Street photography didn’t start with Henri Cartier-Bresson. Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, Charles Nègre, and other predecessors were capturing the comings and goings on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris and beyond in the 19th century. A detailed history of street photography was first collected in a 1994 landmark book called Bystander, by artist Joel Meyerowitz and curator Colin Westerbeck; Laurence King Publishing is releasing a newly revised edition (available November 7), featuring 27 additional photographers, a new chapter devoted to digital photography, and a historical revisit. From the publisher’s press release:
Strictly personal and often casual, these images were created mostly by photographers who prescribe to no artistic school or aesthetic theory. Any concept of a photograph occurred when they looked into the camera, improvising as they went along. From anonymous amateurs to great masters, they are an opportunistic breed always ready to respond to errant details, chance juxtapositions, odd non sequiturs, peculiarities of scale, and the quirkiness of life in the street.
See a preview of Bystander: A History of Street Photography in our gallery.
Eugène Atget, Versailles, 1906Image Credit: Private Collection, Published with permission.
Dan Weiner, Fifty-seventh Street, New York, 1950Image Credit: Ⓒ Dan Weiner, courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, Published with permission.
Eugène Atget, Versailles, 1906Image Credit: Private Collection, Published with permission.
Helen Levitt, New York, 1972Image Credit: Ⓒ Film Documents, LLC, Published with permission.
Joel Meyerowitz, New York, 1971Image Credit: Courtesy of Joel Meyerowitz, Published with permission.
Jonathan Smith, Untitled #21, 2009Image Credit: Ⓒ Jonathan Smith, Published with permission.
Matt Stuart, New Oxford Street, 2010Image Credit: Ⓒ Matt Stuart, Published with permission.
Natan Dvir, Juicy Couture 01, 2008Image Credit: Ⓒ Natan Dvir, Published with permission.
A young boy waves the French Tricolor flag in the street outside his family home in Artemare, France 2010 from ‘The French’. The family were clearing the attic and found the flag, cap and tunic that belonged to the boys great grandfather during WWII.Nick Turpin, Artemare, France 2010Image Credit: Ⓒ Nick Turpin, Published with permission.
Saul Leiter, Mr. 1958Image Credit: Ⓒ Saul Leiter Foundation, Published with permission.