Maynard McDonald and his grandmother, Hannah Maynard, cycling in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria c.1895

During her outings with her grandson to Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park, located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait, Maynard found opportunities to investigate photography’s ability to capture motion—a difficult task considering the era’s bulky cameras and long exposure times. The above image is a remarkable example from Maynard’s many pictures depicting cyclists and park scenery because it illustrates her technical skill in manipulating a scene.

While this image of Maynard and her grandson cycling appears to be captured spontaneously, it was, in fact, the product of meticulous planning. She used cleverly hidden blocks to keep the static bicycles upright while the riders balanced carefully on their seats. The blurry appearance of Maynard’s face indicates that she must have lost her balance slightly during the lengthy exposure. If the bikes were indeed moving, they would have been just as blurry. Along with compositional tricks, the tree to the right behind Maynard, its limbs unseasonably bare and its branches unnaturally trimmed, appears to have been drawn in by the photographer.

In the 1880s, the bicycle took the form we are most familiar with today—two wheels of equal size featuring pneumatic tires and propelled by pedals connected to a chain drive. This led to an enormous surge in cycling’s popularity, particularly among women, who could ride these new-style bicycles while wearing the era’s bulky skirts and thus gaining a newfound mobility. Always up for new pursuits, Maynard took up cycling with her grandson Maynard McDonald, and they often went on outings in Victoria’s newly established greenspace, Beacon Hill Park. Opened in 1882 and just two kilometres south of Maynard’s studio and residence, it featured winding paths ideal for riding. This land is the unceded Traditional Territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen), known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, set aside as a protected area by James Douglas (1803–1877) in 1858 and then converted to a municipal park.

Maynard McDonald and his grandmother, Hannah Maynard, cycling in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria is one of many photographs made by Maynard of cycling. The stereoscopic image, Photographing bicycles in Beacon Hill Park, c.1895 is a photograph about the making of photographs. Maynard is again perched on her bicycle with feet off the ground, as if in motion, though not in fact moving. Her assistant operates the large format camera on the right and appears to be taking a picture of her. There is also a hint of another tripod to the left of the image. When looked at through a stereoscope viewer to produce a three-dimensional image, the viewer assumes the role of photographer, situated between both tripods, seeing the scene as a story about the photographic process.

Maynard was a diligent student of photography, and in the advertisements for her studio she made a point of noting that she kept the latest photographic equipment in stock. The development of machine-produced gelatin dry-plate glass negatives in the 1870s provided greater sensitivity and portability than wet plate negatives. In the 1880s, Maynard switched to this new technology and her cycling at Beacon Hill Park afforded her the perfect opportunity to try it.