Foto Fest 2002 invites amateurs to take best shot

Want to enter?

What: Foto Fest 2002 photography contest.

When: June 29-Aug. 9

Where: Southeast Missourian, Westfield Shoppingtown or Schnucks.

Details: Call 339-1333 for information.

LIFE IN PICTURES

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

Whether you prefer to take photos of natural landscapes, children at play or just pictures on vacation, those images could earn you some recognition and maybe a prize.

All amateur photographers are invited to enter the annual Foto Fest contest sponsored by the Southeast Missourian and Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

The contest begins Saturday and runs for six consecutive weeks. Entry forms will be printed in Thursday's Southeast Missourian.

The first entries will be judged July 8. Each week's winners will be announced in the Southeast Missourian and posted online at www.semissourian.com/fotofest/.

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, 2000, 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. Images can be cropped. None of the entries 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 Westfield Shoppingtown. Prizes include mall 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.

To enter a photograph, drop it off at the Westfield Shoppingtown West Park customer service center, at the Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill and Chaffee, or at Schnuck's. Entry forms and official rules will be available at those locations, as well as online at www.semissourian.com/fotofest/.

You can also mail entries to Foto Fest 2002, c/o Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, 134 West Park Mall, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63703.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126