Winner Announced!

PHR Photo Contest

Posted September 21 2009 09:18 PM by Johnny Hunkins
Filed under: Events

We’ve surveyed all the entries into the 2009 Popular Hot Rodding Photo Contest sponsored by Nitto Tires, and when the dust cleared, Tom and Amy Craig took top honors.

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A lot of you have been eagerly waiting to find out who won this year’s photo contest, and we’ve finally made a decision. It was a hard one for sure. With almost 300 entries, there was an abundance of great photography. In the end, we decided to go with Tom and Amy Craig of Schertz, Texas. Most of our top photos were submitted by car owners who knew (or hired) pro shooters, but Tom Craig’s shot of his model/wife Amy posing with her ’68 Camaro showed us that it’s possible for an amateur to get the job done. For their efforts, the couple has earned their choice of any set of Nitto tires. Our thanks go out to all our readers who entered this year’s contest. Congrats to Tom and Amy too! Look for all our photo contest entries in the upcoming January issue!

Winning Car Specs
’68 Chevy Camaro
Engine:   370-ci LQ4 small-block Chevy
Cylinder heads:   factory
Camshaft:   SLP; .591/.600-inch lift, 224/228-degrees duration
Induction:   EFI
Transmission:   4L65-E automatic
Rear end:   Moser 12-bolt, 4.10 gears
Front suspension:   factory
Rear suspension:   DSE QuadraLink, QA1 shocks
Brakes:   SSBC disc front and rear
Wheels:   Budnik Laterals; 17X7, 17X11
Tires:   Michelin Pilot Sport; 225/45R17, 335/35R17
Performance:   550 horsepower
Invested:   $50,000
Years owned:   3
Photographer:   Tom Craig
Camera:   Canon Rebel X5
Shoot location:   Schertz, TX
Model:   wife/owner, Amy Craig

Reader Comments:

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1. thats a very nice car,but just like the thousands of other camaros out there.(i believe a CAMARO won last year also)we really thought you guys might think a bit outside the box.pick a true hot rod,not to say your pick wasnt nice but did the owner even turn a bolt on the build? hot rodding has two distinct catagories,those that put their own blood,sweat and tears into them,block sand that quater panel,and even save up to buy a specific part! then there are those that have the vision of what they want so they pay some shop to do every thing and say call me when its done.
we that have built our own are proud of what we have done,i just dont know how these two differnt aspects of HOT RODDING can be in the same contest,or be considered the same.i suppose if i went and bought an old camaro and took it to Chip Foose to do what he does that i would udoubtedly win your contest.but thats not what true hot rodding is!(more money than brains)
i am really dissapointed in your pick and in your saff that has let the real meaning of HOT RODDING get away from them.

heart broken in the USA

elcarlo79 - Posted September 22 2009 07:51 AM

2. They're just going to tell you it was a photo contest. I'll reserve judgment until I see some of the other photos.

However I live in Ohio, so I have to put up with the Goodguys Nats every year--I live that frustration.

Hard to compete when you're being outspent by at least tens of thousands, and it leaves a bitter aftertaste to think that your "better" didn't even put the work or thought into it.

Either way, PHR's focus is on industry anyway, so that means mostly Chevy, Mustang, and expensive Mopar generally built by serious money and outsourcing.

I request that the trashy slams on model attire be kept private this time.

VariousWeapon - Posted September 22 2009 08:58 AM

3. Sure would have been nice to see a Buick, Olds, or Pontiac as the winner rather than another Chevrolet. Either way, congrats to the winner.

Where's the list of runners-up?

r0ckstarr - Posted September 22 2009 09:51 AM

4. Probably the January issue. You could always check last year's blogs to see if they announced any runner ups early, but I doubt it.

VariousWeapon - Posted September 22 2009 09:57 AM

5. if the guy has 50 k in that car and did it over 5 or 6 years, himself "kudos" to him(doubtful).why does everything have to be camaro this or camaro that, Chevrolet did make alot of other cars as did ford,dodge,buick................

elcarlo79 - Posted September 22 2009 10:08 AM

6. lets dont even talk about the professional photography,i interpeted the rules to say the owner or a family member to take the pics.

elcarlo79 - Posted September 22 2009 10:16 AM

7. ya know this decision had NOTHING to do with the make and model of the car. Some of the cars we debated on choosing were obviously worth less than 7K. I'll see if Johnny will let me post a blog about them.

