August contest theme: At the beach

"Wipe-Out" by Merideth Toler of Sandwich. Taken in late morning in July in Little Compton, RI. Shot with a Canon Rebel, 300mm lens at f/8, 1/2500, 400 ISO. Merideth says: "I was lucky to snap the shutter at just the right time to capture this shot!"

Welcome to RAW, a site for amateur photographers to showcase your work. A main feature of the site is a monthly themed contest in which you could win $100. To help inspire you, we asked our friends at the Cape Cod Art Association Camera Club to help seed our new site with beach photos. The members sent in lots of photos; we'll feature a few every day over the next several days.

As for this month's theme, "At the beach": It’s not just about your kids splashing in the water, although, yes, that could be really cute. But also think about kiteboarders with colorful sails; dinghies on the sand; close-ups of shells, periwinkles, or horseshoe crabs; sand patterns, and of course, sunrises and sunsets.

Make sure your photo was taken at a beach, and not a harbor or river or marsh (unless it’s a marsh at a beach!)

By the way, here are some great tips from Globe staff photographer Dina Rudick on how to deal with the unique problems you can face trying to get great beach shots.

Ready to get published and possibly win $100? Here's how to enter.

And check out some more photos from the talented folks at the Cape Cod Art Association Camera Club:

"Catch of the Day" by John Tunney, president of the Cape Cod Art Association Camera Club.
Taken at Race Point, Provincetown, on a summer evening.
Camera: Canon 5D, 100-400 zoom lens set to 170, f/5.



"Smile!" by Bryan Treadwell of Eastham.
Taken on Ship Channel Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas just before noon Dec. 29, 2006.
Camera: Fuji Finepix 7000
Bryan says: "This wild pig is one of several that live on this tiny island, where tourism helps the residents supplement their income."



"Bass River Beach" by Muriel Thomas of Centerville
Taken on the west side of Bass River near the windmill mid-day on Aug. 7, 2007



"Dropping in for Supper" by Maggie Dulude
Taken at the salt marsh at Grey's Beach in Yarmouth Port in July just before 6 p.m.
Camera: Canon PowerShot S2 IS, f/3.5, 1/1000, ISO 50
Maggie writes: "As my husband was throwing some bait into the water, a seagull happened to be flying by and practically stopped dead in midair before diving in after it. The only editing I did in PhotoShop was to crop it, darken it slightly, adjust the color cast, and apply a little sharpening. That's it."