Martin Parr Quotes

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Martin Parr

Profession : Photographer

Birth : May 23, 1952

Choosing sepia is all to do with trying to make the image look romantic and idealistic. It's sort of a soft version of propaganda.

Martin Parr

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.

Martin Parr

For those aspiring to make a living from travel photography, it's a sad fact that the boring shots are the shots that are going to make you money.

Martin Parr

Wealthy people have not disappeared, they are just not so willing to show off their wealth.

Martin Parr

I think the ordinary is a very under-exploited aspect of our lives because it is so familiar.

Martin Parr

Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work.

Martin Parr

If there is any jarring at all in my photographs, it's because we are so used to ingesting pictures of everywhere looking beautiful.

Martin Parr

You can easily take photographs at a wedding - no one would question it. But funerals are different.

Martin Parr

I am not as cross about Thatcher now as I was in the '80s. Begrudgingly, I can see that some of her policies helped modernise Britain.

Martin Parr

Dictators are interesting, no?

Martin Parr

Part of the role of photography is to exaggerate, and that is an aspect that I have to puncture. I do that by showing the world as I really find it.

Martin Parr

Photography is, by its nature, exploitative. It's whether you use this process with a sense of responsibility or not. I feel that I do so. My conscience is clear.

Martin Parr

I would urge everyone to start looking at the world in a different way. Spend some time looking at everyday objects, at their design, their shape, their individual characteristics. Think ahead and imagine their significance.

Martin Parr

If you go to the supermarket and buy a package of food and look at the photo on the front, the food never looks like that inside, does it? That is a fundamental lie we are sold every day.

Martin Parr

I am away so much, so I rarely see live TV, but I use iPlayer to catch programmes.

Martin Parr

I just go out and try to make sense of the world around me.

Martin Parr

Criticism is hypocrisy; society is hypocrisy. I'm a tourist. I'm a consumer. I do the things that I photograph and can be criticized of.

Martin Parr

Tourism is the biggest industry in the world.

Martin Parr

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.

Martin Parr

My black-and-white work is more of a celebration, and the color work became more of a critique of society.

Martin Parr