So I was cruising around the Web, looking for Pink photos and just reading on the topic of using color as a contest theme, when I came across an interesting site called Pink Sherbet Photography belonging to a Utah photographer.

Folks, the October 'Pink' contest has some of the best photos we've ever received. We've built five galleries to show them off. Later, I'll introduce our judge ... she's pretty interesting!
Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 | Gallery 3 | Gallery 4 | Gallery 5

Back when we were voting on contest themes (I temporarily discontinued that because I had enough theme ideas from you to last a year or two!), many of you voted in favor of Silhouettes as a theme -- and I think that's a great idea.

Please check the tags on your October entries ... some of you have neglected to make your month tag October2009 ... instead you wrote simply October, so your "Pink" photos are showing up in the "Get Close" contest we had a year ago. To reiterate, the 4 tags for this month are Boston.com, contest, October2009, pink. Thanks...

There was a nice variety among the "Jobs" contest entries this month -- a variety that made judge Glen Cooper's job challenging. Nonetheless, he reviewed his 25 choices and your votes and came up with the best 10 pictures.

OK, Dawgs, the voting is finished for the September "Jobs" contest; I'll compile the results and send them to Glen Cooper, this month's judge. He'll then choose his Top 10, taking your votes into consideration. Stay tuned.

September contest judge Glen Cooper, a photojournalist and photography teacher, finished his review of your entries last night and has culled the field to the Top 25 finalists. But first, he had some interesting comments about the field of photos:

Final gallery added: Five full-screen galleries containing all of your eligible entries for the September "Jobs" contest have been posted. Our judge, Glen Cooper, will narrow the field to 50, and we'll open the Voting Machine next week.

We have a judge for the September "Jobs" contest: Glen Cooper, an award-winning Boston photojournalist who also has a wedding photography business and teaches at the New England School of Photography.

She wasn't really into pink herself, my good friend Sarah; she favored more muted earth tones -- they went better with her light brown hair and fair complexion that tanned to a warm glow by August.

Judge Bruno Debas was very impressed by the work of everyone who entered.

The top three winners are:

I've received a few emails and others have posted comments wondering why their contest entry isn't showing up in one of the three contest galleries below. The photos you upload to Flickr with the three contest tags don't show up in these galleries automatically (ah, wouldn't that be nice!). I post them manually. I build these galleries for two reasons:

Now that the January contest is over, and February's Black & White theme is in full swing -- more than 150 entries have been submitted already -- it's time to vote for themes for March and April.

We'll close the March poll on Feb. 28 and close the April poll on March 14. As always, if you have suggestions for themes, leave a comment below.

MARCH POLL

APRIL POLL

In order to get a little ahead on the monthly contest themes, we're posting two polls here: One to choose a December theme, the other to choose a theme for the January contest. Both polls will end at midnight Nov. 30, giving you a lot of time to shoot photos for the January theme if you don't have anything suitable in your portfolio.

Here's the December poll:

and here's the poll for January's theme:

Folks, there were some interesting comments and suggestions posted on the entry announcing the winners of the August contest. The ideas ranged from having the contests judged by professional photographers to having more than one themed contest per month.

Here's what some RAW readers said. Please add your own thoughts.

FIRST PLACE

A cute yet forlorn doggie looking longingly at Revere Beach while sitting next to the sign banning her from joining the fun proved a winner for RAW readers, who voted this photo by photographer Rich Gurska First Place in our August photo contest, which had the theme, "At the beach". The award comes with $100 prize.

What's remarkable about this photo, other than the touching subject and nice composition, is that it was taken with a cell phone camera. Rich writes:

"I was walking my daughter's 12-week-old puppy, named Reina -- a beagle, Boston terrier, Chinese crested powder puff mix. When we approached this break in the wall, she turned and sat down on the cool sand in the shade of the wall. The only camera I had was my Samsung Alias camera phone, so I shot away hoping for the best."

RAW readers thought it was the best of all 238 entries, so congratulations. And now for the rest of the prizes:

Lots of great shots among this bunch, with a fan favorite leading the pack. We'll announce the winners at noon today.

Meanwhile, the September contest is in full swing. You can read about the theme, "My neighborhood", look over the photos entered so far, and then enter a photo yourself.

To inspire you, tomorrow we'll post some cool neighborhood photos from the Neighborhood Project of the Boston Photography Center, and we'll put up a new poll for you to choose the theme for our October contest.

We're officially re-opening the August contest now. Our sincere apologies to the four photographers whose pictures didn't make it in for some confounded reason; please try again in the September contest. We'll keep voting open until 6 p.m. next Friday, the 19th, and we'll announce the winners -- the top three finishers and seven honorable mentions -- on Monday the 22nd. Please pay attention to these rules:

1. Don't cheat. Everybody wants his or her photo to win; we know that. But the photos that should win are the great pictures that deserve recognition -- not the photos that somebody spam-voted for a hundred times. Let your photo compete on the merits. It will hurt your reputation, and the credibility of this site, if photos that clearly are not among the best of the bunch get the most votes.

