
Another theme, another batch of incredible imagery. The most impressive aspect of any #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER theme is how you interpret each theme. These interpretations are often what separate the good submissions from the great. The Engine Theme is no different. When we issued this theme, we specifically requested that we didn’t want plain ol’ engine bay photographs. Instead, we wanted you to think a little bit differently and give us a different perspective.
(Above) Egidijus Kirslys takes the coveted featured image spot on this month’s theme. It’s a simple idea but it’s well-executed. By waiting for the light to move across the engine, he has created an image with a little mystery and drama. By exposing for the brightest point in the frame, he has thrown the rest of the image into darkness.

There’s a story to this image – I’ll let Andrew tell it: “My father purchased a 1968 Ford Falcon Futura up in Maine a couple of years ago. It was an original straight-six car but someone had swapped a 289 into it at some point. We cleaned it up a little bit and brought it to its first cruise night late in the summer. On the way home from the cruise night, the oil pickup got clogged and ended up seizing the motor. I decided to highlight the scarred cylinder wall from the seized piston with the car tucked away under its cover in the background.”

Shooting in museums and showrooms can be bad news. With some careful consideration though, Antoine has created an interesting composition with a rather nice black and white treatment.

We don’t all have access to studios, but if you do, you’d better use it. Darren has avoided the usual engine bay shot of a mid-mounted Ferrari V8 by using the car to frame the shot. It looks simple, but finding that spot which results in a perfectly symmetrical image is tougher than it looks.

By moving around and trying different angles, Dwayne gives us a unique perspective on this RB26. Think how much easier – and more boring – this photo would have been if taken from a standing position. The difference between a photograph and a snapshot.

Beautifully simple and something that could easily hang on a wall in a gallery. Automotive art.

This is what we meant about different interpretations of the theme. We know what it is, we can associate with it but yet it’s not obvious. The shallow depth of field and black and white treatment are on point too.

By using a slightly slower shutter speed, Loic was able to capture the movement of the mechanic’s hands. It adds action and life to the image.

Engines are more than just a series of parts. There’s also the way we interact with them, how we explore them.

What about their life outside the car?

Objects that once brought joy – or at least convenience – what happens to them afterwards? What can they be re-appropriated for?

Let’s not dwell too much on the afterlife, when there’s so much life still to be lived by many.

Some are reborn and reutilised, getting a second shot at life.

Another chance to bring us the greatest joy any motor vehicle can. Freedom.

