The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

Best of Bristol: Life Through the Lens of the 'Godfather' of British Photography, Martin Parr: Sandals, Zoom Lenses & Village Fetes, on a Lifetime of Documenting the Eccentricities of British Life & Leisure

• Chris Grimes - Facilitator. Coach. Motivational Comedian

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Martin Parr opens a window into his extraordinary five-decade career documenting the eccentricities of British life and leisure, revealing the philosophy that has made him one of the world's most celebrated documentary photographers.

Taking us behind his lens, Parr shares how finding himself "in the right place at the right time" led to his breakthrough project "The Last Resort" in New Brighton during the 1980s – a collection so enduring it's now in its seventh edition. With refreshing candor, he confesses that most of his photographs are "rubbish" and considers himself fortunate to capture ten good images annually, highlighting the relentless pursuit of quality that defines true mastery.

Parr's unique ability to create photographs that provoke "ambiguous emotional reactions" – where viewers "are unsure whether to laugh or cry" – reveals the subtle power of his documentary approach. While acknowledging criticism of his work, his substantial following (700,000+ Instagram followers) and exhibitions in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Tate, Pompidou Centre, and Museum of Modern Art, confirm his profound impact on contemporary photography.

Beyond his personal achievements, Parr's commitment to preserving photographic heritage shines through his foundation, which houses not only his extensive archive but also collections from other British documentary photographers, alongside approximately 5,000 photography books. This cultural repository, combined with his mentorship of emerging talent, ensures his influence will extend far beyond his own remarkable body of work.

What truly emerges from this conversation is Parr's infectious enthusiasm for finding magical moments in mundane settings. "I'm happiest in a cliché," he admits, revealing how church village fetes and seaside holidays become portals to understanding British identity through his discerning eye. His legacy? "The folio of photos I've built up – an archive of my time in Britain over the last 50 years." A cultural treasure capturing our shared history one extraordinary ordinary moment at a time.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

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Thanks for listening!

Chris Grimes:

Welcome to another episode of the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, chris Grimes, the storytelling show that features the Clearing, where all good questions come to get asked and all good stories come to be told, and where all my guests have two things in common they're all creative individuals and all with an interesting story to tell. There are some lovely storytelling metaphors a clearing, a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, some alchemy, some gold, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for. So, yes, welcome to the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, chris Grimes, are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin here. We are Very welcome. We're doing a LinkedIn live as well.

Chris Grimes:

As we do this, I'd like to extremely welcome Mr Martin Parr, who is quite rightly described as being the godfather of British photography. The godfather, we're going to do something, which is how do you like these apples? Later on, loved researching you. It's no exaggeration. I read to say that without Martin Parr's exemplary practice, today's British photography scene would be much impoverished and it would certainly be a lot less fun. So, yes, you're a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photo book collector. I got in touch with you just to blow an extra bit of happy smoke at you a couple of weeks ago, because you said your favorite restaurant was Sunny Stores, which is in Bristol, where I live, literally about 500 meters away, and that also.

Chris Grimes:

I've known of your work and the Martin Parr Foundation for many, many years. I've also loved many of your photographs, so I just wanted to try and hook you and then I was very, very chuffed because when I sent you the message, you said I'm a bit podcasted and a bit interviewed out, but I'll do yours. So, thank you, thank you very much for being here. So, um, martin parr, and how's morale? What's your story of the day is what I normally ask. But as you're a photographer, what's your photograph of the day, please? What's the most recent photograph you've taken?

Martin Parr:

uh, I haven't done any photos today. We've had um some students from halso in college down, so we've been showing them around and and when I was last photographing I think it was last Friday when I was down in Breen photographing the Country and Western Music Festival.

Chris Grimes:

Lovely and, by the way, talking of festivals, this is what I knew about you anyway. But it says, with your clunky DSLR zoom lens and sandals, it does much to disarm your subjects and allows you to get really in amongst them in a way that's totally unthreatening. But then you're right there with your lens, getting in amongst fellow Britons, most of whom are either at Glastonbury Festival by the beach, but you're celebrating all things iconic to do with British life and you're looking at the class system as well.

