Wilson was drawn to street photography and devised ways to capture the movement of people, horses and carts with minimum risk of blur. This view was taken at the intersection of Princes Street and Hanover Street, with the Scott Monument as the main focus in the centre back. A neo-gothic canopy designed by George Meikle Kemp (1795–1844) covers the statue of Scott, which was completed in 1844. The Nelson Monument is partially visible on the top of Calton Hill in the distance.

The centre-ground of the lower photograph shows the uninhabitable marshland that once separated Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns, and later became the site of Edinburgh’s North British Railway Station (now Waverley station). The road bending to the left over the bridge is Cockburn Street and the City Chambers building is on the left. The tower of St Giles’ Kirk can be seen on the right in the background.