Fashion Shoot for Amica Magazine, New York

Documentary photographer Martin Parr captures the habits and behaviors of common Britons, often focusing on forms of escapism such as seaside vacations and the consumption of junk food. Parr shot this photograph of an elegantly dressed woman pumping gas as part of his first-ever fashion commission, for the magazine Amica. His interest in fashion photography grew after this project: he now does four or five such shoots per year, and in 2005 he produced his own tongue-in-cheek publication, Fashion Magazine, sequencing his own photographs alongside “advertisements” he made himself. This image was included among its pages.