Annual photography contest starts in July

Michael Rushing likes to walk through the mall and see the pictures that the public sends in for the annual Foto Fest contest.

That's what motivated him to submit a photo of his grandson trying to reach a basketball goal. The 18-month-old "was obsessed with basketball, he knew the ball went in the goal but he just wasn't big enough to get it done," Rushing said.

The photo was a semifinalist winner in the amateur photography contest last year.

"It's something I really enjoyed," Rushing said, "I'll probably try to send in something else this year."

And Rushing isn't the only person who looks forward to the beginning of Foto Fest.

"People greatly anticipate this," said Joyce Hunter, marketing director for Westfield Shoppingtown West Park. "People embrace this as a way to capture certain moments and share them. Some wish the contest would happen all the time."

Foto Fest, sponsored by Westfield Shoppingtown West Park and the Southeast Missourian, begins its first week July 10. Entries will be accepted until 5 p.m. Aug. 6.

All of the submissions received by 5 p.m. each Friday will be judged by a panel on the basis of content, color, composition, quality, the feelings the photo evokes and how eye-catching it is.

The judges will choose four semifinalists for each of the contest's four weeks. At the end of the contest, four finalists will be chosen from the 16 semifinalists. From those finalists, a grand prize will be awarded.

The names of the winners will be published each week in the Wednesday edition of the Southeast Missourian.

A People's Choice award will also be given at the end of the contest. All of the photos submitted will be displayed near Pasta House, in the mall, on the Town Square bulletin board. The public will be asked to vote for a favorite photo.

Because of the contest's popularity, the public had 1,500 photographs to choose from last year.

Entries can be dropped off at the customer service center in Westfield Shoppingtown West Park and the Southeast Missourian offices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Chaffee and Marble Hill. Entries can also be mailed to Foto Fest 2004, c/o Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, 134 West Park Mall, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63703. A printable entry form is available online.

dfarley@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 226