This boy with autism raised $40,000 to publish book of toy car photos he shot with his phone

We’ve shared some epic toy photos here on DIYP, and young Anthony Schmidt has just joined the group of artists I’m very proud to present. This boy is only 12 years old and he is on the autism spectrum. He has a big passion for toy cars, but they don’t just sit in his room. He takes pretty awesome photos of his toy cars making them look life-sized, using only a smartphone. Anthony is currently on a mission to publish his photo book, and he already raised the impressive $42,000.

Anthony’s mom says that his passion for cars was evident from a very early age. When he was just starting to speak, he could already recognize different brands of cars. “It was in is blood,” his mom says. He started collecting miniature cars and he has made quite an impressive collection so far. But he switched focus from collecting the toy cars to photographing them, and this is where his creativity really came under the spotlight.

“He’s always had a phone in is hand and he just picked it up and started doing it all on his own,” Anthony’s mom told Q13 FOX. Using his mom’s iPhone, his model cars and other toys, Anthony creates scenes he photographs so that they look life-sized. He’s full of ideas and you can tell that his creativity and skills are growing the more photos he takes.

Anthony and his family launched a Kickstarter campaign so he can publish a coffee table book of his photos. The goal was to collect $20,000, but they have reached the sum of over $42,000 at the time of writing this, and there’s still 13 days to go.

“A coffee table book is a fantastic way to show off Anthony’s work,” the campaign page reads. It’s shipped within the U.S. only though, but worry not, there’s something for us out of the States, too. We can order a screensaver bundle of 20 full HD photos of Anthony’s best shots.

If you’d like to buy Anthony’s book (or other items such as a T-shirt, a mug, or a print), head over to his Kickstarter campaign and make your pledge. And if you’d like to follow the work of this talented young boy, make sure to follow him on Instagram.

[via Speed Society]