Martin Parr, Ronnie Scott's and Me
I still can’t quite believe this happened.
Over Christmas I was given Martin Parr’s biography. It sat on the pile for a few days, as good books often do, waiting for the right moment. Then a pal of mine rang — also a very fine photographer — and asked if I’d read it yet. I said no. He paused and said, “Turn to page 302.”
And there I was.
A photograph of me, taken by Martin, included in his biography. I just sat there smiling like an idiot for a good few minutes. It was such a genuine, unexpected thrill — and a real honour.
I'm a London wedding photography and I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Martin quite well. I spent a week studying under him on a workshop in Delhi in 2020, just before everything started closing down for Covid. It was an intense, brilliant week — full of walking, looking, talking, and thinking properly about photographs. Later on, when I was editing my Camden Passage book, Martin was incredibly generous with his time and thoughts. His input really helped.
You might not know this, but alongside photography I also sing. Martin came to see me perform once at Ronnie Scott’s. I knew he was taking photos — of course he was — but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.
As it turns out, one of those moments made its way into the book. Even better, the same friend who rang me had been at Ronnie’s that night and took a photo of Martin taking the photo that appears in the biography. A lovely little loop.
Sadly, Martin passed away just last year, in December. I really miss him. It was such sad news. I was always a huge fan of his work — it’s one of the reasons I got into photography in the first place — and I’m genuinely honoured to be included in this important book.
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