On 3 March 2011, a powerful earthquake shook northern Japan, killing more than 15,000 people and triggering a tsunami that sent the Fukushima nuclear plant into meltdown. Five years later, survivors were allowed to revisit the evacuated town of Tomioka. Rebecca Bathory accompanied them into the exclusion zone. Her photographs of abandoned streets and schoolrooms vividly convey the human cost of the disaster, and offer a stark warning for the future.

Born in the Bronx, Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) was a pioneering photojournalist who had, in her own words, 'an insatiable desire to be on the scene when history was being made'. With essays by Rubio and Quimby, this book brings together some of the images she captured at key moments of the 20th century, among them Germany and the USSR in 1930–32, Czechoslovakia in 1938, the opening of Buchenwald concentration camp and Germany in the aftermath of war, 1945.

Over half a century Duncan Macpherson (1882–1966) created a vast photographic record of Highland life. Born in Aberdeenshire, he graduated from Edinburgh University as a pharmacist and established his own pharmacy near the ferry terminal at Kyle of Lochalsh in 1911. This book reproduces about 100 of MacPherson's photographs together with quotations from his three books – Gateway to Skye (1946), Lure of the West (1950) and Where I Belong (1964) – along with Mary Carmichael's account of his life and work.

A selection from the English Heritage archive of some 25,000 photographs taken by professional architectural photographers Bedford Lemere between the 1870s and the late 1920s, this volume focuses on the period after 1890 and offers a view of Britain at the height of its wealth and power. Accompanied by Cooper's introduction, the photographs are arranged by themes, including public buildings, commerce and industry, transport and technology, leisure and entertainment and life at home during the Great War.

Sarah Acland was inspired to take up photography by her acquaintance with artistic luminaries such as John Ruskin and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Following in the footsteps of Julia Margaret Cameron, whom she also knew, Acland became an important pioneer in the field of colour photography. This catalogue of her work includes the influential photographs she made using the Sanger Shepherd and Autochrome processes. Her subjects include Oxford scenes, architectural and nature studies, and portraits of people in her circle.

The Tibetan way of life is changing fast, with new transport links and communications infrastructure bringing ever more tourists and technology. The environment itself is also in jeopardy as the region heats up and glaciers that feed important water sources flowing into China, India and Pakistan recede. This photographic portfolio presents studies of the striking people, landscapes and customs of Tibet with reference to how these modern threats are affecting the country's traditional devotional Buddhist culture.

Using predominantly large-format film cameras, Peter Watson's landscape photographs are rich in detail and he is meticulous in planning a scene before committing it to film. This portfolio masterclass offers advice for the outdoor photographer working in any format, discussing creative responses to the landscape, lighting and composition, exploring Watson's own thought processes and methods and deconstructing more than 75 of his sumptuous images.

In addition to the technical details of how each of the landscape photographs in this book was achieved, Peter Watson records the time he spent, once in position, waiting for the perfect light; often several hours. Watson uses large-format (4x5in) cameras and outlines his meticulous approach, exploring different landscape environments from rivers and woodland to mountains and coastlines, and describing how he sets about creating his compositions and controlling the light to realize his vision.

Born in Paris in 1928, Elliott Erwitt grew up in Milan, and emigrated to New York in 1938, but he was a frequent visitor to his birthplace and photographed the city with a rare visual wit, producing what Adam Gopnik describes as ‘the artful, ballet-based comedy of a Jacques Tati’. This volume of 170 photographs taken between 1949 and 2009 shows us Erwitt’s Paris and his favourite Parisians: walkers, waiters, museum-goers, lovers and dogs.

The Hungarian photographer Lucien Hervé (1910–2007) was an athlete in Hungary and a fashion designer in Paris before turning to photography in 1938. In 1949 he was commissioned to do an article on Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation in Marseille and began the long collaboration with the Modern Movement pioneer which made Hervé the photographer of choice for many architects. In this volume, over 150 photographs – of architectural and other subjects – accompany a biographical and critical essay by Olivier Beer.

Whatever his subject matter, rubbish bins or the human body, Edmund Teske (1911–1996) used the medium of photography – its film, chemistry, optics and mechanics – to create serious, reflective and often composite works of art. This volume accompanied an exhibition of his photographs at the J Paul Getty Museum in 2004. As well as over 110 illustrations, the book contains Julian Cox’s biographical and critical essay and an interview with Teske’s close friend of 30 years, the artist George Herms.

