Emma: What inspired you to become a photographer?
Martin Parr : The thing that inspired me was visiting my grandfather in Yorkshire when I was a teenager. He was a keen amateur photographer, and lent me my first camera and got me enthusiastic.
Emma: How old were you when you decided to become a photographer?
Martin Parr : I think around the age of fourteen or fifteen, from then on I knew 100% that this was exactly what I wanted to do.
Claire M: What is the most memorable picture you have taken?
Martin Parr : It's difficult to think of one picture, because I try to build up sets of pictures. The set I like the most is the Last Resort, which were photographed in the early 80s picturing a rundown seaside resort called New Brighton.
Claire M: To become a photographer is there any subjects at school that are essential?
Martin Parr : I guess the best subject is to learn at school is photography, which is often on the syllabus. If you can't, why not try art and try to put some photography into that syllabus as well. But I know you can do GCSE photography in both ordinary and advanced level. I'm not going to say physics! The technology of photography shouldn't be intimidating.
Katie: Where can we see your next exhibition?
Martin Parr : It's in Kazakhstan and I'm going to the opening next week. It's funny to go from a show opening in London to a show opening there. That's where my touring exhibition with the British Council is. The next one in the UK will be in March at the Rocket Gallery. It's a series of pictures of people talking on mobile phones, people from all over the world.
Claire M: Who is your favourite photographer or artist?
Martin Parr : Can I choose two? William Eggleston and Robert Frank because they were able to make poetry out of almost nothing at all. They photograph ordinary things and make them look beautiful. It's an inspiration to me.
Carl: Do you take photos when you're on holiday?
Martin Parr : Yes, it's sometimes difficult for me to stop working though! Work for me is like one big holiday! Also I sometimes take pictures of the family, and things I see. Like anyone else.
Jamie: Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?
Martin Parr : They literally pop out of my head. I can be on a bus, awake at 2am in the morning, and things come to me in a fleeting moment. I throw some of them out, but many of them I do pursue. You pursue the ones which, with the benefit of hindsight, still seem interesting.
Claire: What is the best thing about being a photographer?
Martin Parr : It's that you get to travel, stick your nose into things, and someone else pays for you to do it! Magazines pay, people who commission you to do work, galleries. It means I can travel the world at someone else's expense. I like travel and I'm a very nosy person. The only way I can justify being nosy is by being a photographer!
Freda: Was there a particular point when it became obvious you were going to be able to make a career out of photography?
Martin Parr : From the age of about fourteen I knew I wanted to be a photographer, so I knew I would also have to have a career. I'm a stubborn and determined person. It took ten years after leaving college before I began to earn a decent income. I started getting small grants and teaching photography.
Little Chick 2002: What do you do in your spare time?
Martin Parr : Take more photographs! I do other things like walking, eating out... Mainly going out to junk shops and looking for more postcards, more clutter, more kitsch...
Tim: What is most important about photography - the subject of the photo or the way you take it?
Martin Parr : The most important thing is the fusion between the photographer and the subject. That gives the potential for a really poignant image, that's when the magic happens, when you fuse them together. If you photograph things you're passionate about, that makes it a lot easier.
David: Tell me about your work please and is it known in Holland?
Martin Parr : I have a lot of supporters in countries in Europe, including Holland, so yes I've had many interviews with Dutch magazines, and exhibitions in Holland. They've always been very supportive of my work. This exhibition, the retrospective, will be touring and going to the Kunstahl in Rotterdam in about two years' time.
Sophie: What do you think makes your photos different from other people's?
Martin Parr : Because I've managed to find a language through photography that I can call my own. It's like having a signature. This takes a long time to develop, but now you can look at my photographs and sort of tell that I took them. Most established photographers have some kind of signature.
Tim: What was the first photo you took you were really proud of?
Martin Parr : I remember the first one was of my father stood on the frozen stream, in the winter of 1963, which was very, very cold. It's the first picture I remember taking, at the age of eleven. I still have it. It's a photograph in the book Martin Parr by Val Williams.
Anon: What magazines have your photos been in?
Martin Parr : It would take too long to list! All the weekend supplements in the UK, magazines in Europe and the States. Because I'm in Magnum, they're selling my photos to magazines all the time. I joined Magnum in 1994, but first became involved with them in 1988. The joining process took a long time, because they're fussy about who can join. My attempting to join was very controversial. They weren't entirely happy with the fact that I was photographing aspects of modern life in a critical way. Traditionally they're more of a humanistic agency, but I feel my work now fits more into their remit, which is to show an independent voice through photography about the contemporary world.
Daniel: How do you feel about digital photography?
Martin Parr : I have used digital cameras, but I don't think the quality is as good yet as analogue. I'm still waiting for them to improve to such an extent that I can get as good a print.
Lisa: Do you need a decent camera to be a good photographer?
Martin Parr : No, you don't at all; a cheap compact camera will still take interesting photographs. It's to do with the energy with which you approach these things, rather than technical ability. I use the ringflash with the macro lens; it means I can come in really close, get high definition and strong saturation of colour.
Madelaine: Your photos make me laugh out loud. Is that what you want them to do?
Martin Parr : I like to use humour in my photography, it's a good way of dealing with serious issues. If Madelaine's laughing, I'm happy too!
Ping: How many decent photos will you get per film?
Martin Parr : If I get ten decent photos a year, I'm really lucky! The chances of getting a good one on my next one are virtually nil! I take so many bad photos, you wouldn't believe it. I have to take lots to get good ones!
Jimmy: Are you patriotic?
Martin Parr : Yes, and no. I like England, but there are aspects I don't like. I try to express this ambiguity through the photographs.
Tim: When people improve or alter their images using graphics packages, is that still real photography?
Martin Parr : It's real in so far as anything can be altered or doctored. But in the end it's the personal vision or statement that's most compelling. I don't use any graphics packages.
Krista: Do you like taking pictures of people or things most?
Martin Parr : I love taking both, these two things fascinate me equally. I don't give one priority over the other. It's easier to take pictures of things, because they don't bite back! As people do from time to time. You sometimes get situations where people don't want you photographing them, it's an occupational hazard. It doesn't happen that much. You just withdraw quietly and politely.
Ping: Do you take your camera with you everywhere?
Martin Parr : Not at all, only when I'm doing specific jobs.
Sophie: Is there a difference between the kind of photography you do, and what the paparazzi do?
Martin Parr : Yeah, the paparazzi are interested in celebrities, but I'm interested in ordinary people. They're doing it to sell I'm doing it because it's what I believe in. Not that the paparazzi don't believe in what they do.
Molly: I want to be a photographer when I grow up. Have you got any advice for me?
Martin Parr : My advice is to start photographing now, however old you are, Molly. Find a subject you're interested in and then photograph it to death. You don't need to train, you just do it. You can't learn passion, either you've got it or you haven't.
Sophie: Are you good at drawing too?
Martin Parr : No, I'm hopeless, so that's another good reason to be a photographer.
Teddy: How did you collect all the boring postcards?
Martin Parr : I got them first from junk shops, but mostly postcard sellers. They sell them on everything and anything. There are lots of people who do it, it's a huge hobby. There are occasional auctions.
Mel: Do you ever take black and white photos?
Martin Parr : I used to but I gave up black and white in 1982, and haven't taken one since. I prefer colour. But, looking back on my black and white work, it's with affection.
Ping: When you take photos, do you set out knowing what you want to photograph or do you just let inspiration hit you?
Martin Parr : I set out knowing, but I'm open to any ideas or inspiration when I'm on the scene. I combine both. I find everything inspiring.
Ian: Do you think photographs tell as much as words can?
Martin Parr : I think if they're good they have a poignancy and revelation equal to words. They have that potential.
Richard: Do you think documentary work has to be objective?
Martin Parr : No, I think it should be subjective. What's important is that the photographer's voice becomes a part of what you're photographing.
Patrica: Do you process your own film and do your own prints?
Martin Parr : No, I don't do any processing now, they all go to the lab. I used to, until about 1980. When I was doing black and white, I did all my own processing. Black and white is easier to do yourself. Many photographers do their own colour printing, but nowadays you can do it on the computer anyway.
Flash: Do you find you take the best pictures when you are in a particular mood?
Martin Parr : I take the best ones when I'm excited by what I'm photographing, rather than my mood. But that can also be affected by my mood, but it's mostly excitement about the subject that gets you going. The subject can be anything from a supermarket to an English breakfast.
Anon: Do you set your photos up or do you just snap away?
Martin Parr : I tend to just snap at what I find and see, but occasionally I do a portrait that's set up. But most of it is candid. Yes, I suppose there's a bit of luck involved but if you take lots of photographs, you earn luck.
Anon: Are you going to do another boring postcards book?
Martin Parr : No, I've finished after doing three, I thought that was the right time to pull out. Pull out when you're on top! I am doing another book though. I'm doing something to go with the exhibition about people on phones; it's going to be an artist's book. It will come out in March.
Toad: Do you prefer still photography or film?
Martin Parr : I love to see films, but I guess in the end I prefer still photos.
Blast Host: That is all we have time for. Here's Martin with a final word...
Martin Parr : Photography is all about passion, and that's the thing you have to find in your life - expressing that passion.
courtesy of the BBC's Blast
