The North  - John Bulmer

This is my favorite photography book of all time,  the photographs in it eerily echo my formative years growing up in Northern England,  when I open these pages the memories come flooding back as though it was yesterday.

It was on these streets, at sixteen, that I first met the girl  (see fourth extra) who has been with me throughout this adventure,  It was on these streets that my political opinions were formed and yes,  they do differ from those of many of my contemporaries.   It was also on these streets that the raw ambition which eventually led me to America was tempered with a stiff dose of reality.

I will always be grateful for the wonderful opportunities that America has offered me,  for all we have the right to expect of life is equality of opportunity,  but I will forever remember the monochrome streets of West Yorkshire and the life lessons they taught me.

This image marks my fifth year on Blipfoto and I think the time has come to take a few months sabbatical,  I feel of late that my photos have become predictable and somewhat stale so I need a recharge.  I am seriously considering,  amongst other ideas,  a photographic project documenting the old industrial towns of the North East USA, not very sexy but close to my heart.   I will continue to subscribe to Blipfoto because it is a community that deserves support and will continue to look at your journals and may even post an occasional image.   Who knows I may find I’m so addicted that I will return sooner than I expect.


Thank you all for your interest in my photographs over the past five years.