In October 1956, the Hungarian people rebelled against their Soviet overlords; by 4 November, the revolt had been brutally crushed, leaving thousands dead and a quarter of a million in exile. Erich Lessing (b.1923) was the first Western photographer on the scene: accompanied by short essays on the revolution, the 150 images reproduced here capture the hope and despair of the short-lived uprising.

From the success of Roman Holiday in 1953, the arrival of the film industry in Rome and the release of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita in 1960, a new breed of celebrity-scoop photographers emerged, the paparazzi, with Elio Sorci at the forefront. A virtual who’s who of 1960s and 1970s cinema, this portfolio of Sorci’s work includes his famous ‘kissing picture’ that confirmed the love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton on the set of Cleopatra.

The photographer Horace Poolaw (Kiowa, 1906–1984) was born near the Wichita Mountains in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories, which became the state of Oklahoma in 1907. In photographs taken between the 1920s and 1950s, he captured images of his community; a people in transition, but preserving its culture within modern America. This book, published to accompany an exhibition at The National Museum of the American Indian, presents over 150 photographs and several essays by Native American writers and scholars.

The photographer Philippe Halsman (1906–1979) is known for his collaboration with Dali in the 1940s and 1950s, for portraits of prominent figures including Albert Einstein and JF Kennedy and for the famous ‘jump’ portraits. This volume by his grandson presents Halsman’s ‘unknown’ work: more than 110 images mined from the photographer’s own archive, many dating from his years with Dali, and accompanied by his handwritten texts reflecting on photography and creativity.

In her foreword, Harper’s editor-in-chief, Glenda Bailey, writes, ‘You can become a good model with a perfect body, but to become a great model you need a unique face’. With over 200 photographs by some of the greatest fashion photographers, this volume presents the stories of 28 women whose faces, poise and ability to switch personas made them the most sought-after models of the last 60 years, from Dovima and Suzy Parker in the 1950s to Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss in the 2010s.

In 1912, trainee priest Frank Browne was given the unusual present of a trip on the Titanic from Southampton to his native Ireland. The photographs he took demonstrate the talent he had been honing since first acquiring a camera as a teenager. This portfolio of his documentary images mainly depicts life in Ireland between the 1920s and 1940s, but also includes photographs taken while serving in the First World War, and pictures from a trip to Australia in 1924.

This strikingly original book offers dizzying images and hair-raising stories collected by a team of intrepid urban explorers who climbed without permission to the tops of gasholders, council blocks, communications antennae and corporate ‘starchitecture’. The result of the team’s expeditions is a series of astonishing views that most people will never see outside these pages, celebrating the stark poetry of London’s ever-changing skyline and reclaiming the city’s hidden spaces before the developers ‘rip the heart and soul out of them’.

In an age where the parameters of public discussion are largely set by the mainstream media, Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park remains a rare forum for face-to-face political debate. This book offers a unique portrait of the people who come to argue, discuss, preach, protest, heckle and be heckled. Photographs stretching back almost four decades are accompanied by extracts from speeches, by turns intriguing, shocking, politically incorrect – and often very funny.

Duality is the theme running through Xavier Roy’s magnificent photographs of Egypt. Images of ancient Egyptian civilization are echoed in photographs of modern-day Egyptians – or a relief of Horus stands alongside a real hawk – while landscapes capture unchanging scenes such as feluccas on the Nile. The 145 monochrome photographs are introduced by Gamal al-Ghitani.

Wildlife photography typically aims to capture animals in their natural environments, inviting us to study their behaviour as unseen observers. This portfolio takes a different tack, bringing tame or trained animals into the studio for controlled portraits. The resulting pictures frame each subject against a pure black background, focusing attention on their form and texture and drawing us to engage with the eyes and face of a kangaroo, a giraffe or a tiger as we would with a human subject.

Cecil Beaton (1904–1980) became famous for his society portraits in the 1920s and went on to photograph people in all walks of life – from royalty to rock stars. This volume presents more than 120 of his portraits, accompanied by the photographer's written observations or reflections on his sitters. His thoughts are often wicked – John Betjeman is described as 'an Edwardian vaudeville tramp' – but always compelling as notes from Beaton's vast experience of the worlds of society, art, literature and performance.

