An Edinburgh dad has completed a 365-day photography challenge with a difference – a photo of a toy car placed somewhere in and around the city every day.
Ross Burns, 41, has taken a photo of one of his son’s many Hot Wheels cars every day for the past year in what began as an activity to beat the boredom of homeworking during lockdown.
Ross, who works at Edinburgh Napier University, has since featured more than 250 cars in a huge number of settings in and around Edinburgh.
From iconic backdrops such as Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle and the Forth Bridge, to Saughton Skatepark, Leith Docks and Murrayfield Ice Rink, Ross is always on the lookout for the perfect picture.
“I have a five-year-old son called Daniel and he loves Hot Wheels. I used to love Matchbox cars when I was his age and I soon began to become obsessed with his growing collection. To make sure I took a walk every day, I started taking a car out and just taking some pictures on my phone.
“After a few weeks, I set myself the challenge of doing it for a full year and I’m delighted to have now completed it. It’s been great for my mental health during the various lockdowns, particularly the one early this year – getting out and taking a picture of a car gave me a purpose and a creative outlet each day.”
Posting a photo a day on Instagram under the handle Scot.Wheels, the images chart the four seasons and a city in and out of lockdown. Ross’ most popular image is of a Land Rover Defender 90 reflected on the Water of Leith.
“I’ve done a couple of pictures where the car is reflected in the water and people love them. The Land Rover in particular is popular as it is one of the most realistic looking cars.”
Due to the restrictions of lockdown, the vast majority of photos are of Edinburgh but Ross and his family did escape to Fife last month for a holiday in Lower Largo.
“We had beautiful weather and the beach made such a great background for the cars. A rugged blue Ford Bronco looked fantastic on the rocks by the sea.”
Now that he has achieved his target of a photograph every day for a year, and run up more than 20,000 “likes” in the process, Ross intends to carry on but take his foot off the accelerator.
“I’ll continue taking car pictures but not pressurise myself to do it every day. I’ll aim for quality over quantity and hopefully as we become able to travel more, I’ll explore some fantastic new settings with some wonderful new cars.”
You can see Ross’s year of car pictures at www.instagram.com/scot.wheels.
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