With that, we come to the end. Sadly, this will be my last contribution to #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER as I’m moving on to pastures new at the end of the month. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your contributions and efforts. I feel so very grateful that not only have I been able to interact with you, but to have had the pleasure to meet some of you in person too. This will be the part of Speedhunters I will most certainly miss the most. Again, thank you.
Safe shooting.
Paddy McGrath
Twitter: @PaddyMcGrathSH
Instagram: pmcgphotos
paddy@pmcgphotos.com
The mini engine theme
#IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER
About #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER
We created #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER to allow you the opportunity to share your skills and car culture experiences from around the globe with the rest of the Speedhunters audience. Now, it’s your chance to prove you have what it takes to join us on our adventures.
How do you get involved? It’s simple…
E-mail – This is the most reliable method of contact. If you’ve been to a cool event and captured some amazing images, be sure to e-mail them to us on iamthespeedhunter@speedhunters.com and tell us a little bit about the event.
Flickr - Join our #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER Flickr Group and share your favourite photos with us and others.
Instagram – Follow us on Instagram at @TheSpeedhunters and tag your own car culture images with #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER
Twitter – Follow us on Twitter at @SPEEDHUNTERS and share your tweets with the #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER hashtag.
Tumblr – Visit our Tumblr page to view the latest #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER tagged images.
All submitted images must be 1920px by 1280px before they are considered.
Have you submitted already but not yet been featured? Here are some tips to help you…
DO – Tell us your name
DO – Read and understand the brief
DO – Submit only your best work
DO – Take your time shooting and consider each detail
DO – Submit each image no smaller than 1920PX wide
DON’T – Put a huge watermark on it. We’ll make sure you’re credited
DON’T – Send us huge image files that kill our e-mail system
DON’T – Send us scary ZIP or RAR files. We won’t open them
noooo, no more Paddy!
What will happen to all the Escort features?
speedhunters pls
Fantastic images as always! Really like Dwayne's RB26 picture, great perspective!
Paddy, sad to hear you're moving on! I can't thank you and Speedhunters enough for showing some of my work through #IATS, it has been and continues to be a massive encouragement to get out and shoot as well as comfirmation that my work is worthy; something that I sometimes struggle with.
Best of luck with your next moves and once again, cheers. JG
But, but Paddy! Escorts!!
Love that camshaft pic tho, so simple, but genius nonetheless =)
Will be sad to see you go man, I have loved all your work and cant thank you enough for featuring some of my work on #IATS. I wish you the best of luck with your future ventures
Thank you for your many contributions to the speedhunters brand Paddy...your photography and articles have been an inspiration to say the least!
All the best for the future mate, you will be missed
Cheers, Grant
We'll always miss you and your articles... :')
Thanks so much for all you have done Paddy, and everyone at Speedhunters. Such an honor to see my work alongside some of the best photographers and car enthusiasts in the world. Nothing but the best!
Thanks! I have a whole series I've been working on of engine components, it's been a challenge to find consistency but the shiniest parts have the most impact. My turbo image was featured on the turbo theme, but I still feel the cam is the strongest of the series by far.
I recon it's the shine of polished parts against the black background that gives them such impact, but I recon a really light background against something not so shiny would give equal effect. Like a red crackle-finish Ferrari cam cover against the white paint on the side of a racetrack or something =P
Where's Paddy going?
That shot of the RB. It looks almost scary. It's like looking down on you ready to squash you. Good stuff! Love the pictures!
Will be sad to see you leave Paddy! Goodluck and all the best in your future endeavors. Thanks for sharing my photo
Great submissions again this month! Congratulations to everyone that made the selection

Paddy, thank you so much for all your time and effort on #iamthespeedhunter. I hope we meet again soon!
aussieANON I'm sure the rest of the team will keep a steady stream of amazing feature cars coming your way. Don't forget that Bryn is a regular contributor to Classic Ford, so he knows a good Escort when he sees one
Jame5 Thanks James, it's been a huge privilege for me to contribute to the Speedhunters project for over five years now. Like yourself, I've often questioned the quality of my work but trust me, any photographer worth their salt will always be their own harshest critic. Just keep doing what you do and have fun doing it. The rewards will come
JoshuaWhitcombe Thank you Joshua, really appreciate it.
Grant Minns Thank you Grant, it's great to know people have enjoyed some of the things I've worked on.
muhammadilham Thanks mate, I think there's one more feature car to come that Brad and I are working on. After that, who knows?
EthanCohen Thanks for your messages both on here and on Twitter Ethan. Best of luck with your own career!
JackieMoon Thank you for contributing
Maurice Bergers Thanks Maurice, and thank you for the kind e-mail as well. It means a lot. Stay in touch!
meal stub I'm heading into the great unknown, also known as a full time freelancer.

