Ok let’s continue our tour of the best 2009 photos from your’s truly. Although I really don’t consider myself a photographer by trade, I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of picking up “the camera” this year. When Speedhunters was being planned out as a creative project, I wasn’t signed up to shoot photos, but it makes sense as i do have a particular view of automotive culture that needs to be communicated on these pages. What better way to do this than to take photos?

BMW NA Mobile Tradition Collection, Columbus, Ohio, USA: The collection of race cars BMW North America keeps in Ohio, are stored under these white car covers which gives a rather ghostly effect. My BMW host was perhaps confused as to why I was shooting all the cars without uncovering them first, but I think the result speaks for itself.

Pagani Factory, San Cesario sul Panaro, Italy:  I’m still in awe of all the automotive art I got to see at the Pagani factory this year. Have a look at the stories here in case you missed them.

Formula D, Evergreen Speedway, Seattle, Washington, USA: It’s time for the mid season technical checks at Formula D Seattle.

Redline Time Attack/Just Drift, Willow Springs, California, USA: Ron Bergenholtz is a proper crazy-man!

SEMA, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: This photo is a great example of the term “Laying Frame”.

Drift Mania West, Western Speedway, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: It’s at amateur drift events that you’ll find real street drift gems like this Canadian Onevia.

4 & Rotary Nationals, Auckland, New Zealand: Mad Mike treats the crowds at the 4 & Rotary Nationals to his own special “4 Rotor” cacklefest. Imagine how LOUD this was indoors!

Rahal Letterman Racing, Columbus, Ohio, USA: The BMW M3 GT2 waits to be loaded up into the team trailer for transportation to the Mosport ALMS event.

BMW Museum, Munich, Germany: BMW were an amazingly collaborative partner for Speedhunters this past September. We’re looking forward to working with them again in 2010!

World Racing, Torrance, California, USA: I got to see Chris Rado’s all conquering Unlimited FF class Scion tC earlier this year, before the World Racing crew had finished up bolting it together. The car went on to have quite the racing season and is no doubt the fastest front drive Time Attack car in the world now. Roll on the AWD version!

Formula D, Irwindale Speedway, California, USA: I’m still relatively green (no pun intended!) when it comes to motorsports action photography, but this turned out to be one of my better shots.

Formula D, Irwindale Speedway, California, USA: The former D1GP champion Ueo is getting a bit of a reputation for his use of brake checking in Formula D tandem competition… I grabbed this shot of Ueo just after he has put his S15 into the wall at Irwindale Speedway while battling Robbie Nishida.

Bonneville Speed Week, Wendover, Utah, USA: We found this custom shoebox just sitting out in the vast expanse of The Salt, as it if was waiting for us to shoot photos of it! I swear we’ve only started to scratch the surface of the Bonneville scene and are eager to get back there in 2010.

ALMS Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, USA: Alan McNish shows the rest of the field how things are done during the rather wet opening lap at the 2009 running of the Petit Le Mans.

FIA GT, Adria, Italy: I thought it would be fun to transplant drift film-maker Will Roegge to a European GT event to see what he’d do. He also seems to be good at pulling faces too!

Formula D, Long Beach, California, USA: I had no idea when I
shot the NuFormz Challenger in Long Beach, that it would never see
competition. Sad to think that team principal Shawn Carlson has now
passed on.

Rosenberg, Texas, USA: How low can you go? Edafe Omosowofa shows us how.

Formula D, Irwindale Speedway, California, USA: Kyle Mohan puts on a little smoke show for the VIP guests at Irwindale Speedway.

Redline Time Attack/Just Drift, Willow Springs, California, USA: If the voting for the Speedhunters awards is anything to go by, it seems that many of you people prefer cars of a Japanese flavour over similar European and American offerings. Well, whatever the case, there’s no denying that this Trans Am style Firebird is an absolute thing of beauty!

Outside the Nugit Casino, Wendover, Nevada, USA: We aren’t as direct participants in the culture of hot rodding as we are say in the universe of drifting, but we’ll continue to feature these cars on the pages of Speedhunters from time to time.

4 & Rotary Nationals, Auckland, New Zealand: I was quite shocked to see the epidemic of rotary transplants when I visited New Zealand in early 2009. This Rotary powered old school Corolla is just one example of the type of machines you’ll see in this crazy scene.

Formula D, Irwindale Speedway, California, USA: Patrick Mourdant shows off his new punky hair style during the drivers meeting at Irwindale Speedway.

ALMS Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, USA: For someone around 20 minutes away from racing his car around a rather wet Road Atlanta, BMW racer Tommy Milner seems utterly relaxed and chilled out in this photo.

Bonneville Speed Week, Wendover, Utah, USA: Which is cooler, Yuta’s 240Z or this 1000 bhp rolling sculpture, Little Boy? I’m curious which will win the Speedhunters 2009 award for Rat of the Year.