Hailing from the Bronx, New York, Joel Meyerowitz’ nuanced images of everyday life have become a defining catalogue of the city’s people and streets. This month, as part of Photo London 2018, Meyerowitz will be at The Photographer’s Gallery signing copies of his books, including his newly released retrospective Where I Find Myself and Out of the Darkness, a documentation of his Spanish road trips throughout the 60s.

Having quit his job as art director at an advertising agency to take to the streets with his 35mm film camera, Meyerowitz went on to become one of the most iconic names in 21st century photography.

In a time when black and white photography was seen as the only serious form, Meyerowitz was an early advocate of colour photography – alongside fellow pioneers William Eggleston and Stephen Shore – brining the medium into the mainstream and cementing its integrity and artistic value.

Seeing himself as a street photographer in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson, a young Meyerowitz would roam the Manhattan streets in the early 70s, seeking spontaneous moments that pass in the blink of an eye – or, in this case, the click of a shutter – to capture voyeuristic snapshots of life’s curiosities.

Spanning more than five decades, through street photography, still lifes, landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and his incredibly harrowing images from Ground Zero immediately following 9/11, Meyerowitz’ body of work is one carved into the cultural canon. Needless to say, a signed copy of one of his books, and a chance to meet the legendary photographer himself, is nothing to be sniffed at. Clear your diaries, clear your bookshelves, this is one not to miss.

Joel Meyerowitz will be signing books at The Photographer’s Gallery on 18th May. Find more information here.