We made it clear the contest was open to professional photographers, and there weren't even that many entered.

Sorry you guys have a sour taste in your mouth from this but I think we mad a good choice for the winner and had a totally reasonable set of rules that opened the contest up to a large group of enthusiasts.

MilesSpeed - Posted September 22 2009 10:31 AM

8. Congrats to Tom and Amy. Great picture and car. (Amy's great too) I don't know If I can wait till Nov 24. Please post the top 20 ASAP.

bigwilma1970 - Posted September 22 2009 03:02 PM

9. We can only judge the photos we got. If you didn't send any, then you don't have the right to complain. BTW, our runner-up had the rustiest Buick I think I've ever seen, but the photo was cool. It was a tough call.

I'm sure we'll get hate letters about picking that Buick too...

Here's some interesting tidbits: the average cost of the cars submitted was $27,000. By far the most common car submitted was a Camaro. Two thirds of all the cars submitted had 15-inch wheels or smaller, and the average time of ownership was 10.3 years. Most guys don't ever race their cars (it was less than 20 percent), and virtually nobody knew how much horsepower their cars made.

We don't determine which cars or photos we get for this contest. If you want to see other cars besides the ones in the contest, you'll need to send them in.

At any rate, we're publishing all of them, so we absolutely aren't playing favorites here. We're just judging the best photos. And yes, it was a photo contest.

Johnny Hunkins - Posted September 22 2009 07:33 PM

10. Ha, I have a rusty Buick!

r0ckstarr - Posted September 23 2009 12:54 AM

11. Congrats to the winner this year.

I noticed that the winning picture was taken by the car owner and not some hired professional so score one for the car owners. Also the fact that the winning shot was of a Camaro bothers me not a bit. I don't own a Camaro or a Mustang but this is a photo contest and not a favorite type of car contest so if this is the best photo then its the best photo and congratulations are deserved.

I would like to echo the earlier comment about knowing who the top 20 entries and runners up were. I am sure that I am not alone in the amount of time, and money I invested in entering the contest. I am no professional photographer and it took a great deal of trial and error to get a good set of pictues. I am eager to know how I did as are others participants. It would not be even necessary to post the pictures just the names. We know what our pictures look like.

How about it.

st1000 - Posted September 23 2009 10:47 AM

12. i'm with st1000,wheres the list?

elcarlo79 - Posted September 23 2009 01:57 PM

13. They're probably still trying to decide who got 19th place. :-P You guys are needy and impatient.

First the list, then you'll want to see the photos you lost to, then you'll want the explanation of why one photo is better than the other. Just wait until the magazine shows up...

VariousWeapon - Posted September 23 2009 11:17 PM

14. Overall the picture is pretty good, but I’m surprised that it is the best of the best! I don’t understand why you guys are so hung up on including models. Nothing against Amy at all, but putting a model in the shot takes away from the subject which is the car. It has the same affect as a distracting background. It draws your attention away from the car. Don’t get me wrong, I love looking at hot chicks as much as the next guy. There is a time an a place for adding a model, like when you’re trying to sell something, but not when we’re talking about an automotive photography contest. Especially considering she is standing right in the middle of the car and breaking up the great lines of the car and blocking the horizon line. It would have been better to put her at the front left corner of the car so the passenger side was unobstructed. Plus it doesn’t look like a polarizer was used to make the color pop a little more and cut some of the cloud reflections in the hood. There also needs to be more light on the front of the car below the bumper. I’m not trying to hate on anything, or be a sore loser; I just think you missed the mark this year if we’re being judged on the photography itself. Next year let the car/photograph stand on its’ own merit. Ditch the models.

boiler99 - Posted September 24 2009 06:12 PM

15. Does take a bit extra to get the model in there, and it does hit a lot of their points on what they say they're looking for. Everything's lit without the annoying glare, stance and angle are fine, no distractions in the background...

I don't find it all that inspiring though, it's just some Camaro on some pavement. Having a model's probably what carries it.

Then again I don't care for half of the photos, so whatever.

VariousWeapon - Posted September 24 2009 10:53 PM

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