Area photographers of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in the upcoming Prairie Photo Contest sponsored by the Luverne Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"We're trying to encourage people to get out and enjoy the prairie," said Luverne Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere, who also serves on the CVB.
She said the Prairie Photo Contest is a way to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Minnesota state parks and the 100th anniversary of America's national parks.
Here's how the contest works:
The CVB will accept photo entries each month from May through October 2016, and each monthly winner will receive a $50 cash prize.
The winning monthly photograph will then be used — along with the other monthly winners — to create postcards that will be sold to raise money for programming at the Blue Mounds State Park and Touch the Sky Prairie.
Contest entrants may be amateur or professional, but the CVB will retain the rights to use the winning images for the postcard promotion.
All photographs not selected as winners in the monthly judging will be retained in the pool of photos to be considered in the following month's judging.
Photographs may be new images or selections from existing portfolios, but they must all be digitally submitted with a resolution of 300 pixels per inch or greater.
Individuals may submit up to five images per entry per month.
Submissions should be emailed on or by the first day of each month to luvernechamber@co.rock.mn.us.
The photographer's name, address, phone number and email should be submitted with each entry, along with the title of the entry.
Lanphere said the Prairie Photo Contest is a fitting way to celebrate parks and to capture the beauty of the local prairie parks.
"We hope it's something the community can envision being part of," she said.
Lanphere can be reached at 283-4061 with questions.