BIKES OF HANOI / PERSONAL SERIES

EVERYDAY LOADS.EXTRAORDINARY SHAPES.

A personal series by Jon Enoch, a lifestyle photographer based in London, exploring the riders, delivery bikes and remarkable loads moving through Hanoi.

A Hanoi vendor carrying bags of fish on his motorbike at night.
HANOI, VIETNAM / AFTER DARKPEOPLE · WORK · EVERYDAY INGENUITY

01 / The starting point

A CITY.
A PERSONAL CURIOSITY.

A news story about proposed restrictions on petrol motorcycles in central Hanoi prompted the project. I wondered about the repercussions for a city where so much everyday work travels on two wheels.

The weird and wonderful objects caught my eye: goods of every shape and size, stacked high and carried through the streets. I set out to photograph the people behind those extraordinary loads.

A Hanoi rider surrounded by a large load of colourful children’s balls.
Rear view of a Hanoi motorbike stacked with bags of fish.

02 / Finding the riders

THE CITY
AFTER DARK.

We spent a little under a week in Hanoi, finding and photographing delivery riders and vendors carrying everything from fish to children’s toys.

Night brought the mixed light of the evening into the pictures. It was a practical choice too: finding an unoccupied space during the day was difficult.

A Hanoi delivery rider with blue bags of ice stacked behind him.
Blue bags of ice turn an everyday delivery into a striking shape.
A Hanoi rider carrying large water bottles on his motorbike.
A motorbike rider carrying an assortment of parts and goods in Hanoi.

03 / Everyday ingenuity

MORE THAN
WHAT THEY CARRY.

The loads create the visual surprise, but the riders remain at the heart of the series. People, goods and the city’s night-time energy come together in each photograph.

Working to my own brief gave me space to follow that curiosity. The personal project later gained widespread attention.

A motorbike carrying a large load of flowers through Hanoi at night.
A Hanoi rider carrying trays of eggs on his motorbike.

04 / On the street

BETWEEN THE PICTURES.

A small look at the camera and lighting setup on location in Hanoi.

Behind the scenes of the Hanoi shoot: a rider, crew and lighting equipment on the street.
The camera setup facing the ball vendor during the Hanoi night shoot.
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Photography by Jon Enoch, lifestyle photographer based in London. Bikes of Hanoi is a personal series about the city’s riders and their remarkable everyday loads.