BRADFORDIANA: a photo zine "of Bradford, about Bradford"

Local photographer John on his personal City of Culture 2025 photography project (FYI: his latest zine takes us to Ilkley Moor)

A ‘zine’ is a non-commercial, independent publication that is typically a printed, paper product. The subject matter is whatever you want it to be. Needless to say, a photo zine features a lot of photographic content.

Even in an era such as ours, defined by the internet, smartphones and being online, they are remarkably popular, an antidote to the plethora of digital media.

Forty years ago I was co-founder of The City Gent, a publication made for supporters of Bradford City. It was one of the forerunners of what became known as the football (fan)zine phenomenon of the late 1980s and 1990s.

Its content featured the affairs and history of the football club and the publication was intended to offer an alternative to mainstream sources of information about BCAFC.

The initiative proved a massive success, reaching a peak circulation of two thousand when average gates were little more than eight thousand. I’m proud to say that The City Gent survives to this day.

Although I’m no longer involved with the publication, it fostered my interest in the history of the football club and I have subsequently authored numerous books about Bradford City’s history.

Whereas in 1984 the production techniques for a zine revolved around Letraset and typewriters, nowadays it is much more straightforward. My motivation for BRADFORDIANA was twofold.

On the one hand, as a keen photographer, it appealed as a project in of itself. On the other hand, I wanted to do something to wave a flag for Bradford, much as we did when we launched The City Gent.

Plenty of other places have dedicated photo zines, so why not Bradford? After all, 2025, via the City of Culture status, is all about celebrating what is good about the Bradford district.

So far, there have been seven issues of BRADFORDIANA and another five are planned by the end of the year. Each issue has a distinct theme and the content thus far has included, variously, Saltaire, Little Germany, match day at Valley Parade, Undercliffe Cemetery, the architecture of Bradford city centre and Bradford’s parks.

The most recent features the walk over Ilkley Moor from Dick Hudsons into Ilkley and the views from the moorland heights.

Through BRADFORDIANA I want to encourage interest in the Bradford district as a place to visit and to encourage interest in Bradford as a place for photography.

I publish my photographs online via Twitter, which provides a good sense of my style and what my work is about.

My photography interests are pretty varied, ranging from architecture and urban photography through to landscapes, football action and live music (in particular, concerts of my favourite band, The Stranglers, who used my photos for their most recent album).

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To find out more about BRADFORDIANA and to order a zine, head to the main site here. All issues are A5 in size with a minimum of 36 pages and a cover price of just £3.