p.1 #1 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
I loved Parr's film work, back in the day when he shot film with direct flash. Everything had that bright, saturated, hyper vacation snap look. The pics just had that punch that were so recognizable as his film style.
The Guardian just did a piece on his latest (apparently?) work on a cruise ship. Parr used a digicam and the pics, well, to me are very unremarkable. I just miss his old stuff. Maybe it is not because he shot on digital but because he did not use a flash?
I'm not sure, but the compositions just don't have that impact and humor they had before.
It's a bummer to me as I love his work. What does the rest of the peanut gallery think?
p.1 #4 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
So, we have Martin Parr takes his phone on vacation. No snap, no juxtaposition and certainly no burst of color bathed in electronic light. Thanks for posting.
p.1 #5 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Yeah, that doesn’t look like Par. He used to get in close, with or without flash. I don’t think it’s digital, though, that’s the reason. I can think of a few others: under the rules, he wasn’t allowed to single out individuals unless they were staff; he now uses a walker and just doesn’t have the speed and flexibility anymore to shoot in his former style; he was paid by Cunard.
p.1 #8 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Not very inspiring, but in his defence: This looks just like an editorial assignment for a text piece where the cruise line didn't give full photography access (like using flash or moving in close). It looks like an assignment for pay - not an art project.
A few other things to consider. Martin Parr is recovering from some sort of bone cancer and moves around with help from a rollator. If he doesn't have budget for an assistant, he is simply not capable of carry his Canon with zoom and assortment of flashes.
I meet him in Copenhagen last month. He didn't bring an assistant and would only carry a Fujifilm X100VI - I think that may have been what he used on the cruise ship as well.
It may also be worth noting that Martin Parr has a mission to document leisure culture in the broader sense. His archive in Bristol collects all kinds of photography that documents tourism and leisure behaviour - not just for artistic reasons but also and maybe primarily to preserve this as historical documentation. I would say the Guardian photos fits perfectly in the latter category.
If you want to see recent in-your-face flash & saturation, then look at his Instagram BTS coverage of a Lacoste ad campaign he did.
p.1 #13 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
So now I have seen early and current work by Parr. I’m guessing like many of us working in the 70-80-90’s did more black and white than color because it was both easier and less expensive. Today that has flipped.
Also as one ages one simplifies his/her life. Case in point, I’ve started doing large medium format film photograps again, but have chosen a very lightweight camera and lens with very few additional accessories.
Another thing to consider is changing the way we work. For myself I seem to pivot from thing to thing over the years. Following “change is good” philosophy. I feel if I ever master something then it is time to move on and learn something new.
p.1 #14 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Desmolicious wrote:
I loved Parr's film work, back in the day when he shot film with direct flash. Everything had that bright, saturated, hyper vacation snap look. The pics just had that punch that were so recognizable as his film style.
The Guardian just did a piece on his latest (apparently?) work on a cruise ship. Parr used a digicam and the pics, well, to me are very unremarkable. I just miss his old stuff. Maybe it is not because he shot on digital but because he did not use a flash?
I'm not sure, but the compositions just don't have that impact and humor they had before.
It's a bummer to me as I love his work. What does the rest of the peanut gallery think?
p.1 #15 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Agree those are very unremarkable. Even if the purpose is just documentation, I don’t think pictures need to be *that* boring to look at. Also don’t think the digicam style works with these pictures. His old film work was great though.
When it comes to the digicam summer holiday aesthetic, I think Dua Lipa nailed that on some pics from her Italy vacation (on insta). Obviously she’s a singer and not a photographer. But maybe that’s part of the reason why she nailed the vibe - just more authentic?
p.1 #16 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
These feel inconsistent with his earlier work. In some photos I think he gets what he was going for, particularly the one with the four passengers looking out and some of the dance hall scenes, but others seem to miss on composition or exposure work or some combination of the two. Never heard of him before but his film stuff seems pretty cool.
p.1 #17 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Well, as a document of a cruise with its boredom, kitschy tackyness, and fake, upmarket glamour the pictures are fine, but I agree there is little witty or amusing about them. It might be the way the cruises were of course, or he might simply have found them uninspiring and hence the resulting photos are too. I have to say when I went on a cruise I found the ship and fellow passengers were not making me want to get out my camera and photograph them.
p.1 #19 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
Desmolicious wrote:
I loved Parr's film work, back in the day when he shot film with direct flash. Everything had that bright, saturated, hyper vacation snap look. The pics just had that punch that were so recognizable as his film style.
The Guardian just did a piece on his latest (apparently?) work on a cruise ship. Parr used a digicam and the pics, well, to me are very unremarkable. I just miss his old stuff. Maybe it is not because he shot on digital but because he did not use a flash?
I'm not sure, but the compositions just don't have that impact and humor they had before.
It's a bummer to me as I love his work. What does the rest of the peanut gallery think?
I think the shot in the article's banner looks like his old stuff. Otherwise, I have sympathy for him on this one. Cruises are generally the most uninspiring things to me, particularly when you're stuck on one of the old girls that's either dull, like this one, or incredibly tacky (pretty much any Carnival boat). I know we'd all like to believe we can pull get the magic out of even the dullest event, but that has not been my experience. Sometimes the dull photos are the perfect reflection of the event itself.
p.1 #20 · Martin Parr - liked his work better when he used film
I don’t like Parr
He’s like the Peter Kay of photography
I find his mocking style a little offensive.
I remember him from the early 90’s
I read an article about him in a photo magazine, think it was Photo Answers??
The interviewer asked halfway through the interview what camera he used, Parr called out to his assistant and repeated the question. The interviewer was clearly narked by this and asked Parr if he was being serious, the camera would be dangling from his neck for several hours at a time surely he would know the brand of camera or was this all part of the “Parr” brand image. Parr apparently switched instantly and ended the interview storming off. I read a few other similar stories and tbh he came across as a one trick pony but stuck up his own rectum.
Mocking others by stating the obvious is not a good look in my view, I find it lazy and somewhat nasty.
There’s a famous picture he took of a young couple eating fish and chips under a bus shelter, they are minding their own business and Parr with his ring flash and garish colours picked out the graffiti and all the strewn litter surrounding them and portrayed them in a very unflattering way.
He comes across as a pompous Tw*t tbh
I have no time for him at all.
