No Ordinary Rider

Somebody or just anybody?

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Cycling is fun but it is also a vital way of getting around on your own, This kind of mobility can mean the difference between dependence on others and the ability to decide and do things for yourself. As we travel through time, maintaining our ability to move and go where we want when we want is crucial.

Here’s a picture of somebody cycling in town. Somebody or just anybody?

Well, as our eye travels from top to bottom, the cyclist soon becomes central to the picture. It is not just the place in the frame which draws our attention but also the rider’s high visibility jacket and the matching baseball cap.

The sharpness of the shadow and the almost magic stillness of the bike are magnificent. The rider seems to be leaning into the effort of pedalling across what looks like a big intersection. Or riding uphill? Or against the wind?

But that’s white hair springing out from the sides of the cap and suddenly it looks like a woman on the bike. Perhaps she’s not riding uphill. Or against the wind. Her leaning could just be a posture of age, which her white hair suggests.

What about that blue bag which doesn’t quite fit into her basket? Has she been shopping for herself or someone else? Or is she maybe a delivery rider? At her age that doesn’t seem possible, but some elderly people have to work to make ends meet. Maybe she’s just riding home after all. Unless she’s going to visit someone? She certainly has a lot of options.

The photographer

Alejandro Diez is a photographer and film-maker from Argentina who takes photographs of apparently everyday situations in ways which make us look twice. He is a storyteller. His portraits and street scenes are particularly arresting. This particular snap was taken at a pedestrian crossing in Mar del Plata, a town on the Atlantic coast 400 kms from Buenos Aires where everyone takes pictures of the seafront.

This isn’t a shot of the sea. You may not immediately turn your head to look at this woman in the street, but this photographer noticed her and, small though she may be, the picture makes her magnetic. You can’t look anywhere else.

Take one more look at the photo. If you look closely, above her head, you can see a sign which says “Av Independencia” : Independence Avenue. That makes a great caption because she is no ordinary rider and the very picture of independence.

And Alejandro Diez is an independent photographer.