Early life

Parr wanted to become a photographer from the age of 14 and cites his grandfather, an amateur photographer, as an early influence. From 1970 to 1973 he studied photography at the Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University). In 2008 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Artsat Manchester Metropolitan University in recognition for his ongoing contribution to photography and to Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Art. He married Susan Mitchell in 1980 and is father of a daughter named Ellen Parr (born 1986).

Photographer

Parr began work as a professional photographer and has subsequently taught photography intermittently from the mid-1970s. He was first recognised for his black and white photography in the north of England, Bad Weather (1982) and A Fair Day (1984), but switched to colour photography in 1984. The resulting work, Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton, was published in 1986. Since 1994 Parr has been a member of Magnum Photos. . Recent work has included a collaboration with designer Paul Smith in Ilford, capturing people wearing Smith's Autumn/Winter 2007 collection

Collector

Besides being a photographer, Parr is a keen collector of postcards, photographs and various other items, and many of his collections have been used as the basis for publications. Since the 1970s, Parr has collected and publicised the garish postcards made between the 1950s and 1970s by John Hinde and his team of photographers. The images made by Hinde and his team are a key influence on Parr's colour photography.

As an admirer of this medium he has published several photobooks as well as a work about photobooks. The Photobook: A History (in two volumes) covers more than 1,000 examples of photobooks from the 19th century through to the present day. The work was a collaboration with the critic Gerry Badger which took eight years to complete.

Documentary filmmaker

Parr's first contact with the medium of film was his collaboration with Nick Barker from 1990-1992, taking pictures to accompany Barker's film Signs of the Times. In 1997, Parr began producing his own television documentaries with Mosaic Film.

He was cameraman on the film, It's Nice Up North with comedian Graham Fellows as his character John Shuttleworth. The film is a comic documentary filmed over several years in Shetland and was released in 2006.

Parr's approach to documentary photography is intimate, anthropological and satirical. Macro lenses, ring flash, high-saturation colour film, and since it became an easier format to work in, digital photography, all allow him to put his subjects "under the microscope" in their own environment, giving them space to expose their lives and values in ways that often involve inadvertent humour.. For example, to create his book Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation's Tastes. (1992), Parr entered ordinary people's homes and took pictures of the mundane aspects of his hosts' lives, combining the images with quotes from his subjects to bring viewers uncomfortably close to them. The result of Parr's technique has been said to leave viewers with ambiguous emotional reactions, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Parr has had almost 50 books published, and featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide - including an exhibition in London at the Barbican Arts Centre.

He is the subject of a song by French song-writer Vincent Delerm (Quinze Chansons, 2008).

This list is incomplete.

• Bad Weather. London: Zwemmer, 1982. ISBN 0302999965
• A Fair Day: Photographs from the West Coast of Ireland. Salem House, 1984. ISBN 0907797105
• The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton. Dewi Lewis, 1986.
• One Day Trip. Editions de la différence, Pas-de-Calais, 1989.
• The Cost of Living. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0893814393. Cornerhouse, 1989. ISBN 094879755X
• Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation's Tastes. Cornerhouse, 1992.
• Bored Couples. Paris: Gallery du Jour, 1993.
• Home and Abroad. London: Jonathan Cape, 1994. ISBN 0224031325
• From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring. BBC Books. ISBN 0563369841
• Small World: A global photographic project 1987–1994. Stockport, Cheshire: Dewi Lewis, 1995. ISBN 1899235051
• West Bay. Rocket Press, 1997.
• Food. Galerie Agnès B, 1998.
• Japonais Endormis. Galerie Agnès B, 1998. ISBN 2906496294
• Common Sense. Dewi Lewis, 1999. ISBN 1899235078
• Sguardigardesani. Milan, Charta, 1999.
• Benidorm. Sprengel museum Hannover, 1999. ISBN 3891691459.
• Boring Photographs. 2000. (Photographs of Boring, Oregon: not postcards. Edition limited to 12 signed copies.)
• Think of England. Phaidon. Hardback, 2000. ISBN 0714839914. Paperback, 2004. ISBN 0714844543
• Flowers. Munkedals: Munken & Trebruk, 1999. Galerie Du Jour Agnès B, 2001.
• Cherry Blossom Time in Tokyo. 2001.
• Martin Parr. London: Phaidon. Hardback, 2002. ISBN 0714839906. Paperback, 2005.
• Martin Parr. Portfolio. Te Neues. ISBN 3570194450
• Tutta Roma. Contrasto, 2007. ISBN 8869650162
• The Phone Book: 1998-2002. Rocket Press, 2002. ISBN 0946676534. ISBN 3980664724.
• Martin Parr Postcards. London: Phaidon, 2003. ISBN 0714843458
• Mexico. London: Chris Boot, 2006. ISBN 0954689488.
• Fashion Magazine. ISBN 9782952410205.
• Fashion Newspaper. Tokyo, 2007. Published to accompany an exhibition.
• Autoportrait. Stockport, Cheshire: Dewi Lewis, 2000. ISBN 1899235728
• From Our House to Your House: Celebrating the American Christmas. Stockport, Cheshire: Dewi Lewis, 2002. ISBN 1899235345
• Boring Postcards. London: Phaidon, 1999. Hardback ISBN 0714838950. Paperback ISBN 0714843903)
• Boring Postcards USA. London: Phaidon, 2000. Hardback ISBN 0714840009. Paperback ISBN 0714843911
• Langweilige Postkarten. London: Phaidon. ISBN 0714840629.
• Saddam Hussein Watches. London, 2004.
• David Goldblatt: Photographs. Milan: Contrasto. ISBN 8869650154
• Our True Intent Is All for Your Delight: The John Hinde Butlin's Photographs. London: Chris Boot, 2002. ISBN 0954281306
• Bliss: Postcards of Couples and Families. Chris Boot, 2003. ISBN 0954281330
• The Photobook: A History. (with Gerry Badger) London: Phaidon.
• Vol 1. 2004. ISBN 0714842850
• Vol 2. 2006. ISBN 0714844330
• Martin Parr. by Sandra Phillips. Phaidon, 2007. ISBN 9780714845289
• Parr World. Postcards. Chris Boot, 2008. ISBN 9781905712106
• Parr World. Objects. Chris Boot, 2008. ISBN 9781905712083
• Playas. RM and Chris Boot, 2009.
• Joachim Schmid Is Martin Parr · Martin Parr Is Joachim Schmid. Self-published, 2009.

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