As we were posting the contest entries, there were a few photos that got a suspiciously high number of comments, far more than any other photos, in an obvious attempt to influence you voters. Because of that, we are monitoring this contest very, very closely, and if we catch even a whiff of attempted sabotage, that photo will be pulled. And there is no appeal.

The Voting Machine does allow you to vote more than once, but that's so that you can vote for more than just 3 different photos if you want. And yes, of course it's natural that friends and family are going to vote for you. Just tell them to curb their enthusiasm so they don't get your photo disqualified.

OK, that's actually the only rule. Go for it!

OK, everybody: We've gotten almost all of the eligible photos to show up in our Voting Machine. In many cases, the issue was a conflict between the time zone on user accounts and the time zone our server was using ... but we eliminated that as a search factor, and those photos showed up.

However, there still are 4 photos not showing up in the Voting Machine, and quite frankly, we are stumped. They are:

OK, gang, get ready to vote starting tomorrow. I've posted all of the eligible photos for our first-ever contest; you can see them all here: August Contest Entries.

There are 243 entries -- quite a haul! But there also were 31 ineligible photos that are missing out. Here's why:

"This picture is taken from the Marginal Way, one of those places you have to see for yourself," the photographer writes.

Photo taken just after noon on an overcast July afternoon with a Canon Powershot A80, focal length 7.8mm, exposure time 0.002 seconds, aperture f/4.

Shot in the British Virgin Islands. "Snuck a picture while the wife was sleeping," the photographer writes.

"This beautiful sailboat passed in front of the sun as it cruised along the beach at Provincetown," the photographer writes. "This photo was not digitally altered other than to scale it for uploading."

"This photo was taken mid-morning on the east coast of Oahu with an Olympus C-700," the photographer writes. "I was only here long enough to take the shot, as I was on my way to the Polynesian Cultural Center."

Running on Second Beach in Newport, Rhode Island.

"I took this photo of my daughter in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico," the photographer writes. "She was practicing one of her dance routines on the beach at the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar Resort."

Camera info: Canon EOS 30D, 17-85mm lens, focal length 59mm, ISO 100, f/10, 1/250.

Two girls, two gulls. Salisbury State Park Beach. Taken in the late afternoon with a Sony DSC-S40, auto mode.

Rock nestled in sand on a beach in Marshfield.

"Cross a wooden bridge ... meander along a dirt road ... turn right before the lighthouse ... then kick it into four-wheel drive over the dune and you come to paradise! Otherwise known as Saquish Beach in Plymouth, MA," the photographer writes.

Taken with a Canon Rebel XTi, ISO 200, 30mm (17-85mm lens), 1/500 sec. at f/11, HDR processing to pull out the colors and details in the sky and grass.

This contest entry was shot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. "The sunset was just so perfect, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it," the photographer writes. (Sound familiar?) "This one seemed to turn out the best from the group."

"This picture is of my two best friends in our last few days of summer before the start of our senior year," writes the photographer. "We spent our days on the beaches of Plum Island and our nights were lit with bonfires and pure happiness. This picture epitomizes the carefree spirit of teenagers in the summer."

"Waiting outside the locked gate before sunrise to get into Ft. Williams Park, I could see the sky was breathtaking," the photographer writes. "Unfortunately, the police had more important things to take care of before opening the lock. When a cruiser came to unlock the gate, there were only 15 minutes to sunrise. I scrambled to get to the lighthouse and set up before I missed what I wanted to shoot. I didn't."

Camera info: Nikon D300, 1/30, f/11, 75mm, ISO 250.

"My brother Chris launching a kite at Great Point on Nantucket," the photographer writes. Taken mid-afternoon with a Nikon D200, ISO 100, f/8, 1/250.

Shot just before sunset at GooseBerry Island in Westport, MA with a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, f/6.3, 1/25, 22mm, ISO 100.

Photo title from lyrics to "Where Your Road Leads" by Trisha Yearwood

Where your road leads, I will follow
When your heart bleeds, I'll be there for you
When your night grows dark and you can't find your tomorrow
Then you can follow me.
When you've lost sight of your dreams,
Then you can follow me...

Taken at Moose Pond in Bridgton, Maine in the summer of 2007 with older Olympus digital camera.

Alona Beach on Bohol, an island province of the Philippines. "My home is now on the neighboring island of Cebu," the photographer writes. "This photo was taken on 27 Oct while we were on our honeymoon." Camera info: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 1/500 sec., f/11.

Late afternoon at Short Sands Beach in York, Maine, taken with a Canon SD600.

This photographer writes, "Here's to the simple pleasures of summer."

Sunset at Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard, shot in May with a Canon XTi SLR.

Zack, age 9 months, at the beach on Prudence Island, Rhode Island, in July of 2003. "Zack is the fourth generation of my family to summer on the island," the photographer writes.

