Cycling, the perfect visual transport
In our guest blog this month, Nick Hussey from cycle apparel retailer Vulpine reflects on the magic combination of riding bikes and taking photographs...
Photography is a huge part of my life, and always has been. The same can be said for cycling, in fact more so.
My mum was a professional photographer, specialising in theatre and dance. I used to help her in her darkroom as a kid, dipping prints in various noxious chemicals under red light. I loved it. At the same time I was training and racing bikes.
As I’ve got older, the photography bug has held firm and the cycling bug has become only more intense, but also more diverse, spreading into every kind of cycling, from whistling commuter pottering to lung-searing hilly expeditions.
I’ve met a huge number of cyclists in my time, and because I worked in creative management before I started Vulpine, I’ve met a lot of photographers. And what strikes me is just how many photographers cycle.
I have a theory. Cycling is the perfect mode of transport for the visual sense. Running and walking is relatively slow, and the scenery is relatively limited. And in a car things flash by. But by bike, images come and go with frequency enough for intense interest, but you still have that chance to take it in and appreciate it. Cycling is the most visual way to travel and get fit.
Many of my favourite cycling jaunts are remembered through snapshots of memory. That waterfall going up my first ever Alp. The daisies by my face as I lie in the warm summer grass with my wife on our first mountain bike ride. The oak leaves falling in Hyde Park. The snow flying along ice as I crunch through desolate woodland, caught unawares in a blizzard.
The photography on the Vulpine site, whether for the products or the blog, is extremely important to me. Cycling for me is an intense and vibrant experience and I try to capture that. Sometimes I think I succeed. It's fun trying. The great thing about bikes and taking pics is you can stop where you like, and you can find so many great people and places as subject matter.
Hop on a bike, any bike; grab a camera, any camera; go somewhere, anywhere. Take an image of something that means something to you. And cherish the freedom and sights of cycling.
Nick Hussey is the founder of Vulpine cycling apparel, stylish cycling clothing you can wear on and off the bike. He runs the company, writes the blog, takes the images and designs the clothes, inbetween riding with his wife Emmalou and dog Lily.
The pictures used in this piece are his too.
Find out about our cycling photography competition, and win a Vulpine jersey.
