The Colorado River Trail Flickr Photo Contest Is Back!

It’s back! LCRA's Colorado River Trail invites shutterbugs of all varieties to get involved in our photo contest – the "Discover True-Blue Texas" Flickr Photo Contest. Share your best photos of people enjoying the fun things to do along the Colorado River Trail, and get a chance to win exciting prizes.

Entering the contest is easy! Starting April 4, enter through Flickr, an online photo-sharing service, and add your contest entries to the Colorado River Trail group. Enter as many photos as you’d like. This year, we are asking people to submit photos that fall into five specific activity categories:

• Outdoor activities – includes camping, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, etc.
• River and lake activities – includes canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming, rafting, etc.
• Festivals and events – includes street fairs, festivals, rodeos, carnivals, etc.
• Entertainment – includes live music, dancing, nightlife, attractions, etc.
• History, heritage and culture – includes historic sites, public art, wineries, etc.

Contest Deadline: April 30

Here's How to Enter:

1. Visit – For more information about the contest, rules, judging and some FAQs, visit the "Discover True-Blue Texas" Flickr Photo Contest Web page. You'll be glad you did.
2. Log in – To submit your photos via Flickr, use your Yahoo ID. If you don't have a Flickr or Yahoo account, that's okay. You can sign up for a Flickr account for free.
3. Upload – Once you have logged on, upload the photos you want to enter in the contest to your account. Do this by clicking on the blue letters that say "upload photos and videos" and follow the prompts.
4. Join – To enter the contest, you must join the Colorado River Trail group. If you aren't already a member, join by clicking "Join this Group?" on the group's homepage.
5. Add – From your photo stream, select the photo you wish to enter in the contest. Use the "Send to Group" function above the image to add your photo to the Colorado River Trail photo pool.
6. Tag it! – Once added to the group, you’ll need to add three tags to each photo.
   1. First, tag them with CRTContest2011 using the "tag" feature in the right-hand column of the individual photo's page. This identifies your photo as a contest entry and distinguishes it from existing photos in the group.
   2. Next, tag them with the category name (outdoor, water, festivals, entertainment or heritage) that best fits your photo.
   3. Lastly, tag them with the locationof where the picture was taken so we can ensure that it is in one of the 11 counties of the Colorado River Trail region.

Judging and Prizes:
A team of LCRA staff members with backgrounds in photography, communications, parks, outdoor recreation and tourism will judge the contest. The team will select three finalists in each category from all contest submissions. The finalists will be notified of their status by Flickr mail during the first week of May. Then we'll need a little help from you!

This year the grand prize is a round of golf for two from the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa at their award-winning Wolfdancer Golf Club. You can "like" them on Facebook too! Prizes for the 1st place winners in each category could include a Light 'O the Moon Float Trip on the beautiful Colorado River, courtesy of LCRA's McKinney Roughs Nature Park, a voucher for overnight camping at one of LCRA’s parks and more! The grand prize winner will be announced May 17.

You Be the Judge.  You will have the chance to help us choose the grand prize winner by voting on your favorite photos. Visit the Flickr Photo Contest web page for updates, or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. The hashtag this year is #CRTContest11. We'll keep you posted on all the voting action.

C'mon, give us your best shot!