Mark Byrnes
Mark Byrnes is a senior associate editor at CityLab who writes about design and architecture.
There's no shortage of stunning, surprising, or just plain weird street photography available to us through various apps, feeds, and sites on our smartphones. But sometimes, we just need to thumb through photos in a well-curated book.
In the recently released World Atlas of Street Photography, Jackie Higgins and a team of photography enthusiasts present the uncanny perspectives of dozens of street photographers from around the world. The result is a remarkable tour of urban life in more than 50 cities.
Divided by region, the book takes its readers from New York to Hanoi through 700 photos. It's a lot to take in, but most cities in the "atlas" get their own introduction (and their particular allure to photographers summarized) by Higgins and her team.
From city to city, the book explains the work and the theory behind each artist, giving readers a thoughtful experience that you just can't get on Instagram.
The World Atlas of Street Photography, by Jackie Higgins and published by Yale University Press, is in bookstores now. ($45)