Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parris a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. His major projects have been rural communities, The Last Resort, The Cost of Living, Small Worldand Common Sense...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth25 May 1952
cannot convinced travel
As we travel around Britain, I am convinced most of us cannot really appreciate what we are seeing. We take too much for granted, because it is all so familiar.
almost bit fact hence particular popular remains romantic tends wedding
Sepia in particular tends to make everything look a bit romantic and almost sentimental, hence the fact that it remains such a popular choice for wedding photographs.
kids people
Of course, New Brighton is very shabby, very rundown, but people still go there because it's the place where you take kids out on a Sunday.
change people time type
Places change all the time, and the type of people who live there change.
brown shoot
You can't shoot in sepia, so converting into black and white and then into brown makes everything feel less real.
ability drown objects photograph
I would drown in objects if I didn't have the ability to photograph them.
color commercial obliged palette serious snapshot work
In the '70s, in Britain, if you were going to do serious photography, you were obliged to work in black-and-white. Color was the palette of commercial photography and snapshot photography.
became critique society work
My black-and-white work is more of a celebration, and the color work became more of a critique of society.
younger
I like to keep in touch with younger photographers. It's important that a younger generation comes up and questions the assumptions made by old farts like me.
best consume cookery fashion food looking looks people pictures travel
Fashion pictures show people looking glamorous. Travel pictures show a place looking at its best, nothing to do with the reality. In the cookery pages, the food always looks amazing, right? Most of the pictures we consume are propaganda.
hard
We live in a homogenized world, where it's hard to get excited when everything is slick and professional. The interesting things are the dull things.
We live in a difficult but inspiring world, and there is so much out there that I want to record.
Sometimes you feel uncomfortable taking a photograph, but that's all part of the job.
call fulfilling relaxing taking trip work
Personally, I don't take holidays; I go on trips. My idea of relaxing is taking a trip that isn't commissioned. I'll work just as hard, but without that nagging pressure of fulfilling a commission. Now that's what I call a holiday.