Like every photographer must do eventually, no matter how different the intent, I find myself photographing following in the footsteps of Martin Parr. Sometimes I think that there must be several Martin Parr's, or perhaps, more likely, his sleep patterns are like those of Margaret Thatcher. His photos from the total eclipse in Cornwall in 1999, show the impact of the weather on any photographer, they are good, but not fantastic... but of course there is something terribly British about the bloody rain: '"The weather bonded people together," reports Parr. "The atmosphere was good- humoured - it was the Dunkirk spirit, and all that."' The best photograph, most classically Parr in its post-modern document, comes from the following day: 'On returning home to Bristol, Parr realised he hadn't documented the full story. "I got back and switched on the 11pm news, and all the newspapers had this picture on their front cover. I thought, `I must photograph people reading it.' So the next day, I went to Weston- super-Mare to find someone."'
Parr does work constantly, which I really respect, and this must feed back to the ground-breaking work that he does and has produced, ground-breaking regardless of personal taste. In addition, surely Magnum must appreciate him keeping them in post-its and beer for their annual knees-up. (quotes from this Independent feature, images Magnum)
