Photographer’s passion for the abandoned will help charity

A photographer’s tour of abandoned railway depots and car cemeteries around the world has been made into a book to raise money for a Scottish charity.

David McKeran’s fascination with derelict cars, rail engines and boats has seen him cover thousands of miles over the last three years in countries including France, Spain, Cuba and Namibia.

His trip started at the Bowling harbour boat graveyard on the River Clyde and the proceeds from the book, titled Rack and Ruin, are to go to homelessness charity Glasgow City Mission.

Mr McKeran, who runs David McKeran Photography and is a partner with Matrix Business Growth Consultants in Glasgow, said: “Over the past few years I’ve been combining my passion for photography with raising funds for Glasgow City Mission, an organisation that’s doing fantastic work tackling the challenges of homelessness.

“I was told about the boat graveyard in Bowling and I found that the rotting wood, rusting metal and twisted shapes provided the scope for some dramatic images.

“I started to think about where else I could find more abandoned boats and other subjects which offered similar photographic opportunities.

“This led to a three-year project, visiting boat graveyards, car cemeteries and abandoned railway depots.

“I visited various sites in Scotland and England as well as trips to France, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, Cuba and Namibia.”

One of David McKeran’s photos of an abandoned car.