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Streetwise: Capturing iconic moments of daily life

Street photography is a genre that relies on chance encounters in public places.

For more than sixty years photographers at the world famous agency Magnum Photos have excelled in this genre, capturing iconic moments of daily life. Often candid or quirky, poignant or humorous, their images provide a compelling view of street life throughout the world.

A new collection of this work, Magnum Streetwise, brings together over 300 photographs drawn from an extensive archive by the curator Stephen McLaren.

Here is a selection of images from the book.

Nikos Economopoulos/Magnum Photos Streetscene, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Nikos Economopoulos/Magnum Photos
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2012
BBC Presentational white space
Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos Tourists on beach in Abkhazia, GeorgiaJonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos
Abkhazia, Georgia. 2005
BBC Presentational white space
Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos Boy pushing a pram. Wales 1965Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos
Cymcarn, Wales. 1965
BBC Presentational white space
Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos Workers unload sharks from vans at the Dubai Fish Market. 2013Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos
Dubai Fish Market. 2013
BBC Presentational white space
Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos Boy in a car with a broken windowElliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos
Colorado., USA. 1955
BBC Presentational white space
Gueorgui Pinkhassov/Magnum Photos Girl on the metro. TokyoGueorgui Pinkhassov/Magnum Photos
The new metro, Tokyo, Japan. 1996
BBC Presentational white space
Abbas/Magnum Photos Men carrying a television in the streetAbbas/Magnum Photos
Mexico City. 1983
BBC Presentational white space
Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos Woman with umbrella using a street crossing in Yerevan, ArmeniaThomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos
Yerevan, Armenia. 2014
BBC Presentational white space

Magnum Streetwise is published by Thames & Hudson.