Taken at sunset on Skaket Beach, Orleans, with a Panasonic DMC-FZ50, f/4, ISO 100.

Shot at Acadia National Park in Maine near Sand Beach.

This photographer notes, "There was a storm coming which created this fantastic background."

"This was taken at Old Orchard Beach, Maine in the early afternoon," the photographer says. "The bright colors in this beach umbrella made it stand out nicely against the green grass and blue sky."

"My daughter and I were laying nose to nose at Harbor Beach in Mattapoisett when I noticed she had a sandy nose," this photographer writes. "I used my Sony Cyber-Shot on auto."

Taken from Castle Island in South Boston. "The kiteboarders practice there a couple of times a week during the summer months," the photographer writes.

Seaweed covering rocks at Pemaquid Beach, Maine. Camera info: Kodak P880, 1/125, f/3.6, 12.6mm, ISO 50.

We're posting the final entries in the August contest leading up to the start of voting on Friday. You can see all the entries we have posted so far, and vote for our September theme.

Taken in Cape Canaveral in 2007. Fuji S5100, ISO 100, f/8, 1/350.

Sunset on the beach at Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica. Canon EOS Digital Rebel, f/11, 1/400, ISO 200, 58mm.

Shot in Trinidad, CA

Shot at sunset in Nova Scotia.

Taken in Hull. "The grains of sand give an idea of how small this little bouquet of seaweed was," the photographer writes.

Shot on Ferry Beach in Scarborough, Maine. "This guy did not catch any fish," the photographer writes, "but the evening was beautiful."

"A little different shot of a great sunset in Maine," this photographer writes.

We're posting the final entries in the August contest leading up to the start of voting on Friday. You can see all the entries we have posted so far, and vote for our September theme.

I've posted every eligible contest entry that we have received so far ... 198 photos. And I must say, the range of subjects you photographed within our theme of "At the beach" is quite something. And the quality of the photos confirms the reason why we started this amateur photography site: So many of you have high-quality cameras, enthusiasm for photography, and lots of creative ideas.

You're all snap-happy!

Here are more details about the close of the August contest, voting, and the start of the September contest:

Well, September is upon us, and time for a new contest theme. We were going to use "School Days", but then we decided that since we already have such a great community of amateur photographers who have shown an interest in this site, why not let you pick the theme for September?

So here are 5 choices; pick your favorite, and we'll see what the winner is Tuesday morning.

The shooter of this contest submission writes, "I saw this collection of shells on a walkway in Provincetown, and couldn't resist it - I loved the way the evening light made the scene turn blue! I took this photo with my Nikon D-40 in fairly low light."

Camera settings: A shutter speed of 1/10 sec., an aperture opening of f/4, lens focal length 24mm, and an ISO speed of 800.

"I like the contrast in this photo all around," the photographer writes. "Not only the contrast between light and dark, but also the contrast between the flat texture of the sand and the shiny rock and seaweed."

When you're at the beach -- in this case, Monk's Park in Bourne -- and don't have a table handy, just rely on a cooperative friend, as the photographer of this contest submission did.

Shot at sunset under a hut in Aruba, an island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean. A country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba's motto is "One happy island".

This contest entry was shot at Lambert's Cove Beach in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard.

The photographer of this contest submission says this shot was taken from Nickerson Pier between afternoon showers.

Small crab hiding in the rocks on the beach at Point Montara in the San Francisco Bay area. "This photo was taken with a point-and-shoot Kodak digital camera," the photographer writes. "The camera was steadied on the rocks and set to a several-second exposure, as the crevice in the rock was quite dark."

This contest entry was taken in August at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester with a Sony DSC-H9. The photographer points out that you can see the oldest operating twin lighthouses in the US at Thacher Island in Rockport in the distance.

Lucy Vincent Beach in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard after sunset.

Boogie boarding at Duxbury Beach.

This contest submission was taken at a beach in Surfside, Miami, Florida.

This photographer shot this contest entry with a 3G iPhone, and calls it "The American Classic".

Shot at Flamenco Beach on Isla Culebra (Snake Island) in Puerto Rico on a January afternoon.

"Someone near us on the crowded beach started throwing some bread to the seagulls, and I think I just pointed-and-shot with a Canon Rebel XT in hopes of getting a least one shot of the birds," this photographer writes. "I had the lens set to manual focus, but luckily I caught this one." Other settings: ISO 200, 1/1000, f/8, focal length of 75mm.

The photographer's wife walking on a beach near Kaanapali, on the western shore of Maui in Hawaii.

The contest submission shows derelict fishing boats near Heybridge Basin, England, with the tide going out. Taken in August with a Canon EOS 30D, 1/60 sec., f/8, 70mm, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM, ISO 100.

"I liked the shadow of the fence in the sand," this photographer writes about her contest entry. Camera details: Canon 40D, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO100.

Another film entry, taken with a a Nikon 4004s SLR and scanned in. "We were in Wells [Maine] over the 4th of July weekend," the photographer writes. "I was taking a morning stroll on the beach."

