I am researching Martin Parr to discover how I can use a humorous undertone in my images, and perhaps consider another stylistic approach to my images.
Martin Parr is one of the world's most famous photographers. His photography, while having varying subjects and genres (portraiture to food), has a constant style that is unique to him and has almost become his trademark.
This mostly consists of very highly saturated colours and using a flash gun to create images that are not so flattering, and even laughable.
When I first saw his work I saw it as tacky, because that's the connotations we have with these bright, garish colours. However, after actually looking into the photographs and studying the subjects then I found that this way of shooting really works for what he does, especially to create that more humorous mood. If the same images were to be shot on a super HD camera with one light in a dark room the images would have an incredibly different undertone to them.
It's clear to see that my images don't directly relate to these images, however it does have a humorous undertone that I wish to also achieve.
His use of colour allows the images to be brought to life. The high saturation doesn't make the image beautiful but it's so saturated that it's almost uglier. It's not cinematic, it's very in your face.
In the image above the saturation brings attention to the chips and the flag, which benefits the image in a number of ways. First, it draws the eye towards the chips which are the main focus of this image, and secondly the flag being so bright allows the viewer some cultural and location context, which compliments the focus on the chips. This shows a very stereotypical British image, with the chips being a classic British eat and the flag letting people know where this was taken while also representing pride.
The humour in this image comes from the relationship between the birds, the flag and the chips to me. Personally, I see this image as the birds almost representing British people fighting over British values. Taken in Dover, it's on of Parr's favourite locations to shoot; by the beach. This beach scene mixed with and underlying message is a very classic Parr approach.
The relationship between them is humorous because of this, as it's showing something rather serious in a lighthearted way. The chips show that somebody has been there and made an effort to go and buy them and wanted them to eat and the seagulls have stolen that opportunity from them, whoever they were.
This heavily relates to my work, as whoever's chips they were probably wasn't very happy that this was happening however us as the viewer can find humour in it as it isn't happening to us and we can see it happening without any consequences, such as my 'ah shit' moments.
This image is a much for recent photo of Parr's, from a series on Cuban tourism in 2017.
Visually, I prefer this image a lot more to the first, as the tones work better together to make the image feels a lot more whole and coherent almost. Even the towels and bags are shades of blue which match the sea.
The image has a very natural vs human interaction theme. We see the natural branch with the blue sea, often associated with bliss. The branch has been used as something to hang up all of their beach wear, which interrupts the natural way of things in the image.
The image doesn't seem overly humorous as some of his other images, however I do feel that the more you look at it the more funny it gets. It's not a belly hurting laughter that is caused, but it makes me as a viewer smile with how ridiculous the human race is. It's as if we're observing ourselves from an outside view.
The part that made me smile most was seeing the wine glass at the top of the branch, it feels completely unnecessary and odd, even as a human. It made me smile with how silly it is and the use of nature to benefit them.
I feel that the success of these images are from the human presence in them, which would be hard to replicate into my images without having an actual person in them.
I could have hands in the image to insinuate a human presence but perhaps that removes the observant view that the images currently have without people in them.
However, the images that I am already shooting do have a human presence suggested because they're all things we as people rely on, use or experience.
Martin Parr is one of the world's most famous photographers. His photography, while having varying subjects and genres (portraiture to food), has a constant style that is unique to him and has almost become his trademark.
This mostly consists of very highly saturated colours and using a flash gun to create images that are not so flattering, and even laughable.
When I first saw his work I saw it as tacky, because that's the connotations we have with these bright, garish colours. However, after actually looking into the photographs and studying the subjects then I found that this way of shooting really works for what he does, especially to create that more humorous mood. If the same images were to be shot on a super HD camera with one light in a dark room the images would have an incredibly different undertone to them.
It's clear to see that my images don't directly relate to these images, however it does have a humorous undertone that I wish to also achieve.
His use of colour allows the images to be brought to life. The high saturation doesn't make the image beautiful but it's so saturated that it's almost uglier. It's not cinematic, it's very in your face.
In the image above the saturation brings attention to the chips and the flag, which benefits the image in a number of ways. First, it draws the eye towards the chips which are the main focus of this image, and secondly the flag being so bright allows the viewer some cultural and location context, which compliments the focus on the chips. This shows a very stereotypical British image, with the chips being a classic British eat and the flag letting people know where this was taken while also representing pride.
The humour in this image comes from the relationship between the birds, the flag and the chips to me. Personally, I see this image as the birds almost representing British people fighting over British values. Taken in Dover, it's on of Parr's favourite locations to shoot; by the beach. This beach scene mixed with and underlying message is a very classic Parr approach.
The relationship between them is humorous because of this, as it's showing something rather serious in a lighthearted way. The chips show that somebody has been there and made an effort to go and buy them and wanted them to eat and the seagulls have stolen that opportunity from them, whoever they were.
This heavily relates to my work, as whoever's chips they were probably wasn't very happy that this was happening however us as the viewer can find humour in it as it isn't happening to us and we can see it happening without any consequences, such as my 'ah shit' moments.
This image is a much for recent photo of Parr's, from a series on Cuban tourism in 2017.
Visually, I prefer this image a lot more to the first, as the tones work better together to make the image feels a lot more whole and coherent almost. Even the towels and bags are shades of blue which match the sea.
The image has a very natural vs human interaction theme. We see the natural branch with the blue sea, often associated with bliss. The branch has been used as something to hang up all of their beach wear, which interrupts the natural way of things in the image.
The image doesn't seem overly humorous as some of his other images, however I do feel that the more you look at it the more funny it gets. It's not a belly hurting laughter that is caused, but it makes me as a viewer smile with how ridiculous the human race is. It's as if we're observing ourselves from an outside view.
The part that made me smile most was seeing the wine glass at the top of the branch, it feels completely unnecessary and odd, even as a human. It made me smile with how silly it is and the use of nature to benefit them.
I feel that the success of these images are from the human presence in them, which would be hard to replicate into my images without having an actual person in them.
I could have hands in the image to insinuate a human presence but perhaps that removes the observant view that the images currently have without people in them.
However, the images that I am already shooting do have a human presence suggested because they're all things we as people rely on, use or experience.
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