Chosen for some distinctive element – an enigmatic pose or whimsical outfit – this collection of 135 snapshots dating from 1910 to the 1940s and reproduced in sepia tone, all depict three women posing together. Such snaps, displaced from personal albums, give only fragments of stories, but for Michal Raz-Russo, the photographs are 'transformed into cultural artefacts that collectively reveal a great deal about the evolving ritual of self-presentation before the camera'.

From its first issue in March 1949, Paris Match magazine has run features on artists, 'eavesdropping' on painters and sculptors as they worked in their studios or relaxed in private.This volume opens the magazine's photographic archive to present almost 150 photographs, including portraits of artists, their models and a whole chapter devoted to Chagall at work on the Opéra Garnier ceiling in 1964, as well as the revealing images of artists making art and posing with their finished works.

Battling the elements at sea is as stern a test of character as any, and resilience and resolve can be read on the faces of many of the 100 'ocean portraits' chosen for this collection. Including a foreword by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and essays about maritime photography, the book includes images drawn from historic museum collections and the work of contemporary photographers' and features notable seafarers from 19th-century skippers to champion surfers, Jacques Cousteau to Ben Ainslie.

Robert Nickelsberg accompanied a group of mujahideen crossing the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan in 1988 and has been photographing in the troubled country for publications including Time magazine and Newsweek ever since. Illuminating the destruction, poverty and oppression of the continual conflict, this volume presents 100 of his images, from the withdrawal of Soviet troops to the departure of the Americans in 2014. The photographs are accompanied by essays by leading journalists and experts on Afghanistan.

People have been creating nude images since the dawn of history. But in 1839 the daguerreotype was invented, and the world of erotic photography was born. This title charts the early years of sexually driven photographs of women in Europe and North America from the 1840s to the 1930s, offering sketches of the photographers and the models and following the evolution of technology through to mass-market saucy postcards, and reproduces hundreds of images, many of which feature full-frontal nudity. Off-mint

Aimed at students, and illustrated with images from photographers such as Fay Godwin, Mark Power and Michael Wolf, this guide explores the rich and diverse history of landscape photography and the ways in which contemporary photographers engage with their surroundings. The book also demonstrates how to explore themes and communicate ideas visually; provides practical advice on composition, lighting and lenses; and includes discussion questions and assignments to track your progress. Required Reading Range series.

Launched in 1936, Life magazine created a new kind of visual journalism, using the world's best photographers to bring readers the drama of events, introduce them to the people making the news and show them the wonders of the world. This collection presents its 100 most iconic pictures, among them Eisenstaedt's VJ Day image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, Robert Capa's 'Falling Soldier' from the Spanish Civil War, and the portrait of Gandhi by Margaret Bourke-White. Includes 25 removable 10 inches x 8 inches prints. Off-mint.

Oscar Marzaroli (1933–1988) was Scotland's most prestigious photographer of the 20th century, renowned for his images of Glasgow, and particularly the Gorbals, in the throes of urban renewal. This volume brings together a selection of those iconic photographs along with previously unpublished pictures, including many of friends and family, a sketch biography by his widow, and essays examining less familiar aspects of Marzaroli's work in portraiture and landscape.

The most widely read British poet of the 20th century, Philip Larkin was also a gifted amateur photographer. This handsome book reproduces the best of his images in short, thematic chapters arranged in chronological order to form a visual biography, capturing the places and people - including his lover Monica Jones and his friend Kingsley Amis - that meant the most to him. These haunting pictures are infused with the poignancy of everyday life that also informs his verse. Off-mint.

An inspiration to preserve what remains, this volume draws on the photographic collections of the Irish Architectural Archive to present a substantial sample of Ireland's lost built heritage. The book is arranged geographically and shows buildings and thoroughfares that range from dry-stone huts, workers' terraces and open markets – bustling with life in 19th century photographs – to grand houses and even castles, including John Nash's Gothic-revival masterpiece at Clogheen, 'destroyed by malice and indifference in 1957'.