Martin Parr:

I guess, and leisure is my main subject. You know if, if I, if I had to sort of uh sum up my whole activity, I'd say it's the leisure pursuits of the western world. I in particular here in the uk, and within that even more so in england because I live in england, I've furthered our secret, but I have done um bodies of work in wales, ireland and scotland as well and I know the Martin Park Foundation is very much about preserving British and Irish culture and you're a real advocate for unsung photographers as well through the foundation as well.

Chris Grimes:

Overlooked as you call them.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, that's right. I mean we do show people who are known. We often show bodies of work that people haven't seen before, but there's nothing we like better than to actually show a photographer who's never had a show before and to hopefully, you know, hook up and get them a book at the same time, get them lots of publicity. So this, in a sense, is, I guess, our best activity and the one we feel and get most satisfaction from.

Chris Grimes:

And Bolo, one of your really iconic photographs in beach therapy was of the Mar del Plata, argentina, photograph in 2014, which, for me, was really, really reminiscent of the Ouija photograph. That is in a place where I regularly have for many, many years gone to in Cornwall, a holiday house that a friend's parent owns that we go to, and I'm often sad too much information whilst looking at this Ouija photograph, which is the one that took place on Coney Island Beach at midday.

Martin Parr:

The one with lots of people in.

Chris Grimes:

Yes.

Martin Parr:

But the difference is they're all waving to Ouija. In my picture no one's looking at me whatsoever. I mean I was using a telephoto lens. He'd have been using a standard lens. I was doing my exploration of how you can photograph on the beaches with a telephoto. Having done every other combination previously, I've always used the beach as my sort of experimental lab, so this is the latest phase to test out, um, what would happen with the telephoto and you're in st ives beach, I gather, or in st ives recently as well, at high season.

Martin Parr:

That's correct, yeah, yeah, I mean the book Beach Therapy has got pictures from as far away as Argentina right down to a lot of pictures taken in St Ives. I really like the beaches there.

Chris Grimes:

I like the fact you can have this foliage in front of it, so I was playing around with that and trying to make interesting pictures and the ice cream van forgive me for not knowing the actual title of it, but the one that's very aerial viewed with people queuing for an ice cream on a very big, expansive beach. Oh, that's 10B, 10B, sorry, Thank you for being here. You said to me a couple of minutes ago that I promised you something different and you'd be quite grumpy if it's not. You said Exactly, yeah.

Martin Parr:

When's the different bit going to come up?

Chris Grimes:

Well, I've been blowing happy smoke at you until this point to prove that I've done the research and I'm really, really happy to have you here in all sincerity, thank you, thank you. The difference comes now. I'm delighted to curate you through the unique storiescape of the Good Listening To show, which is all going to be taking place energetically in a clearing or serious happy place of your choosing. In a moment I'm going to ask you where your clearing is. Then there's a lovely juicy storytelling construct called 5-4-3-2-1. There's a couple of random squirrels, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare, a golden baton and a cake. So it's all to play for. And already you're smiling a bit, so I'm assuming you're fairly enjoying yourself. So let me get you on the open road of this. Where is what is first of all a clearing for martin parr?

Martin Parr:

at british. What do you mean by a clearing? I mean just um. I don't know if I have a favorite clearing, because clearings are quite rare well, yes, too many people in them.

Martin Parr:

What I mean is a serious happy place of your choosing, when you're most at peace so I'll go to the apartment we have in temby where we have a great view of the Castle Beach in Tembi on one side and the Harlow Beach on the other side. So we're going there tomorrow in fact, so I'm looking forward to that. I've got a small exhibition at the Tembi Museum. I'll be attending the opening tomorrow evening.

Chris Grimes:

And with the Vista, with you overlooking the beach, evening, and with the best, with you overlooking the beach are you sometimes there with a long camera lens capturing?

Martin Parr:

um, I have done that, but it's better to get out onto the footpath slightly below us. We're three floors up, so it's probably a bit high. The view is probably better if you go.

Chris Grimes:

I mean, the view is great, but uh, for photographing purposes it's better to go down a bit and if you bought it yourself, presumably you're not like a sort of unhappy inhabitant of John Cleese's hotel in Torquay, where you're desperate for the sea view You've actually got one, we've got sea view plus plus.

Martin Parr:

I mean rarely does a flat have two lots of sea views. We have them on either side, so we're very lucky to get that.