Backpackers in Olympia National Park in Washington state.

This contest submission takes a different angle on the Bristol, Maine lighthouse.

This scene, taken from Willard Beach in South Portland, shows the backdrop for the photographer's wedding as vows were exchanged.

Sunset at Isle of Palms Beach in South Carolina is the subject of this contest submission, taken 10 years ago with a Minolta X700. "I up'd the saturation and contrast, & darkened the shadows in Photoshop," the photographer writes.

This contest entry shows a sunrise view from a bungalow in Koh Samui, Thailand.

This action shot at Surfside Beach on Nantucket was caught with a shutter speed of 1/4000 using a Nikon FE2, 3.8.

"This isn't something you see every day!" writes this photographer about this contest entry. The photo was taken with a Sony Cyber-shot in 2003 from Lane Beach in Weymouth as a tanker entered the Quincy boat yard.

The contest entry from October of 2003 was shot from Great Hill at Wessagussett Beach in Weymouth. "The middle of the picture is Quincy, and Boston is in the background," writes the photographer. Camera: A Sony Cyber-shot.

Sunset photo from the Cape.

Is this contest theme "At the beach" or "Ab the beach"?

These trees at the entrance to Rock Harbor in Orleans mark the channel for the deep-sea fishing fleet, the largest on the Cape. Rock Harbor is the scene of a famous 1812 battle where Orleans militiamen turned back the British HMS Newcastle.

Photographer captured this shot one early July morning at a small tidal inlet beach in Yarmouth Port on the Cape. Taken with a Canon 10D, 100mm lens, 1/250, f/19, ISO 800.

A family summer vacation in Rockport yielded this contest entry: "My daughter enjoying the beach tossing sand against the wind," the photographer writes.

This contest entry, taken at Beverly Farms, was shot around noon with an Olympus Evolt 500, 45mm focal length, 1/320, f/9, ISO 160.

"Peace and quiet at the beach," this photographer writes. "This is what it's all about!"

This photographer writes, "I took my almost 1-year-old son to Gulf Shores, Alabama this past October so I could introduce him to the place I enjoyed so often as a child. He liked to wake me at sunrise and on the last morning of our trip, I took him out on the beach for one last photo session when the light was still pink and new. Although I took dozens of pictures that morning, this one was my favorite."

This was taken two years ago when Cole, the photographer reports, was just 3.

For the uninitiated, OBX is shorthand for The Outer Banks of North Carolina, a chain of barrier islands on the Atlantic Seaboard. This skimboarding contest entry was shot in July with a Nikon D80.

Taken in April in Englewood, Florida with a Nikon CoolPix E7600.

This contest entry of WWF wannabes was taken at Great Island in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. "We had to walk quite a way from the parking lot to the beach and there were a lot of complaints from the kids," writes the photographer. "But we had a great day. As the tide went out, sandbars appeared up and down the beach. It's a beautiful, rather unknown, spot, and it's become one of our favorite places we make sure we visit at least once a year."

"While capturing some views from the edge of our shore in Maine," this contest entry shooter writes, "I looked down and saw the way the sun had been refracted by the water and added dimension to the small pebbles at my feet just under the surface. The bright grass blades on the right seem to suggest an Oriental garden with calligraphy, adding some interest."

Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel 300D and a 10-22mm Canon lens, ISO 100.

By the way, the title of the photo comes from a William Blake poem, Auguries of Innocence:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.

Taken in Central America on a tour off a cruise ship using a Canon Powershot S2IS.

Strolling the boardwalk at Plum Island on the North Shore.

This photographer used a Nikon D80 to capture this contest entry in South Boston. "The time was around 7:30," he writes. "This is a great time to take sunset photos. Castle Island is a nice place to be at sunset when the weather is nice. With the planes flying over head, it makes for a nice night."

This is just one of neaarly 200 photo entries we've received for our August contest, which has the theme, "At the beach". You can see all the entries that we've posted so far -- more are coming -- so you can start to narrow your choices for first, second, and third place in time for the start of voting Sept. 5. To enter your own photo in the contest, read the guidelines carefully, and use our convenient Flickr uploader.

This entry was taken at Bryant Pond, Maine -- near Bethel in the western part of the state -- at 6 a.m. It was shot with a Panasonic FZ50 at f/8 for 1/20 of a second.

Wickford Point, the setting for this contest submission, is located on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.

"This shot was taken on a warm summer night in mid-July just after sunset," the photographer writes. "I had to be quick to set up the shot as the scene was changing rapidly."

Taken with a Canon D-80, 4-second exposure, f/3.5, ISO 250.

This August contest submission, shot at Old Silver Beach in North Falmouth, was captured with a Canon 30d, 24-70mm lens, 1/400 sec., f/5.

