Constanța Beach, or: A Rare Martin Parr Moment

Encountering Martin Parr

It took me quite some time to come to terms with the work of British photographer extraordinaire Martin Parr.

On the one hand, his photography, to me, is visually uniquely striking. His photographs capture the world that they document as if they were made for some high-gloss advertising pamphlet. They do this to tragi-comic effect, as in a classist world of squalor and make-do usually there is very little, if anything, that, in fact, merits such shiny, high-contrast displays.

On the other hand, for a long time I was unsure as to what extent I was ready to accept that Parr got that boundary between ‘humorous and tongue-in-cheek’ and ‘somewhat cynical’ right.

It was with this that I struggled, conceptually.

Listening and looking more carefully

My perception of Parr’s and his body of work changed, however, when I attended a presentation and discussion of his work at Photo London in 2019, with Martin Parr in conversation with Dominic Sandbrook.

Here, for the first time, I felt reassured that Parr’s work was not about exposing his subjects’ living conditions and ridiculousness, but, if anything, tacitly taking note of the underlying factors that had contributed to them.

Looking more closely then, I found much dignity and decorum (as well as still simply very funny moments) on display. This was especially true in contexts that, in actual fact, were far removed from the equally glossy representations of life in the pamphlets that advertise modern consumerism and leisure of which Parr’s photography is so (deliberately) evocative.

And with that, including the tongue-in-cheek smile that comes with the observation of such contrasts, as well as Parr’s taking such obvious delight in British eccentricities, I could very much agree.

My own vision

Parr passed away on December 6, 2025, at far too young an age of 73. And I feel that, with his death, the world has not only lost one of its most brilliant documentary photographers. It has also lost one of the most important photographic community organisers and supporters, certainly in the UK.

Now, I have said it before (here and here), and I will say it again: black and white is my preferred language for my photography. But every now and then, I simply cannot help it. The urge to capture my surroundings in colour can no longer be suppressed. It is in moments like this when I think of the work of Martin Parr (among some other names, of course: but that is a different story, for another occasion perhaps).

As I do not use a flash, and as I shoot film, the closest I can get to anything resembling Parr’s photograph is to shoot in contexts with strong light and with a film that brings out the colours vividly, with strong blues, shiny yellows, and popping reds. I especially like Kodak Ektar 100 for that, which I used for the photos I show here.

The following photos were taken at the city beach of Constanța, Romania.

Channelling my inner Martin Parr at Constanța city beach

This is a place where locals from all runs of life go – even for a morning swim, a day at the beach, or a whole weekend, if they can afford the prices in this city.

Peope who, for whatever reason, do not afford to visit the somewhat more prestigious, more upmarket, or otherwise more lively beaches north or south of Constanța on the Black Sea coast.