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Magnum Streetwise: The Ultimate Collection of Street Photography
£23.70£28.50 (-17%)
Ambitious in scope, democratic in nature, Magnum Streetwise is an unmissable tour through the photographs and practices that have helped define what street photography is and can be. Magnum photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson pioneered ‘modern’ concepts of street photography before the term was even coined. But their influence is far from historic. A rich seam of street photography runs through the heart of Magnum to this day, both in the work of recognized masters of street photography – such as Erwitt, Parr, Gilden and Kalvar – and of those who might not even consider themselves street photographers; a continued influence that has not gone unnoticed among the current generation of budding street photographers and fans.
Magnum Streetwise is a true visual feast, interleaving insightful texts and anecdotes within an intuitive blend of photographer- and theme-based portfolios, exploring not only the work of outstanding photographers, but how common subject matter (places of leisure, marketplaces, travel) and locations (Paris, New York, Tokyo) have been addressed, conceptually and practically, across the agency and through the ages. Magnum Streetwise is an essential addition to the bibliography of street photography, showcasing hidden gems alongside many of the genre’s most famous images.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1st edition (10 Oct. 2019) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0500545073 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0500545072 |
| Dimensions | 19.81 x 3.56 x 24.89 cm |
by Andy Norman
This does not live up to its title. It’s not remotely “the ultimate collection of street photography”. It is a fairly interesting, if somewhat random, collection of photos by Magnum agency photographers shoehorned together in a wide ranging discussion of how just about any candid photograph of people might be considered “street”. With a couple of fine exceptions the real street masters are not represented, as it is only the Magnum agency photographers who are included. So it includes news photographs, social documentary and other genres along with street photos. The edition is too narrow for its thickness so doesn’t open well. On the plus side, there are some great photos and photographers in the book, it’s just a bit disappointing.
by David Murray
First Magnum book I’ve bought. I’m looking out for others now. I got bored with photography a few years ago, but discovered a guy on the internet, Eric Kim. Watched some of his street photography videos. That revived my interest and I took up street.
I’ve looked at a couple of books on the subject but this is by far the best as:
There’s a potted biography of the photographer;
The shots have been carefully collated;
The subject matter varies immensely;
The quality of images is superb;
The book is a very high quality product;
It’s a really good sized book, thick and heavy and one you can lose yourself in on a dark winter’s evening by the fire;
Finally, combining the last paragraph, it’s inspiring.
So that’s why I give it five stars.
by boombucket
Great book as I’m new to street photography I bought this to look at how the greats took them and what subjects they took.
by B. M. Bennett
Unfortunately the front cover was badly dented and one of the pages badly cut leaving a flap hanging out of the side of the book. Packaging was undamaged so the book must have been damaged beforehand. Disappointing as it is not a cheap item.
by J. Kleinsteuber
I really enjoy street photography and overall this is a nicely produced book, particularly when it comes to the text about each photographer. However, many of the pix are quite poor as images in their own right. A good street photo in my mind should be able to create it’s own story yet many of the images would appear to work only if accompanied by explanatory text such as in a newspaper story. And many were probably used in that way. However, if you need to know about the story to bring the pic alive the photo has failed as a street photograph in my view. And therefore many of the book’s images fail as street photographs or are inappropriate. They may work as part of a newspaper package but fail otherwise.
by Richard
My groanworthy title doesn’t do this book justice. It really is an interesting book even if many of the pictures aren’t technically fantastic. I make that judgement not because I’m especially good at street photography although it is a passion of mine, but because I’ve seen over the years a great deal of street photography done by big names and unknowns alike, and so much of the best in the genre comes down to setting, era, people, quirks, and only finally awesome technical skills!
The settings in here are almost always interesting, and sometimes photographed with genuine “everyday drama” in the lighting or the way the shots are composed. The best street photos convey a heightened reality in which the guru photographer’s reading of the moment always makes the decisive difference. Sometimes that reality is drama, sometimes bleakness or a sense of disconnection, sometimes just strangeness, but the better street photographers always seem to have that knack for seeing the moment just before it arrives. I was always a bit surprised that Tony Ray-Jones never made it into Magnum’s hallowed halls, this book would have been the better for a few of his images and notes!
But the big and best names are all here, with enough text to give a small taste of the photographer and his works, at least, those included in the book. It is organised by photographer and after a half page or so of introduction, we get into their images and indeed that’s what the majority of the book is, images at a decent size that are often extremely immersive even if often they’re monochrome and filled with people all living in their era. I think this is what works about this book, at lest as I see it. The mono images reduce everything to line and form, light and shade in composition and no distracting colours for the most part, and the settings from a past time – even if only recently past – are fantastic mainly because they are gone and won’t return exactly in the same way. It’s a book of lost moments salvaged by the camera. Colour images also have their part here, colour lending them a familiarity that adds and takes away dimensions of the shots.
There are quite a few photos in here that at this moment do nothing for me, but the majority are worth coming back to time and again. In a few months time a different subset will leave me cold, and something new will be seen in a picture I overlooked.
In this age where everybody has a camera and the opportunity to take a great photo even without the ability there are probably a far larger number of truly great street images out there to be seen. A million monkeys at typewriters will sometimes accidentally make a compelling sentence, worthy of quoting (maybe one will be me, someday). So while this is Magnum’s space specifically, it will always be worth supplementing it with other books.
Still a great book that I can return to and see something new.
by Careful Reader
Calling this the ‘Ultimate Collection’ was a mistake. It’s a great collection, sure, but not the ultimate collection (an impossble task, surely?). Aside from that, this book is a bargain for its £20 price tag with a tonne of Magnum photos by everyone from Abbas to Alex Webb, alongside some succinct and useful introductory texts. Personally, I was delighted to discover that Sergio Larrain had been included, as well as Trent Parke and Guerogui Pinkhassov. On the other hand, there are far too few Magnum women.
I’m a street photographer and if I’d been able to wait until Xmas, I would have been delighted to find this lively book in my stocking (and not being outsize, it would probably fit).
by Julian Bigg
This is a great book outlining the master of the Magnum photographic gang. Clearly barely touching on each artist’s back catalogue, but a very positive dictionary to dig into for a fair price. Use as a route to discover