A FATHER has completed 1000 days of a project he began in lockdown, taking photos of his son’s toy cars in interesting locations while out on walks.
Ross Burns, 43, began the project as a way of alleviating lockdown boredom during the summer of 2020, but he enjoyed the challenge so much that he kept on going.
Restrictions during the pandemic meant the majority of his early photos were taken near his home in Edinburgh, and he photographed the Hot Wheels cars in hundreds of settings around the Scottish capital.
However, he has since taken his hobby around the UK and photographed the cars in front of sights including Buckingham Palace, the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow, and the Tyne Bridge.
He took the landmark 1000th photo at Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Ross said: “My six-year-old son Daniel loves Hot Wheels and it’s fair to say I’ve caught the bug as well. Back in the summer of 2020, to make sure I took a walk every day, I started taking a car out and taking some pictures on my phone.
“After a few weeks, I set myself the challenge of doing it for a full year and then thought I’d stop. But clearly I was hooked and another 635 days on, I’m still at it.
“The great thing now is that the world has opened up a lot more so it’s become a pictorial diary of my life. It’s also been a fun hobby for me and Daniel to do together. He likes copying my photos and creating his own. Seeing him sprawled flat on a pavement to get the perfect angle is pretty funny.”
Ross, who is head of communications at Edinburgh Napier University, posts his photos on Instagram under the handle “scot.wheels”.
He said: “It’s been great building up a following on Instagram and receiving messages and comments from around the world. There are also inspiring people doing similar things in other countries, including in the likes of Dnipro in Ukraine.
“I said after a year of doing it that I would stop. Now I’ve done 1000 days straight and seen my pictures progress from very amateur efforts to something more pleasing, I’ve got a big decision to make.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here