10th December 2025

Farwelll to a true original...

Martin Parr (1952 - 2025)

You will almost certainly be aware by now that one of the all time greats of British photography, Martin Parr, died at his home in Bristol on December 6th, aged 73. I say that with some confidence because if you have even a passing interest in photography your social media channels, like mine, will have been inundated with a tsunami of tributes from the huge number of photographers and friends who were supported, encouraged, endorsed, championed or mentored by him over half a century. The sheer volume of these alone is testament to Martin’s relentless commitment to promoting British photography and photographers, as is the foundation he set up in his name for that very purpose.

I feel like it would be a bit redundant to try and encapsulate Martin’s influence and significance here when there is a vast number of his friends, peers and Magnum colleagues - many of whom are famous and significant photographers in their own right - who have done that so articulately over the past three or four days. But I can speak from experience when I say that I have chatted with a good number of these people on the podcast over the years and it’s astonishing how many of them - both his contemporaries and subsequent generations - who had an anecdote about Martin offering encouragement, buying some prints when money was tight, writing a cheque to pay for this trip or another, or helping to fund an exhibition or photobook. Those stories speak volumes.

For me, it was his inexaustible energy for photography and life in general - right up to to the very last minute - that was truly inspiring. For the last four years of his life he appeared to treat the incurable Myeloma that he was diagnosed with in 2021 and that eventually won out, as nothing more than a mild inconvenience, and with the aid of a walker, continued business as usual - overseeing his foundation and shooting a boat load of pictures (“I still can’t believe I get paid to do my hobby”, as he put it during our first chat).

He was my first really big guest and I was nervous about meeting him. He kicked off proceedings by springing an impromptu photobook quizz on me and then ribbed me relentlessly for not knowing any answers. But by then I was already completely at ease - such was his unpretentious and fun-loving nature. That took me by surprise also. I think I was intimidated by that deadpan expression and a sense that this was a bloke who would not suffer fools gladly. But I had been quickly proven wrong on that second point. And when I tentatively asked one of the MPF team if he might take a phone snap with me the answer was unequivocal: “God, yeah. Martin loves a selfie.” It was that playfulness; his energy and joire de vivre, that really made me love him.

In Bristol a few years ago we were chatting at the BoP festival when he quietly suggested that we should have another go at a podcast chat, cheerfully admitting that he didn’t really have a clue who I was the first time and that perhaps we didn’t do a good enough job of it. I honestly don’t know if I did any better the second time - he was somewhat taciturn when it came to really getting down to the personal details - but I, of course, jumped at the chance immediately.

It was an honour and a privilege to get to know the man even a little.

You can listen to both of the chats I recorded with Martin and the BoP Bristol special that he contributed to on the free A Small Voice feed wherever you get your podcasts.

There will be many tributes and obituaries out there, but below is just a small curated selection of them:

• MPF online condolences page

• Magnum Photos tribute

• I Am Martin Parr documentary on BBC iPlayer

• Tributes from people who knew him in The Guardian

• British Journal of Photography Obituary

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