Photography Homework

I  have undertaken a Photography Assignment whose aim was to try to take some photographs in the style of Martin Parr. 

The 2 pictures below represent my best attempts. Some critical remarks are appended.

 

Image 1 

Weymouth 2013

The background here is cluttered which is typical Parr practice. Quite correct.

Garish light conditions prevailed at the time of taking the photograph, in accordance with Mr Parr's established principles.

Jaunty camera angle is another Parr trait which this photographer has emulated. Well done.

A lack of litter, however, lets this picture down. The foreground should have been abounding with food wrappers, discarded chips, beer cans and cigarette packets. Left bare, it presents a large expanse with nothing of interest in it. A profound blunder.

Composition shows some Parr-like tendencies - the top of the buildings cut off, the presence of waste bins, the fisherman's face obscured by his hand, the little girls not facing the camera - but the gentleman on the bicycle (though his unpleasant apparel is a characteristic Parr cipher) is too well-placed for this picture to be an authentic work. A pole of some sort bisecting the frame would also be required in a genuine Parr picture.

Superficially quite a commendable attempt to take a photograph that might be mistaken for a Parr, but a little analysis reveals glaring shortcomings to anyone who knows Parr's methods.

Image 2

Bennett's on the Waterfront, Weymouth

Another fair try.

Again, a cluttered background, glaring light, a waste bin in the picture, and unco-operative figures refusing to acknowledge the camera. In this shot we have also a car bumper in the bottom left hand corner - a nicely Parrian touch, especially when paired with the tiny bit of a car's front end at the right hand side of the picture; full marks for that - credit where due.

Evaluation of the camera angle is slightly problematic but careful study will show that the photographer here has held the camera all but level, which reveals poor attention to detail. The litter is absent, as is any dominant pole; and the Parr habit of cutting off the edges of his subjects would have had the "Bennett's on the Waterfront" sign partially obscured to read, say, "nett's on the W". Furthermore the man in the blue coat would have struck a more discordant, Parrian, note had he been walking out of the frame rather than into it. As it is, because he is looking at the other 2 figures he seems connected to them and that makes the 3 a coherent group. A fatal mistake which Parr would never have made. These facts betray the originator of this image as an artist who falls far short of Parr's ideal.

 

The final mark for this candidate can therefore be no more than a β-.

 

 

My comments. 

A photograph taken in the manner of Martin Parr should include

• Overly bright light : which I have faithfully applied.
• Camera angle of approx. 15° out of true : Image 1 has this but I forgot to use it in Image 2.
• Waste bins : Both pictures feature these. Good.
• Cluttered backgrounds : Done. 10/10.
• Litter in foreground : Not evident in either photo. Poor. Weymouth is too salubrious an area. I could have scattered litter about prior to taking photos but this is frowned upon in Dorset society. Besides, men in white coats would have come and placed me into padded custody - and rightly so.
• Subjects cut off against side of photo : Got this in Image 2 (the cars). Splendid.
• Composition breaking accepted rules : I tried, God knows I tried, but it is difficult to override instincts which have always served one well.

The skill lies in i) finding the scene, and ii) waiting till just the wrong moment. Mr Parr has mastered it; but WHY? WHY?

The attainment of expertise such as Mr Parr's seems to be a lot of effort for very questionable reward. I will be deleting both pictures from my collection.

 

Here is a proper photograph, for which I would expect an α++ at the least: 

 

 

Actually I didn't take this but I wish I had. Steve McCurry took it. God bless him. It breaks ALL M Parr's rules and is therefore marvellous. Justifiably a v. famous picture, of an Afghan Girl in 1984.