Dwayne's shot is seriously menacing alright
InnerToxicity I'm sure you'll be kept more than entertained with what the rest of the team uncover
It's such a big honor to be included in your last IAMTHESPEEDHUNTERS. Ultimate excitement you shared, impossible to put into words all the efforts you made. Good to see the auto culture through your camera.
High Five!!! PaddyMcGrath
I really like that RB26 photo
Can't believe my photo was chosen along side some of the best and most talented guys out there! Really awesome entries guys!
Paddy good luck with your future endeavors! I am really glad we got to chat on email, I will definitely keep in touch!
Me too... 45 quid an hour, Dalston Rd. Lovely girl...
FACK! I thought I was supposed to put a watermark on it.
Going to miss you man, you had some high quality content for us, we'll miss ya for sure. Also sad my shot didn't make it haha! There's always a next one...
Sad to see you go. Hope I catch more of your work through other outlets in the future.
Thanks for what you've done with IATS. It's definitely helped me improve my skills in a pretty dramatic way.
May I ask who's going to take over the program?
good luck Paddy mate hope you do well.
Great selection, I really like Jack's photo.
Good luck in the great unknown Paddy!
Paddy, when you featured one of my photos way back it truly inspired me to further develop my skills and now automotive photography is now one of my favorite hobbies!
Thank you for everything that you have done with SpeedHunters and #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER, as well as inspiring me to do my best.
Best of luck!!!
Trevor Ryan = nailed it.
Paddy, it was a real pleasure working with you on the blog feature, we will miss your posts on Speedhunters !
Really looking forward to look at your freelance work. Any link where we can follow you ? Your website ?
Mohammad_Akbarpour PaddyMcGrath Your's was a great submission Mohammad, exactly what we were looking for in thinking outside the box. Keep shooting
AllenAznan So do I
Wade Lambert Thanks Wade, my updated e-mail address is at the bottom of this story so don't hesitate to get in touch anytime. Best of luck with your photo career
Badgercock At least you'll know next time
ClaudioFellipheDias Thanks Claudio. Don't ever be put off by not making it, use it as fuel to be better. The rewards will come.
GrifBatenhorst Thanks Grif, and thank you for all your amazing submissions since the program's inception.
I'm not sure who will be running it from here on, but it'll be in safe hands.
boost me till i burst Thank you mate, appreciate it.
DaveT Thanks Dave!
DougJohnson Thank you for contributing Doug, it's all of you guys who made this what it is.
obsession_Si I'm just glad I don't have to choose these any more. Way too much choice...
Honeydew Cottage An hour? Fair play!
Sorry to see you go, Paddy. I'm a fan of your work.
Thank you for supporting me. I have been honored to be included in the IATS selections. I hope this doesn't mean an end to #IATS as a whole...
Good luck in your future endeavors.
midgeman Thanks Kenneth, and if you ever have anything you think I can help you with, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you for everything Paddy!! Best luck!
Feels great seeing some of my work being posted, truly inspiring
PaddyMcGrath AllenAznan thanks guys i have a lot more shots of it
meal stub thanks
Dwayne Thomas PaddyMcGrathAllenAznanadd me on Facebook, bro. I wanna see more
Sorry to see you go Paddy, I wish you the best of luck on whatever adventure is next!
Thanks for your support over the years!
Jame5 thanks this was my first submission ever, i'm really glad its getting these kind of comments
Dwayne Thomas Congrats man, keep up the good work!
Max Muller Thanks Max, hopefully we'll meet at a rally someday
So excited to see my picture up there! Hopefully this is just the start of an amazing year
Whaaat? No more Paddy?

Anyway, I hope we will catch up again, I guess you still would spend some hours around at racetracks in Europe.
Thanks for the good work you have done at Speedhunters.
Nice to get to know you!
I will miss you Paddy. Best of luck in whatever you do next!
To get a photo of mine on my faorite website is such an honour, I am humbled to have it along side some really great photos. Thank you so much. All the best Paddy for your future. Neil Williams
Awesome article. Don't forget the rotary.
Best of luck for your future Paddy, it has been a privilege to have my images selected more than once by yourself.
I've always been a fan of your photography and I will keep an eye on you in your next adventures.
Take care and safe shooting man
Dwayne Thomas Great perspective for your shot Dwayne, keep at it!
@Nathan Leach Proffer Thanks Nathan, looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Camillast I hope so Camilla, it was great meeting you too. See you again some time!
Peter_Laps Thanks Peter
@Neil Williams Thanks for the submission Neil, really liked it.
RiccardoCarbone You too Riccardo, take care!
Thanks for posting mine and good luck for whatever the future may hold Paddy!
Steph Clarke Thanks Steph!
PaddyMcGrath Sad to see you go as well. Thank you for supporting my images alongside the IATS Greats. Wishing you well!!
-Perri
Perri Minot PaddyMcGrath Thank you Perri
can anyone tell me what museum that is from antoines shot, the flat 12 in the background caught my eye