"I was walking my daughter's 12-week-old puppy -- a Beagle, Boston Terrier, Chinese Crested Powder Puff mix -- when we approached this break in the wall," the shooter of this contest entry writes. "She turned and sat down on the cool sand in the shade of the wall. The only camera I had was my Samsung Alias camera phone, so I shot away hoping for the best. Photoshopped to fix colors and clean up background clutter."

Shot in July at Revere Beach.

The photographer of this contest submission writes, "Got this shot while driving past Nahant Beach [in Lynn]. Pulled into a little inlet with some beautiful houses, and snapped away. The water was gorgeous, and was a beautiful night to take pictures!"

This contest hopeful writes: "On a trip to Cape Verde in 2007, I woke up early and headed down to the beach to watch the fishermen." The photo was taken with a Canon Rebel XT, 1/400, f/13, 39 mm, ISO 400.

This contest entry was taken at a pebble beach in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

A little person surveys the scene on Burke's Beach at Green Harbor in Marshfield.

Shot with a Nikon D50 with a lens focal length of 18mm.

Review all the contest entries that we've posted so far so you can start to narrow your choices for first, second, and third place in time for the start of voting Sept. 5. To enter your own photo in the contest, read the guidelines carefully, and use our convenient Flickr uploader.

IF YOU ARE OPENING A NEW FLICKR ACCOUNT in order to enter this contest, you had better do it today. It takes Flickr up to 3 days to find new accounts and add them to its Search, which is how we find the contest entries.

Also, all new Flickr accounts MUST have at least 5 photos in them. Just make sure that of the 5 photos, only 1 has the contest tags. If you use our Uploader to add all 5 photos to your new account, remember that it adds the contest tags for you ... so it will add them to all 5 of your photos. Just go in to your account and remove the tags from all but 1 of your photos (contest limit is 1 photo per person per theme per month).

Thanks ... just drop a line to raw@boston.com if you have any questions.

"For me, the image represents an energy as four-wheel drivers maneuver the sand," writes the photographer of this contest submission. She shot it on a July morning at Duxbury Beach with a Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma 10-20mm lens, 1/320, f/16, ISO 200.

The photographer of this contest submission says he shot it with Fujichrome Sensia 100-speed slide film; he scanned it with a Dimage Scan Dual IV film scanner.

This contest entry was taken from the gardens of Shelburne Farms in Vermont.

Shot in Nova Scotia with an Olympus E-500, 40mm focal length, 1/250, f/6.3, ISO 100.

The shooter of this contest entry writes: "This was taken last year around March in Clearwater, Fla. Perfect timing. It was shot with a Canon PowerShot 5 on Auto."

This contest submission was taken with a Canon PowerShot SD200, 5.8mm focal length, 1/160, f/2.8.

"My daughter was trying to fly like the seagull that had just landed," writes the photographer, who snagged this contest entry with a Nikon E885.

Another film photo. This contest submission was taken in April at Harvey's Beach in Old Saybrook, Conn. with a Pentax k1000 SLR and DeJur 135 mm lens. The photographer says it was developed in Suffolk University's darkroom.

"The water was cold, but the children's smiles and their playful motions molding landscape scenes by the shores made this evening trip in late July worth it," writes the photographer. "Nothing warmed our hearts more than to hear the sound of our children laughing together."

Shot on a July evening at Narragansett Beach, RI, with a Nikon D70, Nikkor 70-300mm lens, focal length 70mm, f/4, 1/640.

... and pleased paws. Shot on Block Island with a Nikon D60.

This contest submission was taken near Jupiter, FL -- at 4 a.m. The photographer used a 30-second exposure: "To the naked eye, it was completely dark, except for the pier lights." Camera info: Canon EOS 5D, 16mm lens focal length, f/8, ISO 400.

"The sunset at this beach on the Vineyard was amazing," the photographer writes of this contest entry. "I took probably 100 photos of it because it changed every few minutes."

This contest entry was taken as thunder was rolling in, with an Olympus E-500, 40mm focal length, 1/500, f/8, ISO 400.

An approaching storm highlights this contest submission, shot with a Nikon D40X, 18mm lens focal length, 1/200, f/7.1, ISO 100.

Rocks and shells on the beach in Winthrop make for an interesting composition in this contest entry. Taken with a Nikon D40, VR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G lens, f/8, 1/500, ISO 200.

This photographer captured this sunset in May on the Grand Wailea Beach in Kihei, Maui. "Taken with actual light and no special lenses," he says. Canon Powershot S70, 1/8 sec., ISO 100.

This entry was taken at Bronte Beach, a suburb of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The waves here make it popular among surfers.

"My 3-year-old son struggled with 20 mph winds to keep his kite flying!" the shooter of this contest entry writes. Take in Falmouth on the Cape last October with a Sony DSC-W5.

This contest submission shows another angle of the popular Nantucket lighthouse.

This contest entrant writes, "Went to Good Harbor Beach [in Gloucester] with my sister and babies ... thought I would have to leave after 2 hours, but was having a blast!!! (Luckily she brought an umbrella!) The kids sooo did not want to go!!!!!!!"

