Vanishing Wheels

Whenever you roam the roads of Western Canada, along a country lane or busy highway, you’ll often see a familiar but frequently overlooked sight: derelict cars and trucks dotting the landscape, left to disappear eventually into the dust. Car afficionado, former racer, and long-time hobbyist photographer Steve Van Vlaenderen became enamoured with these remnants of yesteryear and began to set off on road trips with his partner Darlene to track down these forgotten curiosities.

Vanishing Wheels is Van Vlaenderen’s photographic homage to these vehicles sitting in what might be their final resting places, set amid rolling landscapes and junkyards, some swaddled by foliage, others hidden behind barns. He captures these vestiges-these vanishing wheels-and drags them from the dust to showcase them as a testament to our past and progression, our humanity, and ourselves.

This beautifully written and illustrated 125-page book has another purpose: proceeds from its sale will be donated to Parkinson Canada to fund research on the disease, with which the author and photographer himself lives.