Chris Grimes:

Thank you for that. I love the expression sea view plus plus. So, if I may, now we're in your clearing, which is your CEU++ in 10B, overlooking the beach. I'm now going to arrive with a tree in your clearing to shake your tree to see which storytelling apples fall out. So, if you don't mind me rustling in with a tree. So what we're going to do now is we're going to crunch along on some storytelling apples. How do you like these apples? And this is your responses to the following construct 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is five minutes to have thought about. Here we go, four things, first of all, that have shaped you, martin Parr, in the work. I know you picked up your first camera when you were 13 and you've not looked back since, or you've been through ever since. So can you think about four things, please, that have shaped you to being the human being you are today?

Martin Parr:

I guess just being in the right time, the right place. You know, like landing at New Brighton in the 80s was perfect because my wife got a job in Liverpool and that gave me the opportunity to photograph New Brighton, which in the end is probably my best known body of work. And you know it keeps going. The book came out in 86, and I think we're on the sixth or seventh edition now, so it continues to be sold and available. So that's one thing that I was very lucky to find. What else can I say? I mean seeing the influence of people like Tony Ray Jones and other photographers from America, like Gary Wintergrand and Robert Frank. They are an important part of my development, I guess meeting Susie, my partner, and we've been together now 45 years, which is a long long time.

Chris Grimes:

Wonderful, and how many children or grandchildren do you have? Just one kid and one grandchild, and are they coming with you to Tenby tomorrow, or it's just no?

Martin Parr:

not too much on.

Chris Grimes:

She's a chef in London, so she has been to Tenby many times, but not tomorrow wonderful, and do you mind me asking the name of your wife please, martin, I know this will be funny is the right answer. Everyone's a winner. We're still in the canopy of your tree, still in your clearing of the lovely Seaview++ in Tenby. Three things that inspire you. Now, if there's any overlap, that's completely fine, but three things that inspire you.

Martin Parr:

Well, I mean, the trouble is I'm going to say the same things. That's a bit boring, isn't it really Like the other photographers that I met or looked at, which gave me something to aim towards, because if I could be as good as them, I'd be very happy. So you learn a lot by looking at other photographers.

Chris Grimes:

So that's my main set of inspiration really so, not just in the world of photography, anything else beyond the photography that may inspire you.

Martin Parr:

Well, just, I guess, being in the world, the world is a crazy place, isn't it? So trying to make sense of all that is is a challenge, and that's something I like to try and do and your sense of humor, by the way, is something I've been really struck by.

Chris Grimes:

I know that your photography is not without its lovers and haters, because there are people that it's been described where you have an ambiguous people. You invoke an ambiguous emotional reaction, where people are unsure whether to laugh or cry at some of the observations that you make yeah, and I think I think that's quite a good way of viewing the work.

Martin Parr:

Really, I don't mind that at all. I mean, you know, I've taken a lot of criticism, you know, and I still get it delivered to me. But you know, I must have a lot of fans as well, because I've got, you know, lots of people on Instagram who follow us like over 700,000. Yes, you know, we've got the workshop and the foundation here, which is basically thriving. Last weekend we had our big book festival. So, yeah, I mean it's nothing to complain about.

Chris Grimes:

Really, I'm very happy and, of course, about the ambiguity. What's really I mean? You might have gathered I'm definitely in the sort of fanboy camp. I absolutely adore your work. You're renowned for having an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life. We document the social classes of England and more broadly, as you've already described, the wealth of the Western world. So it's quite an impressive tome and intention.

Martin Parr:

But I mean, there are many different projects. Sometimes, you know, you get to know people very well, sometimes you have no need to get to know people at all. So it's a bit of a generalization, because I think I've done maybe 110 books, something like that. So each one of them has got a different subject matter. So you know it varies as I go on through my photography career. I've got all my negatives here, I've got all my prints, my sort of set of master prints, and we also, you know, collect and acquire, maybe photograph, some other British documentary photographers which we house in our archive. Yeah, books, you know we've got a huge collection of books here, maybe 5,000. These are books. Well, we've got one more full of international books and the rest of them are full of books from Britain. We've got Wales, scotland, ireland, all separated off and the rest are on the other side, which you can see if you were in here. But I'll show you very quickly.