Titled after a quote from "The Book of Disquiet" by Fernando Pessoa, this contest entry was shot at Praia de Santo Andre, Portugal, in April using a Nikon D70s, 31mm, ISO 200, 1/500 sec., f/11.

A seacoast shot for the August contest.

This black-and-white contest entry was taken at Old Orchard Beach in Maine.

Just a few days left to enter a photo in our August contest, which has the theme "At the beach". The entry period ends at midnight Aug. 31, but don't risk getting shut out by waiting until the last minute. Review all the contest entries that we've posted so far so you can start to narrow your choices for first, second, and third place in time for the start of voting Sept. 5. To enter your own photo in the contest, read the guidelines carefully, and use our convenient Flickr uploader.

This photographer grabbed this shot of his granddaughter navigating rocks on the Atlantic in Seabrook, NH with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.

Shot at Susuit Beach in Dennis on the Cape in September, 2007, using a Canon 5D, 17-35mm lens set at 26mm, 1/160 sec, f/11, ISO 200. "This was a shot I spent time on getting into position," the photographer writes, "but I didn't see the glasses until I was printing the pictures."

Um, maybe you need ... glasses?

A July tour of New Orleans to provide visitors with an update on how the city has recovered from the devastating floods of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 yielded this contest photo.

"I took this picture on Sanibel Island in January 2006," the shooter of this contest submission writes. "It was almost sunset and a storm front was moving over the island. I used a Canon S750 point-and-shoot."

This photographer thinks this contest entry, shot on a section of Crane Beach that's in Essex, has it all: Sun, sand, water, and wind. "This photo was shot looking down into a pool of water about 3" deep," the photog writes. "During low tide, you can see the patterns the sand naturally has and the light/sun reflects off the grooves in the sand. A slight wind added to the funky design the water/sun took. No effects or editing was done to this photo."

About this contest entry, the photographer writes: "The pattern on the back of this crab shell atop the smooth black rocks caught my attention while walking the beaches of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington."

This contest submission is set in San Diego. The waves at La Jolla Shores are among the most gentle of all San Diego beaches; adjacent La Jolla Cove is tucked between sandstone cliffs and is one of the most photographed beaches in Southern California.

Is that heart for the Red Sox?

"Each Memorial Day weekend, a bunch of college friends head to a family cottage in Sandwich," this photographer says about this contest entry. "The fire was still roaring as the sun was rising." The photographer shot this with a Nikon D50: "This was the early days, so it was shot with the kit lens."

This exultant nature lover was captured on the coast of South Africa near Coffee Bay in February. The photographer who submitted this entry used a Canon 20D, 28mm, 1/500 sec., f/10, ISO 200.

This contest entry, the second of classic Adirondack chairs, was taken on Sanibel Island off the coast of Florida in April. These apparently are famous chairs; the photographer writes, "I found the postcard of these chairs in a gift shop, but never bought it. We were driving down the road & there they were on the beach! I jumped out of the car & got my pastel Adirondack chairs."

"Walking along the Cape Cod shoreline, I spotted this red umbrella that stood out like a lighthouse beacon against the sand dune," writes this photographer about his contest entry. "The image was so striking it took me a few seconds to realize that I did not take a photo of it at the moment. However, I corrected it by shooting several different angles of the scene."

This sunset entry was taken with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, 1/100 sec., f/4.5, lens focal length 105 mm, ISO 200.

Marconi Beach in Wellfleet is one of the spectacular Atlantic Ocean beaches within the Cape Cod National Seashore. It's named for the famed Italian inventor who transmitted the first transatlantic wireless communication between the United States and England from here in 1903.

This photographer captured this shot 103 years later with different technology: A Canon PowerShot S1 IS. "Right place at the right time!" the shutterbug writes.

These spouting beasts were caught at sunrise off the Cape with a Nikon D300, 18-200VR lens, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec., ISO 250.

Get inspired by the contest entries we've posted so far -- more are being posted every day. To enter your own photo in the contest, read the guidelines carefully, and use our convenient Flickr uploader.

This white-dog-in-white-foam contest entry was taken on Nauset Beach on the Cape using a Fujifilm S5000.

O-kay ...

Late afternoon at Muir Beach, just north of San Francisco. The photographer who entered this photo in our August contest used a Canon Rebel XT, and "did some light adjustments in Photoshop to saturate the black levels a bit."

Baby on board! This contest submission was taken at Chapin Beach in Dennis, on the bay, or north, side.

Another Menemsha shot ... this contest entry shows a prelude to sunset as storm clouds rolled in slowly off the ocean. "I really loved how the clouds ended up darkening the ocean side of the photo while the sun was still shining on the beach," the photographer writes. Taken with a Canon 40D.

