Street Photo of the week by Martin Parr
Street Photo of the week by Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a giant, a legend of contemporary Street Photography. A disruptive force that changed the way many people understood the art. Ever since he first started using colour, he has created ripples in the photographic community. He has been embraced by many and not accepted by many others. At least that is what it used to be for mr. Parr in the early days when he was establishing his style. Now, he is the undisputed magician that can turn anything mundane or kitsch into a beautiful composition, an interesting and memorable photograph. In my opinion he is one of the most influential figures of Street Photography.
Martin Parr loves to take photos of everyday life. Being a resident of England he has dedicated himself to capture the Englishness that surrounds him. But mr. Parr doesn’t confine himself to England and the English only. He is a world travelled photographer with a large collection of photos from countless locations. All of his photos have his unique style that make them so distinguishable.
Martin Parr is one of the most widely published photographers. The last time I checked his website he had 69 published books! I think his most famous ones are “The Last Resort” and “Think of England”. I could write about Martin Parr all day long. I think he is hugely talented and has a lot more still to offer the photographic community.
You can see more of Martin Parr’s photographic work on his website at http://www.martinparr.com/. If you wish to learn more about this amazing photographer I highly recommend reading Andrew Sweigart’s “Under The Influence of Martin Parr”!
Note: Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the photo below. It might not even have one. So I am labeling it as “Unknown”. If anyone knows the name, please share in the comments.
2nd Note: Martin Parr contacted us and gave us the title for his image “Ascot”. How cool is that!
Ascot
I will not pretend that I can analyze any of Martin Parr’s photos. The man is a genius and he sees and captures things that the rest of us can only notice later “while watching the video”! I will give it a try though, I might get something right, you never know.
So, I see 3 messages coming out of this photo. Firstly, I see glamour that is defined by the clothes and whatever visible surroundings. Second I see, or should I say feel the money in the air. The people in this photo, the main subject radiates that money and glamour lifestyle that one sees amongst the rich. The background helps define the foreground and vice versa. Love that. Thirdly what I see and what I am sure you have all noticed by now (unless you have seen this photo before and know about the stain) is the stain on the dress of the lady holding the glass and the flowery purse. That stain, just there, comes and “splashes” the previous two messages away. As soon as the eye falls on the stain, you start to notice the imperfections that make this a truly unique and spectacular photo in my opinion. The main stain, the rest of the path the liquid took making more stains that are apparent in the lower left and right part of her dress, the slightly protruding belly and the smudged lipstick on the glass.
Thank you very much Martin Parr!
About this weekly feature,
As you know, every Friday we feature a photograph of a Street Photographer on our website. The Street Photographer that is featured is selected by the Street Hunters team.
Thank you