'Never act with children or animals,' they say, but many of Hollywood's greatest stars were only too happy to be captured on film with their feline companions. This collection of over 100 vintage photographs offers a glimpse of such luminaries as Dirk Bogarde, Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Jayne Mansfield, Kim Novak and Elizabeth Taylor in charming unguarded moments with their beloved pets, as well as the nameless strays who ruled the studios.

With a poor population emerging from centuries of colonial exploitation, the Caribbean region experienced radical politics, revolutions and dictatorships during the 20th century with charismatic and controversial figures such as 'Papa Doc' Duvalier in Haiti, Castro in Cuba and Michael Manley in Jamaica. This large-format collection presents a curated mixture of images of Caribbean culture and history, from plantation workers of the 1900s, through the upheavals and diaspora of the mid-century to the tourist industry of today.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most ancient and fascinating countries, yet in recent decades it has been scarred by successive invasions and civil conflict. These stunning, richly atmospheric photographs by Seamus Murphy - taken on many expeditions over 14 years - inevitably confront the ravages of war, but they also capture the stark beauty of the landscape, the dignity and resilience of its people, and the richness of its culture.

The photographs of the British royal family by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904–80) are among the most widely published portraits of the 20th century and were instrumental in shaping the monarchy's public image. From teenage princess to mother and sovereign, Elizabeth II posed for his camera on numerous occasions. Containing over 50 formal portraits as well as candid behind-the-scenes photographs, and enlivened with anecdotes from Beaton's personal diaries, this book celebrates a unique collaboration.

The Erotica series presents selections of the nude work of contemporary photographers, both professional and amateur, from Europe, Russia, the USA and Japan. Each volume contains around 500 photographs, including both monochrome and colour images, mostly reproduced full-page. This first book in the series contains the work of 58 photographers, arranged by themes such as Light and Shadow, Performance, Portrait and Couples. Text in eight languages. Sexually explicit.

The Erotica series presents selections of the nude work of contemporary photographers, both professional and amateur, from Europe, Russia, the USA and Japan. Each volume contains around 500 photographs, including both monochrome and colour images, mostly reproduced full-page. This third volume in the series presents selections of the nude work of 17 photographers. Text in eight languages. Sexually explicit.

This study of the photographer Heinrich Kuehn (1866-1944) sets his work in the context of his early association with the Viennese avant-garde and explores his close friendship with Stieglitz and Steichen.

Like many great cities, Leeds has undergone periods of expansion and degeneration and the story of the city's growth and industrial decline can be read in the renovated textile mills, terraced housing and impressive Victorian town hall. This photographic essay demonstrates how Leeds's past contributes to the buoyant modern city with views of its buildings from Anglo-Saxon churches to modern offices, redeveloped industrial areas and post-war concrete.

Although this photographic history of the war includes iconic shots such as MacArthur wading ashore in the Philippines and the Russian flag being raised over the Reichstag, much of the material is less familiar, and some published for the first time. Painstakingly selected – and avoiding staged pictures – the photographs cover as many theatres of war as possible and, with Richard Holmes's accompanying text and captions, narrate the war, year by year, from its origins to the Japanese surrender in August 1945.

The progress of the air war is followed month-by-month through Archard's remarkable collection of contemporary photographs of aircraft in action, air crew, anti-aircraft defences and the devastating effects of Allied and Axis bombing. This volume covers the intensive Blitzkrieg on the Eastern front as Germany invaded the USSR and, later in the year, the widening of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Between the wars Pierre Yves Petit, known professionally as Yvon, produced some of the most hauntingly evocative photographs of Paris ever created. Shunning the bright light of noon, he captured the quais, the alleys, the bookstalls and the down-and-outs beneath the looming bulk of Notre Dame in the mist of dawn or dusk. Originally printed as postcards, more than 60 of these images are reproduced here at the scale and in the detail they deserve.

Gerda Pohorylle and André Friedmann met in Paris in the 1930s and together the two political émigrés created the fictitious photographer Robert Capa under whose name they published and marketed their pictures. This beautifully printed book assesses the life and work of Taro who was tragically killed while covering the Spanish Civil War with Friedman (who kept the name Capa), and includes many images recently discovered from the so-called 'Mexican suitcase' containing negatives by Taro, Capa and David 'Chim' Seymour.