Photographers invited to capture Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa is giving all you shutterbugs out there something else to shoot for this winter besides annual Christmas cards or vacation photos.

The city announced Monday its first Celebrate Costa Mesa photo contest, where amateur, professional and youth photographers can compete in six categories with prizes worth more than $1,000.

Photographers can enter six categories: characters (local people), environment (open spaces like parks, wildlife, landmarks), life (education, sports, night life events), pets, Orange County Fair (photos take at the fairgrounds) and altered images (photos artistically manipulated).

A panel of professional photographers, representatives of the Costa Mesa Conference and Visitors Bureau, the city and its cultural arts committee will select the winners. The contest is free and entrants may submit up to six photos per category.

The winners will have their photos posted on the city's website. The public will use the site to vote for the grand prize winner, which comes with a $250 award. First place gets $100 and honorable mention gets $25.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Jan. 9. All photos must be taken within Costa Mesa city limits.

For contest details, go online to http://www.costamesaca.gov/photocontest.

— Joseph Serna

Twitter: @JosephSerna