Chris Grimes:

Yes, please. And the power of the still image, by the way, is everything you're all about, because there's this big debate. I mean particularly, you know we're broadcasting on linkedin at the moment and everybody's always saying people respond much more to videos, videos, videos. But I read a very interesting article about you, uh, where you were talking to an australian photography foundation, where you were talking about it's always about the power of the still image, which is the most important thing, partly because of how we do memory recall, if you look at the major events in, uh, you know, the last hundred years or so, we always remember it by still images rather than by film.

Martin Parr:

So whether it's Black Lives Matter, whether it's the Vietnam War, whatever it is, we think of the images from that rather than the film. So that, to me, is what the power of a photography icon can deliver. I mean, these are very rare. You know, if I get 10 good photos a year, it means I'm doing very well. Most of the photos I take are rubbish, basically, but you have to shoot all this rubbish to get something half decent.

Chris Grimes:

So if you're at a sort of normal shoot, then how many hundreds of photographs are you doing to try and grab the iconic one?

Martin Parr:

I guess I'll be doing around 500, something like that and, as I say, most of them will be rejected and we save them because I've taken them and maybe in years to come it might be worth looking again at the images. But then I then edit from the. You know, we load them onto a computer and then we actually get them printed out. So, even though we're digital, we get them printed out into 10-8 prints and I will make the final edit from the prints rather than on the screen, because in the end, you know, my biggest income is from selling prints.

Chris Grimes:

Yes, so hence the sort of photojournalist background in that as well.

Martin Parr:

I mean, I think photojournalist is the wrong word, you know. Documentary photographer that's what I am. A photojournalist implies someone who's working for magazines and of course that role for photographers has almost evaporated and disappeared. As you know, no one's got any budget anymore. It's just a few magazines like National Geographic, new York Times, that can still afford to send people abroad. Otherwise, you know, particularly in this country, it's literally dead.

Chris Grimes:

Yes, and of course, everyone's got a camera now. So there's that whole debate about whether you stick with your you know your Zoom DSLR lens, which has been called clunky, but presumably it's your kit of choice.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, no, I mean, they produce a very good file. But these days you know the iPhone. I've not used the iPhone 15, but people tell me it's amazing quality. They're getting better and better all the time, so there might come a time when I'll ditch the DSLR and just go onto an iPhone. But we haven't quite got there yet.

Chris Grimes:

Yes.

Martin Parr:

We'd have a file that would deliver a print. You know, 40 by 60 inches.

Chris Grimes:

And you're not sounding like a Luddite here. You're very embracing of new technology, but you know what kit you want to design.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, but you know, I have a team here who handle all my technical things, all the printing, all the scanning, all the processing. I don't do any of that.

Chris Grimes:

So now we're on to two things that never fail to grab your attention and borrowed from the film up, this is a bit oh, squirrels, you know what?

Martin Parr:

never fails to grab your attention, irrespective of anything else that's going on for you in your very hectic photographic life. I like driving around uh, beautiful places. I'll always go and see a ken loach film. He may have just produced his last one, I don't know um, so ken loach is a good answer for a squirrel.

Chris Grimes:

Nobody's ever said that before.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, that's. I mean, you know there are certain media things that I'm always on the lookout for, but it's not one thing that sort of overrides everything else.

Chris Grimes:

And any other sort of things that just make you stop in your tracks and just drop at St.

Martin Parr:

Paul's Carnival, for example. That's very good, but I had the camera with me and that's always quite an extreme event. Bristol Pride I like that. I like the craziness and the dedication of these events and my job is to try and transfer that into a picture, which is not easy to do, as I've explained.

Chris Grimes:

And you're a bit of a seasoned Glastonbury vet as well.

Martin Parr:

Well, I've only been two times, in fact, because I'm in Magden, which is a photographic cooperative, and their AGM is always in the same weekend as Glastonbury, so they don't let you go. I've moved to Glastonbury twice and very much enjoyed it. It's a very important festival in terms of Britain, so it's good fun and you can get some good pictures there, I hope.

Chris Grimes:

And I love the idea. You mentioned the dedication of the quirkiness of a particular festival like Pride or Glastonbury. It's the dedication you quite like to go and immerse yourself in.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, I mean people. You know they're very committed to the causes that. You know that these festivals give people a chance to show off.

