Car Spotting: A mini adventure
I have two real passions in my life, Photography and Cars. I like to combine these passions at any opportunity I get. On a recent holiday to Wales, I was quite happy wondering around with my girlfriend, snapping away at the beautiful scenery, of which there is plenty in Wales, until something caught my eye…
Being bright yellow always helps a car stand out but the Mini just looked great in this location. It looks great on those clean Alleycat wheels and was adorned with enough ‘Union Jacks’ to remind you where it’s from, including some rather impressive door linings. The clean chrome really popped from the bodywork to complete the package.
I’m sure many of you are the same, you see a car you like, you grab your phone or digital camera and snap away. I know that my Instagram feed is full of quite a random collection of cars that have caught my attention. As I looked at my girlfriends increasingly disgruntled face, eager to carry on and enjoy the holiday rather than watch her boyfriend crawl all over somebody else’s car, I started thinking, why do we enjoy ‘spotting’ cars?
The internet and websites such as this one gives us the ability to see pictures of pretty much any car we can imagine. So why do we feel the need to whip out the camera phone and shoot at other people’s property? I think it all boils down to an obsession, if you’re a car fan, you love seeing a special car out in public, you look around it, talk to the owner if you get the chance, take pictures of it, even if doing so you jeopardise your relationship and ruining a perfectly good holiday!
My love for car spotting probably stems from hours of playing ‘Top Trumps’ as a kid
My love for car spotting probably stems from hours of playing ‘Top Trumps’ as a kid. Looking through my phone I have a range of cars from literally scrapheap shots through to a stunning matte black Aventador and on to some special track day cars. I can only guess that it’s the same kind of enjoyment women get when they spot a pair of shoes they like in a shop, to use a terrible analogy! Though the idea of groups of men jumping up and down shouting ‘ooh, ooh look at that!’ in a suitablty feminine manner as a mint condition 80’s Golf GTI roles past does make me smile…
So I say long live car spotting and whole-heartedly encourage you to get out there with your cameras and get shooting away. The streets are awash with some very special cars and whether you’re in an ultra expensive area of London or in a shopping centre car park in Glasgow, I can guarantee at some point you will find a little gem. As ever, our social media channels are open so feel free to Tweet or email us images of your best car spots and we will post a selection of our favourites!
Author: Ross Jukes
