to document and to show it, but sometimes I feel that there is no space for optimistic stories. I see this as one of my goals: to try to find something positive, even in the worst situations. For example, in Abkhazia I tried to show the war area in a different light – to concentrate on traditions and on the soul of this region. Abkhazia means 'country of the soul'.

Paolo: You're absolutely correct, of course. At the same time, for the most part, I still believe that it is important to take these pictures. Imagine there is no coverage, no photography, no journalists. Then, for the powers that be, there's no accountability. I think by being there, it is a form of not letting things become even worse. But for sure, there is a need for other stories. It doesn't have to be happy, sad, or positive and negative, but to reflect the complexity of life. It is never one thing: tragedy always coexists with beauty, and joy exists with sorrow.

Ksenia: I really loved your short film on NASA's IceBridge expedition surveying climate change in Antarctica. Do you think that journalistic work now can consist just of photography, or is video a necessity?

Paolo: I think there is space to do whatever you want, though photography proceeds hand-in-hand with technology. A century ago, war photographers used to recreate battle scenes because the cameras were so big and the exposures so slow that they needed two hours to expose a plate. I started introducing video, not because I think it's necessary, but because it's something that I wanted to explore. It's about telling stories. These are the tools we have, so you can use whichever is needed.

Ksenia: I know that some photographers use the star-rating feature to rate images in-camera and filter a catalogue. Or maybe you just put your images aside and slow down?

Paolo: Well, there was actually one very famous and amazing Magnum photographer who, when I joined Magnum, said: 'Paolo, you have to wait three years before looking at your contact sheets. At least'.

Ksenia: That's slowed down!

Paolo: You have to create emotional distance and memory, and just look at images as form. Editing really is the other 50% of the equation. It's where you try to identify your intentions when you were shooting. For me, it's a slow process. It's not about choosing the best picture – that's obvious. It's how pictures work with each other.

Ksenia: Do you see the world, or your everyday life, in black-and-white pictures?

Paolo: No, not necessarily, but I do see in forms. I always catch myself composing.

Ksenia: It's difficult to switch off the motor.

Paolo: Yes, it's like... What's the word in English? Wait, let me look it up: Condemned. You can't really switch it off. I'm condemned to always be looking.

Ksenia: It hasn't been long since I joined the photo community, but what I've learned quite fast is that it's important to find your people – people who understand your ideas and your vision. Of course, it's important to receive critique, but to not take it personally, rather to listen to and take what is necessary.

Paolo: Photography is the quintessential lonely profession. For me, Magnum was important in that sense because you have a resource of people. They can be very enriching.

Ksenia: Knowing now everything from your whole career, would you do anything differently?

Paolo: I feel very privileged to have this capacity to enter people's lives – I'm always amazed at the access that we have as photographers. I feel very fortunate to have found what I think is my 'voice'. I wouldn't change anything.