Another contest entry taken earlier this summer at the annual Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Festival. According to the photographer, this shot was captured during the week after the contest, "and the day was, uh, cloudy and breezy, so the beach was more like a desert - with plenty of water!" Taken with a Canon 5D, 28mm lens, f/22, ISO 200. "The sky was pushed down in Photoshop to give back the drama of the day," the photog reports.

This contest entry was taken in the picturesque fishing village of Menemsha in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard at what the photographer calls "the best part of the day."

This contest photographer writes, "Taken on a windy day in February at Crane Beach, Ipswich. My wife and I figured we'd have the beach to ourselves (and the kids) for once, and but for a group of horses that ran past, we were right!"

Taken with his old Canon PowerShot A80, f/5.6, shutter 1/250.

Another Sony DSC-N1 entry, this one taken during a day at a New Hampshire beach.

This contest seaside scene was captured with a Nikon D50 in Swampscott, MA.

Review all the contest entries that we've posted so far so you can start to narrow your choices for first, second, and third place in time for the start of voting Sept. 5. To enter your own photo in the contest, read the guidelines carefully, and use our convenient Flickr uploader.

For this contest entry, the photographer was on the beach below Mohegan Bluffs on Block Island, RI.

Photo for the contest taken on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii, in Kahuku, overlooking Kawela Bay, Bay View Beach Lawn, and Turtle Bay. Shot with a Sony DSC-N1.

This contest submission was shot with Pentax Optio 750Z on a San Francisco beach in the early afternoon.

"This was taken from the back shore of Peaks Island with a point-and-shoot Nikon 35mm film camera," this photographer writes. "Remember those?"

"Sun setting directly behind me, clouds and the ocean facing east," this photographer writes about this contest entry. "Tide going out and a few birds along the waterline."

This Plum Island Beach contest entry was taken during the morning sunrise Aug. 5, using an Olympus C-8080 wide-zoom camera.

This contest entry was shot at Little Compton Beach in RI.

"Here I am hanging at Long Sands Beach in York, Maine continuing to live the dream," this contest hopeful writes.

For this contest entry, taken in the Bahamas in March 2007, the photographer used a Nikon D200 with a 12-24DX lens, 12mm focal length, 1/160 shutter speed, and f/6.3 aperture.

A foggy morning in Plymouth, Mass., with the fog rolling out along the jetty as the sun rises, is the setting for this contest hopeful.

The beach appeals to all ages, as this contest submission shows.

This contest entry was taken with a Nikon D200, lens focal length 23mm, 1/350, f/16 (aperture priority), ISO 280.

I'm telling you, these beaches in Dennis on the north side are something else ... Corporation Beach is popular with families, although after seeing this contest entry, I'd pack a lightning rod in my picnic basket. This photographer caught four lightning strikes over Cape Cod Bay during this 20-second exposure while bottom left, a devil-may-care group enjoyed a bonfire on the beach.

So now it's your turn. If you haven't entered our August contest -- one photo that fits the theme "At the beach" -- now's the time. Check out the rules carefully here and then send in a picture.

All of you will vote for the winners from Sept. 5 through the 14th. We're posting the entries, several a day, on RAW so that you can start taking note of the photos you like so you're ready when the Voting Machine opens. You can see the entries that we have posted so far here.

This was the first time that the photographer's 8-year-old son -- yes, Jack -- surfed in "real waves" at Nauset Beach on the Cape. "The water was a freezing 58 degrees!" the photog writes. So where's his hat?

Another contest entry from St. John, one of the three US Virgin Islands, taken while the photographer was dining -- clearly al fresco. I used to know an Al Fresco ... he lived in Eastie ...

This photographer thinks this picture for the August "At the beach" contest shows a possible ancient shipwreck strewn on South Beach in Chatham. Out of the frame to the left, she's frantically digging for treasure.

This beach is in Dennis, on the bay (north) side of Cape Cod off Route 6A. Of the town's 16 beaches, this is one of the most scenic, as this contest entry shows.

This contest photo was taken on the afternoon of July 29 in Lewis Bay at Kalmus Beach, Hyannis, with a Canon Powershot SD870. "The weather was a perfect day for being at the beach or on the water," the photographer reports.

Asilomar State Beach, the setting for this contest entry, is a narrow one-mile strip of sandy beach and rocky coves on the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove, California.

Haven't seen too many foggy fotos in this contest so far. This entry was taken at Ogunquit Beach, ME in July 2007 as the morning fog was slowly burning off. The photographer thinks the faint image of a house on the hill overlooking the tidal flats "adds an interesting element to the picture." Camera: Canon EOS Rebel in auto mode.

Taken at a public stretch of beach on Martha's Vineyard. The photographer who snapped this contest entry used a Canon Digital Rebel XT, 18-55 lens, f/11, shutter speed 1/1000 sec.

A famous snorkeling spot on Kauai and setting for movies as well as the TV mini-series The Thorn Birds. The photographer who submitted this contest entry says the beach's name means "end of the road" -- which is literally true.

This contest submission was taken on what the photographer says was "the best beach day ever".

