© Richard HuangIn the first instalment of my “Things I’ve Photographed Over the Years” series, I wrote about Restrooms I’ve Photographed Over the Years—because they are an essential part of life’s basic necessities. This time, I’m turning to another everyday essential: the bicycle.
© Richard HuangChina was once known as the kingdom of bicycles. For many of us, the bicycle was our main means of getting around, and the sea of cyclists along Chang’an Avenue epitomized that era. Times have changed: cars now dominate in China, while cycling has flourished in the West. Young people ride to save on high transport costs and to embrace a fashionable low-carbon lifestyle. Cycling is also excellent exercise. On holidays, the whole family can ride into the countryside, enjoy the scenery, lift their spirits, and spend some harmonious time together.
© Richard HuangThe first bicycle I photographed was in Busan, South Korea, in 2008. I spotted this lovely little bike outside a café and took a picture with my phone. I never found out whether it belonged to a customer, a delivery rider, or was simply part of the décor.
© Richard HuangFrom then on, whenever I saw an attractive bicycle outside a shop, I would photograph it with my phone. I posted this picture of a flower-filled bicycle on Google Maps, where it drew more than a hundred thousand views.
© Richard HuangThe front of this shop was covered with bicycles. Was it a bike shop, I wondered, or an artist’s installation?
© Richard HuangA bicycle photographed outside a shop in Budapest in 2023.
© Richard HuangThis flower-covered bicycle, meanwhile, was displayed at the Flower Festivaland attracted crowds of passers-by who stopped to look and take pictures.
© Richard HuangA bicycle can be beautiful even without flowers. Look at those red wheels against the green background—don’t they feel a little Christmassy? I thought it was lovely, so naturally I had to photograph it.
© Richard HuangThen there are bicycles suspended from netting,
© Richard Huang
© Richard Huangor hung from railings.
© Richard HuangOr even mounted on posts.
© Richard HuangEye-catching bicycles are not uncommon. I photographed this rainbow-coloured one at a Pride parade.
© Richard HuangHere is a bicycle on a rainbow crosswalk. And, of course, photographing bicycles also means photographing the people who ride them.
© Richard HuangI captured this scene near the same rainbow crosswalk. What caught my eye was the unusually small bicycle and the way the rider’s red clothing worked with the colours around her.
© Richard HuangThe way this young woman matched her bag to her bicycle was so carefully considered that it seemed to say something about her approach to life. I had to record it. The maple-leaf symbol on the ground adds another interesting touch.
© Richard HuangThen there is the matching basket and frame, and the matching saddle and lock. You can’t help wondering whether the owner has a bit of an obsessive streak.
© Richard HuangThe enormous tyres caught my attention. The rider’s green clothing plays off the colours on the ground, while the bicycle’s shadow echoes the painted symbol. Everything feels harmonious and intriguing.
© Richard HuangSpeaking of shadows, bicycle shadows fascinate me too. Their distinctive circles and triangular lines make them especially striking.
© Richard HuangWhenever I see the shadow of a bicycle, I instinctively reach for my phone.
© Richard HuangPhotographing bicycles can preserve light and shadow, but it can also record wholeness and loss. Leave a bicycle standing in one place for long enough and, more likely than not, someone will remove a part or two. These maimed, incomplete bicycles are a common sight—and another subject I like to photograph.
© Richard HuangTo record such damage is really to record the passage of time. Photographing the changing surroundings of a bicycle also captures the turning of the seasons, from spring and summer to autumn and winter…
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangThere is something strangely affecting about a bicycle standing in the winter snow…
© Richard HuangIf I said that photographing bicycles could capture not only the passage of time but also life and death, many people would probably accuse me of being pretentious. In Canada, when a cyclist is killed in a traffic collision, loved ones sometimes place a bicycle painted entirely white at the site as a memorial. Whenever I photograph such a sceneI feel as though I have caught a glimpse of death—and am reminded how precious it is to be alive.
© Richard HuangA bicycle is more than a means of transport. If we look closely and record thoughtfully, even the simplest object can possess its own charm and significance.
© Richard HuangNext time, we’ll take a look at what wraps around those wheels: tyres. 😜