Like many others, I took to my bike for
daily exercise when the lockdown began. I'd forgotten the pleasures
of two wheels, and found the switch from walking to cycling made it
easier to keep my distance from oblivious pedestrians with social
distancing amnesia. But after a few days of aimless forays I got
bored. I decided to take a camera with me, with the intention of
bringing back at least one useable picture from every trip.
A bike is a wonderful thing. It gets
you to places without hassle, at little cost and minimal planning.
But bringing a camera along is very different from photographing on
foot. If something catches your eye you have to stop, check the
traffic, check for bicycle thieves, put the bike somewhere where it isn't
going to trip up a pedestrian or get crushed by a bus, before you can
even get the camera out of its bag.
So by the time you're in position, the
bike is safe, and your camera set, the perfectly framed incident,
or moment of light and shade, that you had spotted from the saddle
has most likely been and gone.
But not always. I don't know what my
collection of images does, or will, add up to once the pandemic has
become a distant memory, if that ever happens, but the fruits of my cycle expeditions
in and around North West London over the last few weeks are enough to keep
me pedalling. More pictures here.
