Picture This: You Could Be This Year’s Photo Contest Winner

The City of East Lansing's Community Photo Contest is underway and will accept entries until midnight Ocober 13. According to contest rules, photos must be taken in the East Lansing area and submitted online. The winning photos will be published in the 2019 Annual Report as well as the 2020 Community Calendar, which is published by the City’s communications office.

Contestants are not required to be residents of East Lansing or have a professional photography background. Last year’s first place winner, Prakash Shee, believed when he submitted his photos that his work wasn’t good enough yet.

“It really boosted that confidence in me that I used to feel like ‘I’m a novice, I’m a novice, I’m still not ready, still not ready’ but in the back of my mind there is this belief, like I think I’m ready,” Shee said. “I think I can do it too.”

While all photos are supposed to be captured in the general East Lansing area, many contestants choose to limit themselves to MSU’s campus. As a result of this, the communications department introduced two other divisions into the location requirements as of 2015: the farmers market category and the downtown category. Contest organizer Quinn Alexander thinks it’s a great way to get out and participate in the community.

There are no requirements for submitted photos other than ensuring they’re taken in East Lansing and contestants are permitted to send in up to five pictures. In Shee’s experience, he’s noted it's impossible to please everyone and therefore prefers “chasing” photos he feels passionate about.

“You cannot make anything [just] to make other people happy, because that’s not the whole purpose,” Shee said.

For more information, email qalexan@cityofeastlansing.com or call (517) 319-6980.