Martin Parr:

And what's the next sort of squirrel stroke festival that you're going to? I haven't got anything planned actually. I mean I'll be going down to Bridgewater Carnival. I think that's in early November. So you know, it's another of these places. I mean it's the biggest carnival in England. It may be the biggest in Europe, I'm not sure and it's a strange place to have. It is Bridgewater. But that will go and that will be interesting and, you know, hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll get something half decent from it.

Chris Grimes:

And presumably they don't commission you to go, or maybe they do. I'm imagining that you go and then you're able to then bring them back into your own.

Martin Parr:

I mean, the Breen Festival was commissioned by someone. Yeah, I mean it doesn't matter to me, I'll just go anyway. But yes, it's author Carlyleville won't be commissioned, I'll just turn up. I mean, I do a lot of commissioned work, I do a lot of fashion, I do commissions for magazines.

Chris Grimes:

Okay, so I'm happy with your squirrels answer. And now a quirkier unusual fact about you, martin parr, uh, british documentary photographer, that we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us god, I have no idea.

Martin Parr:

I mean, I'm paid to do my hobby, so you know I kick myself sometimes and I think, uh, but you know, that's actually happening yes and um.

Chris Grimes:

What happened to you during the pandemic? Not much really.

Martin Parr:

I mean I was looking through some of my old contact strips doing a bit of walking, but no, I didn't do some amazing, crazy project that some people have done.

Chris Grimes:

I know you did a Brexit-dedicated project. I did, yeah, but you didn't do a lockdown one, not really, no.

Martin Parr:

No, I mean I tried to photograph the birds on our bird table, but the photographs were really crap so I didn't bother with even putting them onto the site so you did some crap, but that's an unusual, quirky fact as well.

Chris Grimes:

I did some crap bird table studies during the pandemic. Okay, we're shaking your tree gosh, that was quite a reluctant shaking, but well done. So now we're going to stay in the clearing, which is still in your EU++, even 10b, and now we're going to move away from the clearing. We're going to talk about alchemy and gold. Now, oh blimey, when you're at purpose and in flow, what are you absolutely happiest doing?

Martin Parr:

I guess going out and photographing. Really, I'm sorry to bring it back to that, but you know, when you find something like a church, village fete and it's got all the classic things in there, you know it's like a cliche. I'm very happy then.

Chris Grimes:

Our happiest in a cliche. That's a lovely answer. Actually, they're richer than you appreciate. Comparing to other answers, that's a really good one. No one's ever said that answer. When it's got all the eccentricity of the British life going on, that's when you're happiest and in flow.

Martin Parr:

I mean sadly Nemtnitz-Robnalls, don't you think that's a great name? It's a village outside of Bristol, up by Chewstoke. Their summer fate was cancelled this year because it was a very wet weekend. I don't even know if they actually postponed it or cancelled it, but yeah, I've always wanted that as a caption for one of my pictures. You know, summer Fate, nemnet, thrubwell.

Chris Grimes:

That's very relatable. I run a comedy improvisation company in Bristol called Instant Wit and we've been to places like Nemnet Thrubwell. In fact I may have even been in that village hall, but I remember a time when I was in a place called Upton Cum Kecksby and you're going fantastic. Good evening, cleveek. Nemnet Throbwell and Upton Cum Kecksby are quite delightful things to be able to say.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, I mean I did a project about you, stoke, where I photographed it for a year 30 years ago in fact for the Telegraph magazine and we've just we just had a show of it quite recently, which is very successful, I have to say even myself and we did a book of the pictures that I took all that time ago.

Chris Grimes:

I just saw that on your website of the Martin R Foundation today and I know that book is £100. Please, if you want to buy it, because I just happened to notice that seconds before we spoke.

Martin Parr:

No, that's the one with the real print on the top. Okay, the main book is £45.

Chris Grimes:

So I offered your readers a discount as well there, by saying you don't have to buy the actual £100 tome.

Martin Parr:

Well, if you want a print on the front, then yes, that's what you have to pay, sure, but members get 10% off, assuming you're interested in photography, that is.

Chris Grimes:

I definitely am interested in photography which photographer do you like? Well, I liked Ouija. As I said, my brother-in-law called Christopher Cornwell photography. Quick plug there. He's a brilliant photographer. What does he do? Weddings? No, he does bar mitzvahs. No, I'm kidding.

