D
ocumentary photography took off in
Britain in the 1960s, with magazines
and newspaper supplements such as
this one — the first colour supplement
when it was launched in 1962 —
offering photographers the chance
to make their names by exploring the gritty
and quirky realities of everyday life.
John Bulmer, grandson of the founder of
the Bulmer cider company, is one such name.
He documented declining industrial
heartlands for About Town magazine,
including an atmospheric series, The Black
Country, in black-and-white in 1961. “The
picture of the man in the flat cap was taken
around Tipton,” says Bulmer, now 83.
“I didn’t speak to him, just stopped my car
and waited for someone to come by. You can
see his breath condensing as it was so cold.”
At the time many photojournalists looked
down on colour photography as commercial,Above: a man in a flat cap
crosses a junction in Tipton,
West Midlands, 1961. With heavy
industry in decline, this image by
John Bulmer caught the sense
of Britain at a crossroads
Below: a woman hangs her
washing on the line near Tipton,- By John Bulmer. In the
background is Ocker Hill
Power Station, which was
demolished in 1985
Right: German tourists survey
a gnome garden in Stanley,
on the Falkland Islands, 2013.
Jon Tonks documented life
on British islands in the South
Atlantic for his project EmpireBelow right: a male stripper
known as the Rhinestone
Cowboy cavorts for a group of
young women on a pleasure boat
cruise on the Thames in 1979.
By Homer Sykes46 • The Sunday Times Magazine