100 weeks of Scotland: Week 25

A seaplane taking off from Loch Voil in the Trossachs. Picture: Alan McCredie

Here, in week 25, Alan has photographed an Andrew Carnegie doppelganger; a public display of Tai Chi and a seaplane taking off from a Trossachs loch.

Image one - Andrew Carnegie lookalike

This week’s first imageis a lookalike of the great steel-man and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, taken at The National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 1913 Carnegie set up a trust to allocate funds for his philanthropic enterprises. This year The Carnegie UK Trust celebrates its centenary and to mark this occasion a book, ‘Pioneering Philanthropy’ by Liz Macdonald, was launched charting the first one hundred years of the trusts activities. Born in Dunfermline in 1835, Carnegie emigrated to the United States when he was 13 years old, and would spend his life becoming one of the richest men ever to have lived, and then the becoming the worlds greatest philanthropist by giving it all away again. Carnegie believed that the first third of ones life should be spent in education, the next third accumulating as much wealth as possible and the final third should be spent giving that wealth away. The image is a publicity still for the launch of the book.

Image two - Public display of Tai Chi

In the second image this week a large public display of Tai Chi takes place on a beautiful spring day, one of the first of the year where it felt like the warmth was returning. To watch such a display of dozens of individuals moving in such a slow, measured and graceful way was incredibly impressive and also wonderfully peaceful. It really felt that, finally after being in the grip of winter for so long, colour was beginning to return to the world and people were returning to the outdoors.

Image three - Seaplane in the Trossachs

Finally, in the third image, a seaplane takes off, roaring down the water and shattering the quiet of Loch Voil in the Trossachs. I had been driving along the minor road that twisted and coiled along the northern edge of the loch when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the plane approaching along the loch. I had seconds to pull over and grab my camera before the plane disappeared behind some trees and flew off into a clear blue sky. It pays to always have a camera handy…

Alan McCredie began the ‘one hundred weeks of scotland’ website in October last year, and it will conclude in Autumn 2014. McCredie’s goal is to chronicle two years of Scottish life in the run-up to the independence referendum.

McCredie says ‘one hundred weeks...’ is intended to show all sides of the country over the next two years. On the site, he says: “Whatever the result of the vote Scotland will be a different country afterward. These images will show a snapshot of the country in the run up to the referendum.

“The photos will be of all aspects of Scottish culture - politics, art, social issues, sport and anything else that catches the eye.”

You can follow the project at www.100weeksofscotland.com. You can also follow Alan on Twitter.

• All pictures (c) Alan McCredie