Martin Parr:

I drink his bar mitzvah. That was fantastic. I went to that in New York. That was a very happy moment because it was so crazy. Yes, the dancing they do. There is manic and I've got a big folio of dancing pictures. So I was able to add to that, very successfully, by photographing a bar mitzvah, which was commissioned by Kodak. In fact, everyone thinks Kodak have gone, but I think they're still just limping on in some shape or form in America.

Chris Grimes:

We're now going to award you with a cake. Hurrah Right. Do you like cake, Martin? Oh, I love cakes. Yeah, Okay, now I've got your interest. So what type of cake would you like, please? It's a metaphor. I think I'd have a coffee and walnut, please. A coffee and walnut.

Martin Parr:

Are you? Going to send me one, get me one.

Chris Grimes:

I that. So yes, you can have a. It's a metaphorical cake, but actually I do live quite locally, so there is a chance that I might be able to furnish you with the action at some point. So now you get to put a cherry on the cake. You'll see where I'm going here. It's another couple of storytelling, uh, suffused metaphors. So, on, the cherry on the cake is what's a favorite inspirational quote that's always given you supper, would you took your future?

Martin Parr:

I, I don't. You know, I'm not very good at quotes. Basically, I mean, I, I don't. The only thing I can quote is from um, uh, is it? Is it? Beware, my lord of jealousy, it's the green-eyed monster which has mocked the meat it's fees on. That's the only quote I know. And uh, yeah, it doesn't. It's not particularly inspiring to me because, um, I understand what the what he shakes me meant about um, jealousy othello, very probably in that one Othello yeah, there you go, thank you. Yes, I failed my A-level English actually.

Chris Grimes:

By the way, it was a favorite inspirational quote. That always gives you a new sucker rather than. Can you remember a random quote from your life?

Martin Parr:

Well, it's the only quote I can actually remember.

Chris Grimes:

It's a good quote and it does qualify to have answered that question Within the cake structure, then what we're going to talk about now is what's the best piece of advice that you've ever been given.

Martin Parr:

Yeah, I have to go back to my grandfather. You've got to load your film in the dark, Otherwise it's going to be exposed. So that's a pretty basic bit of advice that he gave me.

Chris Grimes:

But what you've ended up doing, that is the most brilliantly clear and important piece of feedback.

Martin Parr:

I'm very happy to please you I'm happy about.

Chris Grimes:

That is just for a photographer who's had that advice from your granddad. Can you just say it again, because here we are? A world-renowned british photographer is told by his granddad to load the film in the dark.

Martin Parr:

I mean it's quite a tricky. You know you have to have this spiel, the spool which you load it up on. I mean I used to do it very easily because, uh, if I was to do it now because I haven't loaded a film since, uh, 1982, I'd be pretty rusty. I wouldn't trust myself to do it.

Chris Grimes:

But I'm glad to see that back all those nasty chemicals you know now, yes, in general we don't have chemicals my son is doing a multimedia aspect to his course and they've now got a darkroom because there's great fun for kids nowadays to go back in to try and rediscover that.

Martin Parr:

Yes, I'm around again. No, you're right. I mean, of course, people think if you take it on film it's more precious, but that's not the case at all. I have constant arguments with different people here at the foundation, some of them really like film.

Chris Grimes:

I like the fact you said I have constant arguments. That doesn't surprise me. I'm only kidding.

Martin Parr:

No, you're not kidding. So we're still in the Cape Prairie here. Just to wind you up a bit.

Chris Grimes:

No, no, I'm really enjoying it Sincerely I am, and that's why I want you to come to instant wicks, I think you're really enjoying it.

Martin Parr:

What notes, help or advice might you proffer with the beautiful gift of hindsight to a younger version of yourself? I, I guess, uh, I would say just getting closer. I love that for a photographer. What robert capper said, by the way, I'm just picking up on what he said, uh, 50 years ago. That's the most famous quote from ro Capa If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough. But yeah, that's the trouble. I mean these students who came in this morning. They're so shy and so unable to answer any question. You can't imagine them going out in the street and taking a picture of someone. I mean, they'd die of fright. You've got to have a certain sort of gump in you where you go out and you've got to be a bit bold. You've got to be a bit daring, you know, especially to fairly off strangers in the street.

