CALLING ALL LOCAL SHUTTERBUGS

Almost anyone can be an award-winning photographer. All it takes is a camera, a good eye and a Foto Fest entry form.

Westfield Shoppingtown West Park and the Southeast Missourian again are sponsoring the popular photography contest for the region's amateur photographers.

It begins June 30 and ends Aug. 10, with the first entries to be judged July 9.

Here's how the contest works:

* Residents of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard, Perry and Madison counties in Missouri and of Alexander, Pulaski and Union counties in Illinois are eligible to enter, but employees of the Southeast Missourian and Westfield Corp. aren't.

* Only photographs taken after Jan. 1, 1999, are eligible. There's no limit on the number of entries per person, but photographs entered in previous contests will not be accepted. If a photograph isn't selected as a winner in a particular week it can be entered again. A panel of judges will select the winners, to be announced each Wednesday in the Southeast Missourian.

* Photographs may be taken with digital cameras, but no photo disks or transparencies will be accepted. There is no size requirement for photographs. None will be returned.

* Four winners will be selected each week, and six finalists will be chosen at the end of the contest. A people's choice award also will be selected by those who visit the photo display at the Westfield Shoppingtown. Prizes include Shoppingtown gift certificates, a subscription to the Southeast Missourian, hotel accommodations, a comic umbrella, a framed copy of the winning photographs for finalists and certificates of recognition.

There has been an overwhelming demand for the contest, said Joyce Hunter, marketing director at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

"People are constantly taking pictures, and we couldn't say no," she said. There were 1,500 photographs entered in the contest last year.

"Photographs are the way we communicate," Hunter said.

To enter a photograph, drop it off at the Westfield Shoppingtown West Park customer service center or at the Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill and Chaffee, Mo. Entry forms will be available at those locations.

You can also mail entries to Foto Fest 2001, c/o Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, 134 West Park Mall, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63703.

For more information, contact the mall office at 339-1333.

Want to enter?

What: Foto Fest 2001 photography contest

When: June 30-Aug. 10

Where: Southeast Missourian or Westfield Shoppingtown

Details: 339-1333