I am looking at Martin Parr’s recent work in Bristol, documenting the city in isolation. I will be using the images for inspiration for my project that will have a similar theme. As it is more difficult to produce street photography, I will be looking at artists, such as Martin Parr to see how they have adapted their street style to the current conditions.
The first image shows a family clapping for key workers. The family can be seen inside their house with the window framing them. The image holds a lot of neautral tones, making the people stand out within the shot. The image was taken at 8pm in Summer, meaning the sun is setting and the lighting is quite soft. It also appears a flash gun has been used to brighten the shot, with a bounce being visible in the glasses of one of the subjects. It appears to have been taken at an aperature of around F22, with the whole shot being in focus and sharp. The image is lit by a evening light, which would suggest an iso of around 200-400 has been used. I like the simplicity of the shot and feel the wall, with the window in the centre of the shot works really well. Parr has pointed the camera up towards the subjects and is at an angle, rather than being face on to them. This stops a flat apperance from being created.
This is another shot taken from the key worker 8pm clap. I like the positivity of the image. The image represents hope and strength, showing two older people smiling and taking part in the clap for supporting key workers from their window. The lighting is quite soft being lit from the evening sun and doesn’t seem to have been asisted with an alternative light source. The image holds a lot of neutral, darker colours, with the subjects wearing soft grey/blue tones, which complements the whole scene. A wide depth of field has been used, as the whole shot is in focus, I would guess F22. I feel as if the d.o.f works well as it gives the image context, showing them isolating. Again, Parr is below the subjects, to the right, with the camera pointing up. The side angle allows for a more 3d vision of the subjects and there hands, which is an important part of the image.
I think this is a great shot. I like the simplicity of it and feel it really tells the story of the current situation, without being too busy. The composition of the image is what makes it successful. Each person is social distancing and the poles break up the frame, with the yellow subtley being in each third of the image, without being distracting. I like seeing a variety of people in the shot, each person looks bored, with the first subject being on her phone. The various lines in the shot work really well, with the whole theme being about lines and order. The shot is lit by daylight, a flash may have been used to level out the lighting, but there is no obvious sign of one being used. Again, a wide aperature has been used, to enable the whole shot to be in focus, likely f22. Parr is stood away from the subjects at an angle and he has shot in landscape.
I really like Martin Parr’s approach to documenting the pandemic, with his shots genreally being positive. I feel as if it is tempting to document the scary side of the virus, showing people wearing masks and gloves, where as he shows the more positive side of people’s reactions. I would also like to use a similar approach in my work and document people working together and showing support. A theme throughout his work is the composistion, with aspects such as windows and lines framing the main subjects.
Jodie Tovey PJD blog 