What do I mean by wandering photographers? I mean those who set-off with no confirmed destination. Those who walk the streets looking for images, that others do not see. For the moments ‘in-between’. Those documenting our social experience. I don’t mean street photographers. That is an area of practice that seems to need to conform to sets of rules. The wanderer is a free spirit, making images for themselves, not clicks or likes. These are the photographers who are committed to the long haul, not for quick wins or financial recompense. As is always the case, the following list is subjective and in no particular order.

Further reading
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/24/the-photography-canon-and-why-it-is-important-not-the-camera-brand/
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/25/the-unp-top-20-photographers-working-with-colour/

Sylvia Plachy https://sylviaplachy.com

Peter Mitchell https://strangelyfamiliar.co.uk

Andre Kertesz www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/andré-kertész

Lee Freidlander www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/lee-friedlander

Homer Sykes https://homersykes.photoshelter.com

Polly Alderton www.dollyandfife.com

Paul Trevor https://paultrevor.com

Wolfgang Suschitzky https://wolfsuschitzkyphotos.com

Nick Wynne www.instagram.com/nicholasthomaswynne/

Markéta Luskačová https://britishphotography.org/artists/112-marketa-luskacova/overview/

Garry Winogrand www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/garry-winogrand

Robert Frank www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/robert-frank

Nicholas Syracuse https://www.roadphoto.com

Vinca Petersen www.vincapetersen.com

Weegee ‘The Famous’ (Usher Fellig) www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/weegee

Anders Petersen www.deutscheboersephotographyfoundation.org/en/collect/artists/anders-petersen.php

Ed Van der Elsken www.edvanderelsken.nl

Helen Levitt www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/helen-levitt

Shirley Baker https://shirleybakerphotography.com

Tom Wood https://tomwoodarchive.com

Dr.Grant Scott
After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8 magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020) and Inside Vogue House: One building, seven magazines, sixty years of stories, (Orphans Publishing 2024). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018.

© Grant Scott 2026

Image: Sylvia Plachy