Chris Grimes:

Yes, I do like the way you're described as being able to disarm your subjects by the fact you seem very non-threatening, particularly if you're there with socks and sandals and just sort of. You know what's being about in their environment.

Martin Parr:

Right? Well, I don't try and hide what I'm doing. You know, I've got a camera, I've got a flash gun.

Chris Grimes:

So yeah, I'm quite visible, but I can imagine energetically because of what you you know.

Martin Parr:

I wouldn't feel threatened by you if you were to sort of approach me, if you know what I mean, just in terms of what one looks like.

Chris Grimes:

So I think there is something You're all embracing and you want to have a, you know, an interesting life. That's a good strategy, isn't it? To be charming, yeah, a currency of kindness, um, so, yes, that's great advice. Okay, so now we're ramping up to a bit of shakespeare and, by the way, this is the actual. Well, this is not a first folio, but this is the actual complete works of shakespeare that I bought when I went to the bristol old big theater school. Okay, very thumbed, you don't have to do any shakespeare, I know you know the lines from Othello, but this is going to be inspired by all the world's a stage and all the men and women, merely players borrowed from the seven ages of man construct. When all is said and done, martin Parr, how would you most like to be remembered? What would you like your legacy to be?

Martin Parr:

Well, I guess it's the folio of photos that I've built up, and archive of photos of my time in Britain over the last 50 years.

Chris Grimes:

And what would? That's a great answer, by the way. And do you have a favorite tome of work in your many, many projects?

Martin Parr:

Well, as I mentioned before, the last resort, which I did in the mid 80s, is probably my best known body of work and I guess I would submit that your appraisal I'll probably approve.

Chris Grimes:

And also I know in researching you, you have been exhibited the world over in the tate, the pompadour these are just some. The museum of modern art, of course, in new york, so it's wonderful to have you in bristol, but here you are as a bit of a global photographic presence. Where can we find out all about Martin Parr and the Martin Parr Foundation? On the internet, please.

Martin Parr:

Right? Well, if you go to the Parr Foundation site there's lots of explanations. I've interviewed, I think, 26 photographers on our YouTube channel and then we've got you know I was recently on this Cultural Life, you know the Radio 4 thing and subscribe to, to our newsletter. So then you get sent all the details of our parties and our openings and our seminars and the talks that we put on here.

Chris Grimes:

And what about Twitter and other social media platforms?

Martin Parr:

I don't do Twitter, I mean we do Instagram. You just put my name and it'll come up. Yeah, and we show a set of pictures every week. So we try and make it interesting for people and we show a set of pictures every week so we try and make it interesting for people. We have six pictures a week and it's usually about one particular theme. So many pictures in my archive. I can keep on dipping into it and come up with different themes and offer people you know six new pictures usually.

Chris Grimes:

And so your archive must be pretty pretty.

Martin Parr:

Very big. Yeah, I have a Magnum site because I'm a Magnum photographer, which is interpretive. Yeah, I have something like 54,000 images, all high-res, all ready to download, all keyworded. Yeah, so that's part of my income is the licensing of images through that site. Yes, so we load up everything instantly. You know everything. As soon as I take it, it gets loaded up onto the site.

Chris Grimes:

And what's the sort of URL path for people to go and look for that database if they want to?

Martin Parr:

Yeah, you have to. You know, go to Magnum Photos, and I think you have to sign up these days, I'm not sure and then you can explore this huge archive.

Chris Grimes:

Wonderful. So is there anything else you'd like to say, or do you feel that is my moment in the sunshine?

Martin Parr:

I think that's it really.

Chris Grimes:

Thanks for watching and see you next time. Cheers, bye-bye, goodbye. You've been listening to the Good Listening To Show with me, chris Grimes. If you'd like to be in the show too, or indeed gift an episode to capture the story of someone else, with me as your host, then you can find out how care of the series strands at the good listening to showcom website. If you'd like to connect with me on linkedin, please do so, and if you'd like to have some coaching with me care of my personal impact game changer program then you can contact me and also about the show at chris at second curve dot uk on x and instagram. It's at that, chris grimes. Tune in next week for more stories from the clearing and don't forget to subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts.