#can someone enable me to draw myself with him and that its ok and no one will kill me over it

[kasumikoujou]

tieria count wouldve already been up to 100 if i werent weak when it came to him nd only him

[kiisaes]

my favorite bnha ships o(≧∇≦o)

i’m a multishipper (as impossible as that sounds, since i literally ONLY post bkdk LMAO) so i thought i’d make a post documenting my favorite bnha ships! keep in mind that even if i don’t list a ship, it doesn’t necessarily mean i hate it, it’s just not one of my favorites

thought i’d do this to spread some more positivity!!! bnha’s got plenty of cool ships!!! i’m also making this so that if you absolutely hate a ship i list, you can spare yourself the trouble and unfollow and/or not interact :^)

it’s 3 am. expect incoherent rambling. (these are in no particular order btw!)

BAKUDEKU

do i have to explain this. at all. KJDFJD

i’ve actually always loved this relationship, literally the moment the two were introduced, but i had to grow to love them in a more intimate sense, if you get me... i love bakudeku’s dynamic -- it takes the enemies to lovers trope to the absolute limits and enemies to lovers is already one of my favorites! i think the fact that they have such a deep history together while simultaneously having such a rough and complicated middle school relationship really boosts their potential to improve in the future :’)

basically the entire series puts a huge emphasis on their development and how even the worst relationships with the worst communications and the worst personalities can still come out triumphant!!! i especially like how their relationship focuses so much on airing out the bad while simultaneously tackling the good, and how despite their differences they’re still one of the strongest duos.

their lives are so intertwined, they have been from the very start, and i can’t wait to see them finally overcome their obstacles and stand side by side!!! they are the rawest form of soulmates to me; their relationship is some real cinematic poetry ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐

(also, the second bkdk fight that occurs in s3 is still my number 1 favorite scene in the series HAHA)

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TODODEKU

this was my first bnha ship!!! it holds a place very dear in my heart :’)

though i don’t draw this one nearly as much anymore (which is hilarious given how it used to be my absolute #1 favorite), i enjoy their unproblematic, helpful relationship! their dynamic’s all about healing and self-realization and it’s so symbiotic and it makes my heart go aflutter!

there’s so many scenes that i enjoy between the two, since they’re both so chaotic in their own ways, but its in the way where they enable each others’ chaos and it ends up being largely entertaining. regardless, their overall respect for one another is also super cute, even when they’re not yelling and acting way too instinctively LOL

whenever i want some cute fluff art between two fluff boys, my go-to is usually tododeku :) i always feel at ease when they’re together!

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KIRIBAKU

similarly to tododeku, i really found myself enjoying this one when the second half of s1 and most of s2 happened! they’ve got a really fun relationship full of mutual respect and admiration (/^▽^)/

i particularly like how kirishima is the first person bakugou sees as “on his level”, if that makes any sense! i also like all good things to happen to kirishima, because he deserves it!!!

there’s plenty of scenes where the two of them are being so casually touchy and it’s really cute <3 there’s little drama in this one, but sometimes you need a ship with little drama!

and yeah, the hand-hold scene from kamino still lives in my head rent-free

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KIRIMINA

(there’s no gifs of them from the anime...!)

originally i didn’t really care for this ship, because i thought it was a little tacky putting one warm-color-haired character with another warm-color-haired character, but i was so wrong! these two are so adorable, and especially after reading kirishima’s backstory in the manga and how he was so inspired by ashido’s inherent “manliness”, i couldn’t help but fall for their cuteness!!! <333

i’ve always loved the thought of kirishima dying his hair because of ashido, and even adding the little horn-like spikes thanks to ashido’s horns. SO CUTE!!! AAAAAAA

also, a fic that i read a while back actually helped me appreciate this ship as well! i can’t remember the name though o(_ _;o)

anyway, despite not being one of my favorites at first, they’re definitely one of my favorites now!!!

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TODOBAKU

i love these two idiots so much LOL

their personalities are so starkly different -- stoic, calm princely boy x literal ball of rage -- but they manage to work really well together, both on and off the field. i especially like how their relationship starts sour, but unlike bakudeku, they don’t really have to go through too much to get on the same page (due to not having a prior relationship).

i also really like how bakugou claims he doesn’t want to be friends with todoroki, but todoroki is all for being friends with bakugou and almost purposefully uses that to tease bakugou. please give me more snarky todoroki!!! d=(´▽｀)=b

i hope there will be more todobaku moments, because todoroki’s total denseness is so entertaining against bakugou’s trigger-happy sensitivity and i love watching them be stupid together.

---

KIRIDEKU

(THERE’S EVEN LESS KIRIDEKU GIFS!!! NOOOOOO!!! well, please enjoy this lovely gif here by pumpkincalico!)

kirideku is just a really pure ship of mine -- it’s two sunshine boys paired up to create the ultimate sunshine!!!

i don’t really have a whole lot of deep analysis for them, because from what i’m aware of, they don’t have a lot of narrative significance. however, that doesn’t matter to me because i think it’s so cute that kirishima clearly thinks deku is super manly and cool and expresses his admiration for him all the time!

i think their relationship would be full of lots of smiles and pro hero fanboying :’)

---

KAMIJIROU

these two are the classic “calm, cool and collected x total dumbass” ship that i absolutely adore <3 this dynamic used to be one of my absolute favorites when i was younger, but i still really love it now and kamijirou is the perfect example of it!!!

i love how kaminari helps jirou gain confidence in herself and her talents, whereas jirou helps kaminari gain confidence in his quirk and his usefulness in battle! because these two round each other out in that sense; jirou is relatively proficient in her quirk and kaminari is pretty sound in himself as a whole, so they help each other with the aspects that they’re not so confident in!

or maybe i’m just looking too into it. who knows! i just really love their mutually beneficial dynamic (´∀｀)♡

(also, they get bonus points for both being music people and being major players in their band! that’s so cute!)

---

MOMOJIROU

basically my thought process behind this one is “jirou has two hands but they’re both holding momo’s hands”

they’re canonically good friends, which i think is just so adorable, but they’re also always hanging out regardless of the scenario! i also enjoy their taller gf, shorter gf duo, not to mention their clash in styles (elegant and intelligent x spunky and individualistic)! <3

i don’t have a whole lot to say about this one, i just really enjoy how their differences match really well with each other.

---

BAKUKAMI

i don’t know how i grew to like this one. but i just do

stupid blond x explosive blond. when put together you maximize the chaos and the panic. also, kaminari canonically calls bakugou “kacchan”, which is normally a name only deku uses. that’s my defense!!!

there’s absolutely no reason for me to enjoy this ship as much as i do, but i just DO. SO. YEAH.

---

IIDAOCHA

(i have no idea what their ship name is, i just searched up iida x ochako and that name seemed to appear???)

i like them in the same way as someone would like ron x hermione: the main female character falls for the second guy instead of the lead. at least, that’s the connection i get when i ship these two HAHA

anyway, i really like their aesthetic dynamic, namely square x circle, because that’s absolutely adorable!!! and the fact that they’re good friends and trust/respect each other mutually is also super cute <3

out of all the ships that include these two, this one is my favorite （*’∀’人）♥

---

IIDATODO

(again i couldn’t find a gif from the anime itself so here’s a lovely one by crackncheesy!)

i have NO clue how i ended up liking this one but i think they’re really cute together??? they are around each other a lot since they’re members of the dekusquad, and i just think their personalities would be this soft mishmash of a relationship????? if that makes ANY sense

i can’t really explain this one, i just really like it hehe

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KIRIKAMI

ketchup x mustard!!! red light x yellow light!!! dumbass x dumbass!!!

they’re usually bros in my head, but i equally adore when they’re stupid boyfriends together. it’s what both of them deserve! (*≧▽≦)

this is also a small thing, but i also like their clash in body types, since kirishima is naturally stockier and kaminari is naturally slimmer. it’s the little things, lol

anyway, i really like their duo and the potential to see them as something more!

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MIRITAMA

they’re so cute!!! the official childhood friends to lovers ship in bnha!!!

i really don’t feel like i need to explain myself here, the series really made it obvious that these two have such a beautiful friendship and care for each other so deeply! i’m always a fan of ships where someone inspires the other so much, they change their life, and miritama takes that to new heights!!! (≧∇≦*)

aside from their clearly differing personalities, i also enjoy their complimentary designs -- mirio is light, amajiki is dark... the fact that even their facial features and their body types contrast is just such seamless character design and it makes me so happy inside <3

anyway i don’t talk about the third years much because i’m not as well-versed in bnha post-s3, but i just really love their relationship!

---

ok that’s it!!! there’s probably way more ships that i adore that i’m missing but it’s 4 am now and i really cannot be thinking harder than i already was when i wrote this up so please enjoy and thanks for reading B)

[somethingimnotembarassedbylater]

identity

this one’s tricky. i don’t know how i feel about it. you can’t categorize a person in one box, but it makes things easier when you have labels doesn’t it? is what i’m doing right now permanent enough to be a title? is what i spent my time doing 3 years ago but still keep up with enough to be a title? what counts as enough? 

i started listening to this podcast and honestly its been really interesting. it touched upon the topic of identities, as we know them today, as being a western concept. that statement itself is not hard to come to terms with because the moment you hear it, it clicks - yes. my social learning and unlearning has been done mainly through the internet, which in my case is very largely centered around western ideologies. it’s where i learned how high-schools worked in real life, where i learned sexual health, where i discovered ways of thinking i would have never been exposed to in my day to day life. i’m largely thankful for this, but at some point i realized as well, what i’m learning, i’m learning through the framework of a western mind. that is the standard and it does not budge. 

when i think about who i am i can list a couple of things: pakistani, muslim, introvert, really into picturesque things, passionate, private, shy, idealistic, adventurous, vain, insecure, proud, kinda all of it and more. maybe this will change as i grow but maybe it won’t, i don’t know and i don’t think i can ever know. is it really necessary for me to put a title on things because aren’t i fine with the way things are wouldn’t i be doing it for the convenience of others? is it wrong for me to say fuck others when i occupy the same spaces as them? is it my duty to do more? to be more? to define myself?

this may sound a little pretentious to me when i read it again later but i think i just need to start talking to myself to really get to know who i am. who you are isn’t just what you like, it’s also how you react to things, what you’re afraid of, how you interact with the world around you. lemme really think about it, what do i like? i like to watch things, tv shows, movies, foreign films, k-dramas, anime, action movies, documentaries, i don’t think there’s any form of visual media i don’t enjoy consuming and i know i have a problem with being fixated on something very intensely for a little while and then completely forgetting about it. I also love drawing. its something i spend a lot more time on recently but its good to see something real come out of my hands. i think i am a little too into the picturesque things in life. this is a term i learned recently from a book i’ve only read a chapter of and already feel like dropping, and basically the character was also into the picturesque. he was into the visual aesthetic, the beautiful things in life that he over-romanticizes. i feel like i do that too sometimes, or i guess most times because i find myself thinking and viewing my life as a movie, and thinking of the beautiful shots i’d include in the b-roll, or the tender moments as being part of a pivotal scene. maybe that’s detrimental to the actual experience of living but hey, there’s no rules on how to live my life, if this is how younger me decides is a good way to exist then who am i to say no to her? i think i live a very boring and mundane life, like the character in the book does. maybe i should stop comparing myself to him considering he literally commits a murder later on. 

i think there are things i could be doing, things i fantasize about me possibly experiencing, things i’ve hear about, things i’ve seen on tv that i could also live, but i don’t think i’ll have the balls to do. maybe it’s a good thing because almost all of them seem like things i’ve been taught against, but it’s lowkey robbing me of my agency in life and what the hell. am i stopping myself from being happy? why would i do that? why would anyone do that? is it because im too shy? to scared? of what though? the repercussions? who would really school me? my parents already have 2 children who live their lives the way they choose to, so why am i different? do i think i somehow don’t deserve that? do i think that i’m better than them? sometimes i just want sarah to shut the fuck up and go live a little, to be out there a little more, to be the person she wants to be, but i always back off, why the hell do i do that? why do i kid myself and say that i’m being a good person by not doing anything, because am i really? i’m just a 19 year old who doesn’t think she has even started living. i see myself as the one in the bleachers, kind dissatisfied with the fact that the racer on the track isn’t there yet, but i’m her, i’m the one that’s meant to be on the starting line, but i don’t see myself even going down the stairs towards the track anytime soon. honestly this sounds sad as fuck, im not even a participant in my own life but when talking to others why do i inflate myself to the point where i make myself believe i’ve actually accomplished something in my life, cause clearly i have not. 

this is making me motivated again, nothing like a good old self deprecation to make yourself feel alive again. i want to do things, i do have plans, i want to see things, and i am going to do it. i need more friends though like i know i can do this shit alone but it just feels shitty and i haven’t gotten comfortable enough with myself to do anything more. as much as i can say that i don’t need anyone, it does help when someone’s there enabling your behavior, or maybe i can even call is “supporting” :O maybe hehe. ok then make better friends, go talk to that pretty girl in class, go say hi and talk about the prof, go be the one to compliment someone, go be approachable, its not impossible, so go do it. also get better style.

this definitely spiraled into something it didn’t start out from and i can talk a billion more things about it but i think this is just how i think, so how i think is going to be how i write. 

its a warm tuesday june morning, i drank some chai and ate some noodles, i was on my phone for way too long, and i’ve been up all night. 

[fredyates1992]

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Reiki Therapy Near Me

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Reiki Master Retreat

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[deveharrington]

I'm not your last anon but I have some background singers in my family. You pretty much stated this but sometimes you just have to pay the bills. You're a lucky background singer if you can create your own art on the side to fulfill yourself. (My sister can) How many times has my sister been on tour with people who are very famous but she doesn't exactly respect? Lots! She still does her very best to make the talent sound great. Anyway, not disagreeing just giving a real life perspective.

YEAH!!!!!!!! OK thank you for this perspective, anon. 

my response is massive so its under the cut and i’ll admit my mistake of jumping to conclusions thx anon

Ok to be fair maybe I am kind of asking for too much explanation and nobody owes me an explanation, I just realized this. I guess like if they are being paid to do a job and if they do their job properly and they show up etc. then who am I to ask for more if there is nothing to compensate for any extra artistic effort on their part and yeah I’m pointing the finger at David here basically lmao saying that clearly all of this has a beginning and end and yet David still wants to try to present it as otherwise. 

“How many times has my sister been on tour with people who are very famous but she doesn't exactly respect? Lots!” Like, maybe this is just the reality and I’M the one who needs to get my head out of the clouds lmao I have no experience in this line of work. This puts Davids situation into an interesting perspective as well and then the question becomes…(because I must always take things to an extreme and ramble until I exhaust myself )

introspection: on the topic of “respecting or not respecting the source of the income”…  I guess its not so black and white and easy to just say yes and no and I don’t know everyone’s personal situations nor do I have any right to make decisions for anyone so i’ll respect people’s decisions as long as they accept their repercussions and consequences in a responsible manner (This is why I have such an issue with David because ok I could even come to a point to begin to understand or maybe even accept his bad behaviour if he would own up to it truthfully and not just lash out and blame everyone and everything when he feels slighted or feels the need to come out on top of an argument he is inevitably going to lose because he cannot argue properly/RANt over lmao sry) 

on “respecting the source of the income” OK first BUT HERE we have some red flags with David so ????!!!!! (but again most likely i am making a mountain out of a molehill so keep that in mind...) but i mean perhaps there is a difference here between your sister’s situation and whats happening right now because we can question the legitimacy of a certain someone touting themselves as a “singer” what i mean is... (the bolded part of the next point)

On business (+ David’s business comes across as messy): perhaps there is a difference between the stage persona that draws in the crowd and that is who you don't necessarily respect and there is separate business management who arranges the funding and thats who you are dealing with in terms of the labor and pay (idk how it works) BUT THEN - David’s quack “business” that he is running is separate from any corporation you might subject yourself to what i mean is that the business is messy and seems to not be run by professionals - red flag his manager is also quack but for now its all just flags… maybe your sister’s situation is not comparable to this one? Perhaps in situations where there is legitimate professional management there is more room to detach yourself/your feelings/your respect from the transaction because it is clean and laid out truthfully on the business level. But I don’t see Davids thing as clean even on the business level…. thats what i see .... so, only more questions arise for me) but that is coming from my experience and my beliefs can only stand my ground for myself but I’ll be sympathetic to other people’s experiences if they are in a situation they can’t really control. Again, I don’t know the ins and outs of this kind of career. 

OR it could be that in real life David actually comes across as respectable and they are just responding in kind, noooooo idea. Idk, when I see interviews with him and the band its like he just treats them like a prop I don’t see much connection on a personal level but then again David carries himself in a subdued way so maybe its just that i’m not saying he’s being disrespectful or anything and maybe it all begins and ends as thats their job basically - just my perspective. 

I’ll admit my mistake - jumping to conclusions (as always) and I don't want to assume that everyone doesn’t ideally want to respect who they work for/support so I tried to think of the root of my rambling and I think its this: I think it was me getting fired up after seeing media coverage of certain musical artists having their transgressions exposed all at once and having the conversation also spread out to the topic of enablers and like **** I DONT want to lay those kinds of allegations on David AT ALL especially since there is no smoke for that fire at all at all at all but **** It just made me think of how ANYONE (including artists that are legitimately very talented, hardworking, that you admire, that have stood to support things that you support etc.) can … sweep things under the rug or blatantly lie (including enabling that kind of behaviour and then turning and pretending to stand for something that they have no integrity to actually support) or turn a blind eye or support a “friend” till the bitter end or enable or normalize or rationalize (even and including to themselves) things like that all in the name of art or self preservation or who knows so thats what I mean.

but personal decisions are personal decisions and i’ll leave it at that because in the end i mean i keep pushing it but the sketchiness of everything still remains so… i’ll leave it because when people make up their own minds and we can all come to the same or at least similar conclusion/argument there must be some truth to the perception in some way anyways i was taking things to an extreme due to my paranoia / one million questions

d;lfaj;dal;kajk;fed so many “maybes” in this response I think it means I need a break from the overthinking anyways thanks anon

[haeroniel-doliet]

dwhos here for another raaaaaant (vent)? topic is friendships but lets see where thisll go! waheyy let us insert the read more. 

kayokay okay welcome youre gonna regret this; if you havent read through my shitty vents before prepare for ilegibility and thought trains going all over the place and references to things and people youll never know okay great you got off this train? cool gives me more power to crash it see ya. 

okay where do we even begin, oh lets go wild and push out a couple topics first. one is; how shit has improved being uni and how everything seems awful brighter now; why it hasnt actually improved and im lonely as ever; how lonely have i always been; but am i really lonely or just think i should have more bc expectations; why im like this and cannot form relationships

lets start with a bit of a history dive eh eh this is what youre here for, me oversharing my life to nobody thatll read it but come on anyway bc one of the reasons i even fucking do these is because; ironically enough; i have no friends to vent this to!! nobody who actually gives a shit!! and even if they did i have a lot more words and confused thoughts to write out here that would just be really mean to inflict on someone else. 

ok so, classically as a kid ive almost grown as an only child, obviously have a big bro of 7 yrs older that i never formed more of a bond to than the one we share by sharing a family. aka we barely talk. but like i know he doesnt hate me i guess? ok im not gonna go there. its a weird mess. but. all childhood was mostly me playin by myself bc our family friends had kids his age not mine, and we moved around a bunch too and people came in and out, i guess i made ‘best friends’ pretty easily, but none stuck around longer than a year maybe 2-3. bc thats how life was and as a child i guess it wasnt a bother bc hey, let me be friends with everyone! oh but protective parents also mean mostly on my own. thats cool. im totally mature to be sitting at the adults table (there was no kids table) well early at 6-7. mhmmm 

lemme return to finland and start being an early awkward preteen! oh ill be friends with everyone! oh. everyone already has their best friend or best friend group? oh i get left on the playground alone ‘playing the dog at home while they go shopping okay playground games were lame but whaddyou do’ aight cool im okay with this theyre all my friends and im gona draw you all to make friends and nobody like actually bullies me or thinks im weird i guess, anyway school work. oh okay ill make best friends w my neighbour bc were only 7 days apart in age and thats crazy!! i guess we also make friends with lil girls next door bc were 10- 12 and thats what u do. sure. i feel rather criticised by my so called bff bc. we are not on the same wavelength, i feel dumb, im never as funny even if they are hilarious to me, i do gross things w out thinking (imagine having to be told by your friend that you need to buy deodorant when you never thought abt it) and like a bunch of other stuff like not picking up on social cues they dont wanna hang out with me or they dont think looking at funny pictures on the phone is fun... oh okay i mean i guess theyre way better than me but were still friends right? uh yeah. 

okay lets take a gap and go to uk, oh wow, SHIT people actually miss me at home?? im making friends with all these kids in my neighbourhood! oh i can be like the movies where they go down the street and hang out and have movienights awesome! who this is the best! fucking halloween w other 13 yr olds?? having hobbies w them? walking to the bus together and home together?? mad. wild. friends. lets ignore the school consisting of pricks and the only time in my school career ive gotten bullied. like classic bullying. pens thrown at me, butt touched, skirt lifted, name called, teasing my ‘naivety’ (do you work at the dildo factory? haahah. are you frigid? would you have sex with me if i bought you a burger?) oh 13-14 yr olds....  ok no its a wild really good and really shit year combined into an okay year. let me just return home and promise to keep in touch and really very barely keep in touch with any of them. thanks instagram for enabling minimal contact and keeping up w each other. 

(also back then made my first post cryin to tumblr oh why cant i have tumblr besties like everyone else seems to, please someone be my internet buddy! lucky enough actually talked to Amelia a lot, though...... 14 yr old and abt 20 smth. but we played minecraft together and made two shit youtube videos of our competition participation like. you were a good friend to me. never pushed it too far and i really liked having a mature friend. such a shame you seem to have disappeared off the internet (anywehre i know how to reach you) bc hell, i would not have been opposed to meeting you finally irl at fuckin mcm like i always kinda wanted to bc i saw ppl online do, anyway i hope ur life is good and thanks) 

kay so, finally back home weve all moved past the best friend cliques okay okay my class is actually fuckin rad like whaddu you know i dont have to aggressively swear and avoid hugs anymore (self defence from that shitty year) but actually have all these wholesome friends, ofc there were stronger relationships between some people but! i was included. i felt good. it was good. i figured out this being everyones friend thing. im a proper teen now eh. oh but i still had my best friend (briefly moirail) maxx! talking everyday at least for least half an hour if not more, skype calls... watching movies together... sending shit to canada and that one mail i got from you and planning so hard a visit there, even if it felt unrealistic. maybe even spending too much time on you and not making as many connections to my class friends as i could have, u know. stuck on my phone to always be available to you. making you more important. dunno how often id talk thru a crisis in class or however late at night bc, i wanted to be there for you! i loved being needed and being an important piece in moving thru tough times. sure detrimental maybe irl but i was being too much online anyway which i still do but were not there yet. besides, that relationship has had a bit of a roller coaster in the past nearly4 yrs (is it more?) shit that started from an rp and then slowly talking more to being moirails to being the tightest best friends “momma” and all, to your irl friends breaking it up slowly, then a boyfriend really took oyur time and we didnt talk daily lt alone ever get to call bc... shit. okay but i was friends with your boyfriend and though i saw it wouldnt last i was okay with it, like right cool thats teh boyfriend and im the bestfriend. im still involved. yeah man. oh you broke up and now talk more to me! fuck yeah. ill take your side in this regardless. lets get close again even if its not quite the same. i try join your cosplay groups though i cant help feeling me joining killed them, and i followed some you were passionate on! drew all those rad characters of you and your friends to feel adequate and appreciated. then you ad your drama, hated this kid and i wasnt even rly involved. all of a sudden, tight friends, oh i get to be in a chat w you both and a rad other person i had a mild crush on! rad. hell yeah. ive never been in a groupchat like this! this is great i love it. and the vikings came up. and your new friend left bc i was a cis girl and he has problems and could not deal with me not agreeing with his shit argument. (about my countrys history!!)  anyway. they make their groupchat, groupchats die. oh. great i ruined it. okay. i no longer know whats in your life.... oh youre best friends now? i kind of have to bug you to even get added to your ‘friends page’ as dumb as it is. i get knocked right aside as hes the bff and the greatest sweetest person ever even though he still seems like a major dick and even your cool older friend agrees with me..... a load of bullshit and weve drawn apart to barely talking once a week and ive still sent you many gifts bc i think its great! until.  yeah i wasnt gonna send anymore till you promised to set me up with cosplay pieces for christmas and i freak out to send you smth in return (never got more than measurements from me, and due to shit timing i didnt even get to be there for you opening the presents which fuckin ruined it) but whats this? a year on im fucking coming to america and conviced my parents to also go to canada???? fucking insane. still we dont talk much, the plans werent like i expected but i met you and the cool older friend! amazing! it happened! youre real! i brought you more gifts and i got pictures with you and its, it doesnt feel real still. i keep the fucking bus ticket i took from toronto to guelph to remind me. sure i didnt like get much from you back and thats kay different monetary situations and all and yeah. wild. oh but we still barely talk after? no its ok i get it youre not that good with texting people anymore (even if you kept texting you bff while i was there.... like. maybe he was having a crisis i can understand but... please you barely talk to me anymore and now amazingly im there and. you still talk to him a lot. okay...)  ‘ew were not dating were just best friends!” a month later becomes ‘this is my boyfriend and bff i love him more than anything else in the world” ‘oh but hes absolutely a huge mean prick who is super self centered and manipulative,’ and i guess you needed to feel needed like i did and dedicated everything to this shitstorm of a human but. okay... weve drifted apart further, till i demanded thru to your discord (not even active anywhere else) and try damn hard to still talk to you. but its just not genuine. i wanna talk abt important shit to me and worries about myself, but life is difficult on you and i dont feel like you do the same to me so i cant. is it no longer part of our relationship? i guess) 

anyway chapter; who the fuck cares; why i feel i can open up to internet friends more than irl ones;;coming up, the other irl exploits after 9th grade. 

internet friends are based on talking over text and emotions that come up in the moment and contacting them whenever. with irl people, ive always set a sort of boundary that like. our quota of talking is irl. i might message you online but its strictly related to irl things or smth we discussed irl, u feel? even then i mostly never message anyone (thank the two friends in uni ive talked to more than anyone else) but still. theyre people i will unload burdens to IRL when im sitting with them for hours talking about our fucked up relationships with things and life and thats beautiful. but its not consistent through life? like rn all this shit. i cant just go and vent tto you (i guess i could but who knows if youre mad busy and needa be up early tomorrow or are already sleeping or have other shit on your mind, let alone would be offednede by me being so explicit abt me feelings w friendship u being my friend.) anyway, internet friends have broken that and sometimes i talk abt dumb shit ive seen that remind me of them or i wanna get a reaction from someone about and sometimes this bullshit. but more recently, (my discord has fuckin 3 ppl) i cant. i mean. idk if ever could and now theyre just being better w themselves but i cant? Ana tries being a friend and a good online friend but. i cant take it any deeper than like, look how cool this is! yeah that is cool bc theyre exhausted and dont wanna deal w others bullshit and dont want me to deal with theirs bc theyre online to avoid it. all of which i understand but. its kind of hard to deal with. like. youre currently only passionate about your gays in southpark. two things i dont care bout jack shit (actually hate south park idec) and then your response to me just like contemplating quizzes or the way i felt in the mirror at ballet or like smth that comes up to me when im talking abt normal shit, i get an ok, i dk how to respond or, i dont really care. and wildly i love the honesty, and glad to have lines drawn for me when i dont see them, but it always feels like a smack in the face regardless. having stepped out of line and not having realised and stopped before they had to tell me to stop. like it was w that old neighbour bff. i could never tell when she wanted me to leave her alone or smth bc i was having fun! but shed be tired of it and it just. always hurt realising i was too wrapped up in emotion and myself to realise i was annoying or overstepping boundaries and im still terribly self concious about it bc i feel terrible being a bad person like that! i wanna be the perfect friend.ugh. 

the other people on my discord are maxx and the cool older canadian dan, who still is rly cool and admirable. and i feel bad. bc when i first got the dumb thing i talked to him like adults! yea! talked abt maxx and a bit of college and a bit of life and like. it was good! he said good night friend <3 which is like!!! the most wild and exciting thing it fuckin exhilirates me to be called friend in converstion like please fuck validate me being your friend!!!! (god isnt that sad and basically gonna sum up this whole thing) anyway recently im sure things have been sad or busy or hes just that kinda person but my last 4? attempts for convo have gotten no response, even when hes online (supposedly when its ok to message him) and i no longer want to say anything unless its smth im sure id get a response to. bc then im just buggering and annoying the poor guy and become annoying. (even if hes said he doesnt mind and thinks im a great person. i hope) and maxx u know. i can message, and i do, and now more than in a rly long time i- oh my god i get responses!! still they cut short. theres no, hey sorry i dont care or, hey i gotta go, or hey i dont wanna talk abt this, just. no more responses. and i guess my conversational skills are rusty and i havent written anything thatd get an easy response from them! (but stilll, should talking to friends rly require you to formulate conversation starters and talk in a way that doesnt provoke too much but is just easy enough for them to respond briefly and with no investment to make talking to me easy as possible? idk even iguess? maybe im shit at having friends and thats why i have none. shush.)

okay lets head back to irl. high school was shitty weird thing, around 10 ppl in class and i only made friends w 3? got bullied for a good couple days on a trip by 1 and another class person. terrible trying to make friends and keep friendly with everyone in a tiny school but i managed and alls good, and even still, just made friends with the most compatible people, not sure if id have been friends with otherwise. one a nervous wreck of a boy that the teacher tried to like ‘ship us together with’ but while he had a girlfriend and we managed to keep conversation joking and chill (as it should be and i made good sure of it) it was fine, he still like i a very girlfriend oriented person and i guess doesnt chat much online w other girls? im cool with it, a couple snap updates on life here an there its whatever. youre an anxious person anyway and we dont always like. work as friends. another was from japan, who id decieded to make a friend if only to have a friend in japan to visit and to teach me a bit (and teach us to make food! okay im so glad we were friends) and at school it was great enough. helped her get confident in speaking english and correcting work and sitting together at lunch and hanging out outside of school on the rare occasion schedules lined up was fab! i actually am gonna miss her. even if we werent close. and i feel bad bc idk if she wants to keep in contact, and i really suppose i should just aim to write her like a text once a month or so to keep in touch thatd be good, cover that. keep up english and so on. maybe (ps old friends from childhood pop up every now and then on social media and have the rare chat which is quite nice actually! even if im not active or keep them updated, some realtionships i like to leave lukewarm and not hateful but smth thats easy to catch up with if opportunity comes up. i actually can do that quite a lot, make good conversation and feel friendly and make acquaintances. i just. have no idea how to push them to proper active friendships (it just happens sometimes by accident) and no absolute clue how to make htat into a very close “bff we share everything i can message you whenever” kinda relationship classic media like facebook portrays idk. do i need it? i guess not but i kinda wanna know what thats like bc relationships are not a thing for me. lets make that its own paragraph) oh but also on old school friends my frustration of a few days, just. a friend that is the easiest to keep in touch with bc they intitiate and have time and want to do things, but god its annoying and i dont like them. our humours dont align and i feel judged and criticised and like. idk. dont feel great w them. theres moments of like genuine “im glad i met you bc i would have switched schools otherwise” from her and a jar of reminders why were friends and some good memories, but its just. she drains me. and i dont wanna talk deep w her. and though to some other friend it seems like we are heckin dating in secret bc of how comfortable we are and how much we end up communicating to organise things, uhm were not. i wouldnt date her ever im sorry. struggling to stay friends and have it fade to the background amicably before i do or say smth wrong and fuck it up. anyway its just bugging me and i hate it bc i feel bad for her and bad for myself and its just a mess that i dont wanna deal with that mucheven if i talked my parents ear off about it.

ok intermission to parents. in a way no. no fuck they are not my friends. my mom will never be my best friend and i dont think they want that either,being classic parents and allbut i guess, sometimes when i get past the ugh youll never understand youre so god damn annoying!! teenage phase my brain still has, i do talk to them about a lot of things that upset me, bc unlike friends, they cant decide not to care about me or stop talking to me u know. i have vented about shit practices that have really tested my self worth and lack of emotions (remind sobbing like a bitch with a mud covered ass walking home from a terrible skating practice and falling in the rain) and mom comforting thru it. mind telling them all the pent up feelings abt flatmates and analysing them to her like”well shes rly nice and we talk abt this and this but i cant help but feel she doesnt really wanna talk to me and also they didnt wanna hang out and they keep leaving their dishes and told me to clean mine but they did this and that and....” i never talk about internet friends or a lot abt other things bc. not relevant and i dont think id hear what i wanna hear. but im kinda glad i still can do that and vent to them abt like real life things and things that upset me even if its not exhaustive and i cant do everything and they dont fill the gap of this “true best friend” i have emulated. but thats a point of why im not rly lonely. bc i have outlets to a lot of these needs that im not missing it all . just dont have it all in one person or even a small group of ppl.

wht next. oh remind me to come back to group things online. anyway lets give uni a try. so weve talked abt my two impressive friends irl who take the same course as me and kind of have dragged me thru and have gone to hobbies w me and hung out w me for hours and actually come to visist me in london an been cool? yeah theyre pretty rad people and very smart and im glad theyre in my life. even if w al the ranting im not comfortable messaging them all hours of the night to talk abt all my insecuritites and thoughts and problems u know. and one is dating and both have flatmate drama and other groups of friends and tho theyre friends between each other we dont like. make the ultimate trio which is why were not moving in together ( also reminder to being called the 3 musketeers w my high school two gals bc we were seein kinda doing everything together (in school) by me sticking us all together with my “i need to feel validated with friends” glue. that was quite nice.) 

but like in uni, ive said it to a lot of people. its amazing. ive never been happier knowing this many people. i dont make drama, i almost never get included in any drama so all i get are friends!!! and having flatmates, and flatmates friends, and class mates, and people ive just met , and hobby friends i just knew so many people thatd be friendly to me and even smile at me in passing it feels great man. having multiple group hobbies and socials to go to (even if i dont drink much and its not like were partying) it feels good man. i want more of this next term now that i have no”i dont know anyone there” excuses. god i love it. i love waving to people i know, i love getting a ride from someone to go hang out t another friends place and people knowing me by name and caring about my presence! (though not too much, like nobody would miss me i guess, but i still have more of a place to carve and i cant say for sure that they did not notice me missing) anyway archery has been terrbily wholesome and one of the best things ive invested time into and im sad some of the happy faces there are leaving this summer....... and sure none of these friends have gone even to proper hugging levels, let alone talking together without a group of people or god, messaging privately if not strictly club stuff (ok theres like, a couple, one that im delighted about and cant wait to hang w in finland even tho theyre cooler than me)  but u know, same problem w. hm were friends within this hobby group. were not like. actually friends outside of this and wouldnt hang outside of it. uh. yeah. dont rly have that many that kinda friends..... just 2 in fact. ill work on that.... 

side note, i try joining in online groups like mxrp discords, and an odd skype chat for homestuck cosplayers. but its kinda the worst. i dont mind observing and reading in and commenting in my head and rarely actually participating tho nobody knows who i am, but like. nobody knows who i am or cares if im there at all. and its kind of a not great feeling. im not needed or wanted here. they just dont mind me being there u know. idk wht to do with those feelings. i dont really wanna make myself obnoxiously present and make people remember and want to talk to me and actually become immersed in it, bc these dont seem like that great people idk. i guess im too  ‘mature’ to just go omg i love you an all that. 

anyway lets dive into hmmmmmm  why am i still lonely? funny question eh. its because i have no consistent close relationships with anyone. have i ever? maxx was closest but i guess nawh here we are. i can get close to u in a night of just talking for hours but. if it doesnt carry through consistently does it count? i have a couple people to message when im delighted abt smth (heck even post to snapchat to get those lukewarm friendships to be reminded of me) and i have my parents to be sad to about a certain category of things that i share w them (like hobby frustrations and friends theyve met frustrations, and some body upset) i have this hunk of friends in uni i can hang out and chill with and will continue making better friends with gladly. im not an isolated herrmit (all the time) nor do i think im socially despicable. im just. normal. online ive felt more and more as much as i spend my entire day online w all these things im not an internet person??im not always posting on social media, im not always talking to 10 ppl at once, im not writing or creating media, im not consuming other than youtube actually, (like i dont watch shows u knw) , all i do is rp when i muster the strength and hang out lukewarm on tumblr posting rants and reblogging pretty and fun things, not getting involved much. not a fan of anything, not obsessed w anything, not overtly gay ( i dont even know what i am but girls are pretty and sex and relationships get gross as soon as you add me into the picture) and not an exciting personality. hell. i currently fuckin like ballet and archery and like. thats about it. (also hahahhahh catch me going down the abc list of hobbies, aikido, archery, badminton (w archery ppl) ballet. what next. cricket? crochet... cooking? dance (ballet) fencing gaming (hah no), hockey? ice skating ( im already doing it) like look at me anyway shh) im not trans and i dont feel gay enough to fit in (what a rant that is, but im just ignoring it for now) im so boring. too reational, too uninvolved, too unopinionated/have an opinion but prefer to keep quiet and at peace. i guess this is what normal people are like off the internet. and ill just deal with it. but how normal people fill the gap are these ridiculously idealistic bff groups that i clearly dunno how to achieve, and uh. relationships.

so i can foresee a future where an imaginative foggy figure will care about me so much and want to hear all these rants and talk about all my wild thoughts with me and love me and remind me of it and be happy around me and think im funny and make me feel good and loved and better than i am and be someone i love being aorund constantly and wont have to feel self concious with or like i need to be putting on the front that is not gross and is a lovely sociable person. like i doubt they even exist. the kind im specifically thinking off thatll make life a sunset gold and unbelievably happy and good. ill save that sunset gold feeling to my dream future, one in which im happy with my body and personality and have that shadowy figure that makes me all whole and better than im alone and all these pets and animals that i love and love me and plants and color and art and whimsical decorations and yknow. i see it in my head. it feels real good. i kinda wanna see if itll actually happen. it just. it feels so fuzzy and warm and i would love for that actually be real and look back on this and be like. i have it. everythings complete. we can dream. i might get it when im grey and old and all alone but found smth that makes it that good. anyway im not discounting that there might be ‘the one’ in that future, the perfect one. but. i still doubt in the present when or if ill ever meet them let alone if i do htat anything would happen. ive never ever dated anyone or even come close to it. i dont understand how people just, end up in relationships or almost always have one, and i guess im not trying to bc idk if i want it-  idk if im ready for it, but its a weird one ill tell u. i feel with this perfect imaginary figures all these bad feelings would go away and i could talk about them and someone help me fix them and become more and better than my thoughts. but i dont wanna look for one. i dont wanna experiment in relationships so that im ready and wont fuck it up when the one comes bc, its horrendous and stressful and im gross! im not dating material. nah. and obviously nobodys tried to date me so were all on the same page. honestly once i sort out the other things wrong w me, i might just get to therapy for this shit. like. why are relationships such a shit concept to me and like why and how do i deal with it without just saying fuck it relationshipss are not for me. i have no doubt ill keep making connections and friends throughout my life in all different random places, but im actually... kinda afraid none will stick around. if i cant form consistent strong friendships theyre al gonna fade away and ill have nobody when i need someone. having that one solid person would really help bc theyre there thick and thin i guess aparently. i have myself, but considering what a mess i am idk if thats enough at all. i think i should change myself an awful lot though before a relationship could happen. like. nobody wants a barely showering fat chubby in an awkwardway terrible skinned messy sad blabbery person. like. just a gross one. i gotta become so much better before i can even consider letting someone past to get this close i guess. i guess. these feelings are really not settling here and i feel off the rocker. like unsettled and uneasy. also i need to pee which is rly not helping feel less gross. that and my hair is nasty greasy bc rather than take a shower at a reasonable time i did.... nothing. and then i started writing this an hour, two hours ago? more? idk. 

kay then, we have reflected briefly while i was away on how fat and ugly i am and how hopeless considering ive been trying to finish a knitting project for my baby cousin and start drawing again or even just playing my old pokemon game (yknow summer vacay) things in the past few days. nawh. havent. even more productively i should have done actual exercise to build my stamina and make faster improvements in ballet and actually try and tackle the fat and ugly feeling in 8 weeks (but that like... requires diet control... which is hard?) and like o u know. finishing my fucking university course ive lied to everyone abt? ok lets be real i have passed the year and can move into the next w the credits i have and passed all the mandatory classes. but. i want/ need to pass this class. and i already forked out 30 pounds hopefully correctly to apply for a resubmission (more like first submission) of all these projects and its hard. considering in my hirearchy of shit that needs to be done (easiest most necessary first)  i havent even reached the first ladder of like washing my nasty hair. the ladder includes all the above projects and at the end of it is like completing that course (needs to be done by the end of the month u kno bitchh. u dont know how long its gonna take you cannot leave it to the last few days. and this other bulshit course idk if ill even get credit for completing late and dont know if i care but i guess i gotta do it anyway 

basically i just wanna d ie. thatd be nice. id not have to feel fat and stupid and worthless and discomfrot in my own skin and just. nasty and numb but bad all over. okay im really not feeling great bout now. but thanks to all the above weve realised i have nobody to talk to whod talk me out of these feelings and comfort me (let alone if im capable as a person to accept that considering theyd have to be very convicing to get past me going “mhmmm but youre wrong” ) 

anyway this has been terribland i havent achieved anything but feelin kinda bad. we have covered that ive never had proper friendships and that might be detrimental to me ever forming the kind of close companionship i seem to be missing, however at least i can make easy friends briefly and as such know im not a terrible person thru and thru that people hate. i just dont know how to cross that nd not be horribly annoying or how to find those kind of people bc shit and bullshit. do i need it? no i guess ill be fine. would it make my life better and more worth it? probably. id hope so. i mean it seems pretty important in human existence for there to be so damn many songs and movies and aboslutely everything focused around it. 

anyway. i know nobodys gonna finish reading this and i kinda hope i dont read back on this either. my cringey diary moments hidden under a readmore on tumblr. whats sadder.... tsk who wants to figure out how many words this all is? 

mhmmmm mmm 7 pages on word and 6059 words. damn gurl. no FUCKIN WONDer nobody wants to talk to me about my thoughts and feelings when they just erupt. bc even by erupt i mean a mild discomfort that im trying to pin down to a cause and an actual feeling so and so unsuccessfully. 

[lucyelhowell-blog]

Martin Parr Made Me Do It.

A critical essay about Martin Parr. 

Martin Parr was the first photographer to inspire me and continues to be the biggest influence on my photography. Martin Parr has a unique and dividing approach to the genre. Concentrating mainly on documentary photography he has developed an international reputation for his innovative imagery of society and his input to photographic culture within the UK and abroad.  

It was the context of his photography that first spoke to me. His work explores the ordinary, mundane and everyday. He has studied national and international societies, exploring leisure, consumption and cultural peculiarities for several decades. His images explore how we live, how we present ourselves to others, and what we value. To me this is more meaningful than a romanticized, technically perfect shot of a subject I have no relationship with. We are often looking for a political message in documentary photography. As Susan Sontag said “Unfortunately the antes keep getting raised” (Sontag, 1979) as if to say photography has lost the power to shock and therefor we are always looking for more disturbing images to fulfill our rubbernecking but sometimes these images are so far beyond our real lives they are a fraudulent example of politics. What is more important than our own lives and cultural politics, values and place in society? After all, we still struggle to speak to a disabled member of our community without a prime time TV adverts from Scope giving us a “How to Video.”  

Martin Parr explains that “Most photographers are very attached to things that are exotic, and to people who are in extreme and dramatic circumstances. But I truly believe that the ordinary is much more interesting than people make out. We are so familiar with it and familiarity breeds contempt, but when you go to something like a supermarket or an Argos, or a shopping mall, they are quite extraordinary places.” (Ordinary lives, extraordinary photographs, 2004). I have always instinctively photographed the unextraordinary and Martin Parr's approach gives me confidence that this is ok and has a power all of its own.  

The series “One Day Trip” from 1988 documents the English on a trip to France. The images show shoppers in a duty-free supermarket in Calais. The people appear desperate, the trolleys are full to the brim with duty free and rival shoppers frantically grab cheap beer and fags. The series for me says a lot about consumerism, greed, our culture and class system. It is a real shame that our economy means it is cheaper to travel over the channel to afford our vices and we are willing to push and shove to get the best deal.

Martins Parr's work is often described as grotesque and exploitive and was famously criticised by the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who took a dislike to the attitude expressed in his pictures. He complained Martin Parr seemed to come from a different planet. Parr replied, admitting that their photographic visions “differed“ – but added, “Why shoot the messenger?” (And your spat with Henri Cartier-Bresson?, no date). I don't believe Martin Parr is speaking an alien language and if he is I am also fluet. As he stated he is a “messenger” and just delivers the truth. I believe his approach is to show us, without any magic tricks or apologies, the real world. He subtly interjects his own opinion and thought into his photographs to show us how he sees the world, then challenges us to see it differently as well but essentially we are free to make our own truths from that.

Martin Parr enables us to see things that have seemed familiar to us in a completely new way. This has strongly influenced my own work. I am very inspired by the diversity and the uniqueness of humans and how we relate to one another. Martin Parr puts the underdog in the spotlight, he empowers and treasures people's eccentricities. This idea is particularly important in my work with social care and my desire to make disabilities more palatable.

After a short stint with black and white film in his early career Martin Parr begun to use colour and it is this use of colour that has given him a unique visual language. He has used both film and digital but they are both always accompanied with lots of flash. He uses both a ring flash and flash guns to give a very bright saturated image with a very even shadow. This method has been criticised as it does not adhere to many photographers ideals of a perfect photograph. In his work there is little use of light and dark and no obvious emotions conjured up by moody black and white film. I can see how this is unacceptable to someone concerned with technical photography and a desire for images that spoon feed you a feeling but I don't believe documentary photography requires this. I believe it is important to document the truth and Martin Parr delivers the truth with no complications. His method shows a simplistic way of articulating an idea. His relaxed approach to technicalities has influenced my own work, I often find if I worry too much about technicalities I miss the subject and the most important part of the story.  Martin Parr said “With photography, I like to create fiction out of reality.” (Parr and Smith, 2009). So If we look at the world like a soap opera full of characters sometimes light can be a character that steals the limelight of the main one.

Martin Parr again uses less traditional rules when it comes to composition. The characters and subjects in his pictures stand boldly centre stage, he gets extremely close to his subjects, uses a macro lens and doesn’t ask for permission. The result gives the viewer a sense of ‘being there’ in the midst of all the action and a feeling of inclusion. Martin Parr has done a lot of close up shots of food throughout his career. This work for me brings focus to the animate object and uses it as a tool. It is a simple way to describe a greater idea. For example the juxtaposition of a lovingly made home-made cake set against a commercial bakers bulk bakes tells a story of the consumer society. This magnification of animate objects to tell a story has inspired me to find my own way to explore identity. It has been especially difficult to document social care due to dignity and safeguarding policies so I am inspired to explore the use of objects as a means of communication.

Martin Parr's work can be very nostalgic. His shoots often look like they belong in a family photo album. The bright, garish colours emphasise the Kitsch qualities of our culture and makes us sentimental. His series “Last Resort” evokes memories of childhood holidays. This approach, his subjects and uncomplicated techniques make his work comforting. He is an advocate for accessible photography, he believes that photography should be technically limitless and digestible for everyone. He is very active in educating and championing young photographers. This attitude is valuable. It is important we make photography accessible to a wider audience, especially the disabled community where by image is the universal language and it can be a valuable tool. I always found photography intimidating and perceived it as a privileged practice that you could only participate in if you could afford the expensive most equipment and luxury locations to document. However Martin Parr has been a hero to me as I can engage in his work and feel I've been let into the VIP lounge. He has given me the tools and permission to continue to find ways of telling my stories and those of others.

Magnum photographer Alec Soth referred to Martin Parr as the “Jay-Z of documentary photography. Parr's presence can be felt everywhere in the medium. He is, hands down, the hardest working photographer I know.” (StarTribune, 2016). Whilst continuing to make personal work, exhibits in galleries around the world and publish many books he has explored filmmaking, advertising and fashion. Through this broad spectrum he can reach a wider audience. His photo books are tangible and accessible, his work with Henry Holland champions real fashion and is more relatable and his work with the BBC brings art to the masses. Martin Parr  is a huge inspiration for myself and paved away for many other photographers, such as Nadia Lee Cohen. She too draws inspiration from culture, uses bold colour and Martin Parr's narrative style. Consciously or subconsciously Martin Parr’s photography has made a great impact on visual art and culture. His approach to photography may have contributed to the current rejection of perfection in the media. Bex Day and her magazine Pylot are examples of photography and publications that encourage a more unadulterated aesthetic in the industry as “we are coming to live in a world that has become far too superficial and unrealistic” (Bex Day(Bedei and Glammonitor, 2015).

Whether you love him or hate him he has made an impact on the world of image making. His accessibility has made him a voice for the people and has given me the confidence to make me do it.

Bibliography

And your spat with Henri Cartier-Bresson? (no date) Available at: http://www.martinparr.com/test/faqs/and-your-spat-with-henri-cartier-bresson/

Bedei, C. and Glammonitor (2015) How real, unretouched models are dominating the fashion industry. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-real-unretouched-models-are-dominating-the-fashion-industry

Ordinary lives, extraordinary photographs by Gayford, M. (2004)    Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3615454/Ordinary-lives-extraordinary-photographs.html

Parr, M. and Smith, P. (2009) Martin Parr: Luxury. London: Chris Boot.

Sontag, S. (1979) On photography. London, United Kingdom: Penguin, [1979]

StarTribune (2016) A photographer’s-eye view of Martin Parr. Available at: http://www.startribune.com/a-photographer-s-eye-view-of-martin-parr/140231463