Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer and photojournalist. He is known for intimately looking at modern life in a critical way especially through documenting different social classes within England and more broadly documenting the wealth of the western world through anthropology, being the study of human beings and their ancestors through time. In 1994 he became a member of the Magnum Photos he has published 40 solo photobooks and has been part of 80 exhibitions world wide. Martin has also won many awards for example more recently in 2014 he won a Lucie Award, Achievement in Documentary Photography and an award for an Exceptional Achievement in Photography, Amateur Photographer, London.
The Last Resort
“…if the seaside was tatty, and more than a little run-down, it was also vibrant.” – Martin Parr
In 1982 Parr and his wife moved to England permanently, where he switched to colour photography being inspired by photographers work such as William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. During the summers of 1983, 1984 and 1985 he photographed the working-class people at the seaside in nearby New Brighton a couple miles from Liverpool.
I think that the composition of this photograph is good because, the woman’s head was cut out of the photograph however in the reflection of the mirror we can see her face as if she is about to eat something. This picture is also environmental, it shows litter scattered all over the floor which allows the viewer to interpret what type of place the picture was taken in. The photograph also captures emotion the little boy seems to be red in the face from crying. The photograph was taken from a right angle rather than standing in front, I think this makes it look more like an outsiders perspective and the people in the photograph are probably not aware that the photograph is being taken. There are no bright colours in the photograph apart from a speck of red from the coke can however I think the photograph is still eye catching however I can’t grasp why.