The question is, after embarrassing her like this, does she still love you?

Another of more than 140 contest entries with the theme "At the beach".

This submission was taken at Jones Beach on Long Island, NY on Oct. 15, 2005 at sunset. The photographer used a Canon 350XT and Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. ("Entre nous" means "between us" ... not anymore!)

If you have a great photo that you think is a worthy competitor in our August contest and fits the theme "At the beach", read the guidelines here and then send in a picture.

Start keeping track of the photos you like; you and thousands of others will be voting for the Top 3 starting Sept. 5. You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

Brant Point Light on Nantucket, captured in this contest entry, was first erected in 1746 and is America's second oldest light station after Boston Light (1716).

This contest hopeful says this was shot on Coronado Island, CA with a Nikon N-55 camera. "Sun was just breaking through after a hazy morning," the photographer says.

This contest entry was taken with a Canon Power Shot SD750 late in the day at Sandy Neck Beach in West Barnstable on Cape Cod. "Passing distant storm," writes the photographer. "The sky was alive."

The shooter of this contest entry writes, "This photo was taken on a beach during a pitstop on the Great Ocean Road in Australia. I took it with a point-and-shoot Nikon Digital Elph."

Wooden bridges, like this one over Rodeo Lagoon at Rodeo Beach in San Francisco, offer interesting patterns and angles for photographers, as shown in this contest entry.

Shot from one of the many beaches that line Dorchester Bay, which touches Dorchester (natch), South Boston, and Quincy.

Considering the black sand and tropical vegetation, this contest entry must have been taken some place exotic.

Ah, those were the days. And yes, the photos were black and white ...

This contest entry was taken at Virginia Beach in June 2006 with a Canon 20d, using a Canon EFS 17-85mm f/4.5-6 lens with a focal length of 76mm. Other settings: 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 100.

Revere Beach -- and its seaweed, driftwood, and detritus -- is the subject of this contest entry.

I posted a note earlier about the contest guideline that allows just one photo per person per theme per month. But another critically important guideline is that your photo must fit the theme of the contest you are entering.

The theme of the August contest is "At the beach" -- not "At the harbor" or "Near the quarry" or "On the river" or "In a field that's down the road from a pond".

I've written to several of you who have translated "At the beach" to mean any body of water that you captured in the frame. I'm expecting some bathtub shots next.

On the other hand, the miscategorized photos you are submitting are quite nice, so if you want to suggest those subjects as future contest themes, just drop a line to us here.

So please -- avoid the heartbreak of having us remove your photo from the contest before voting starts Sept. 5. Make the switch yourself. Thanks.

This B&W was taken at Sebago Lake in Maine. It's one of more than 130 photos that have been entered in our August contest, "At the beach". If you have a great photo that qualifies, read the guidelines here and then send in a picture.

We're posting more entries every day so you can begin to decide which photos you like in preparation for the start of voting Sept. 5.

You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

We've received several black-and-white photos for the August contest. This photographer writes, "This was my first encounter with the Pacific Ocean."

The smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands at just 28 square miles -- two-thirds of which is a National Park, St. John is a great spot for photographers.

This island is part of the part of the Cyclades, and was named after the god Apollo's grandson, Mykons.

We're getting contest entries that were shot all over New England, the US, even the world. This photo is of rocks at Grinell's Beach at Stone Bridge Village in Tiverton, RI.

This contest entry was shot at North Beach in Burlington, VT in the late afternoon, bright sunlight, using the sunset setting on a Canon Power Shot A580.

Interested in submitting one of your shots? Read the guidelines here and then send in a picture.

We're posting more entries every day so you can begin to decide which photos you like in preparation for the start of voting Sept. 2.

You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

Taken from an angle that faces the town of Provincetown. This contest entry was shot with a Nikon D300, 1/640, f/13, focal length 17mm, ISO 200.

This South Boston shot may be our first iPhone contest entry. The photog says, "I took this photo during my morning jog with my iPhone at 6 a.m." If I live near him, I'm keeping my blinds closed.

Another sunset contest entry, this one taken on the beach of St. Thomas in January of 2008.

"The ocean rocks," this photographer wrote about this contest entry, taken at Nantasket Beach in Hull, Mass. "Took the kids to Nantasket Beach this afternoon/evening. Played in the ocean for awhile, then enjoyed some mini-golf, a ride on the Paragon Carousel, and some ice cream. Perfect end to a summer day.

"I grew up on the ocean, still live nearby. I should do a better job getting the kids to the ocean. The ocean rocks."

Amen.

This deserted stand -- in the Yucatan, Mexico -- was the setting for this contest submission. The photographer writes: "It took me a while to frame the stand and the wooden structure - I wasn't sure if I should include the shadow of the stand on the right side of the image."

This contest entry was shot on Nantucket last year.

The photographer of this contest submission says, "This necklace of 'Slipper Shells' were already hanging on the railing when we walked up to the the Brant Point lighthouse on Nantucket. I was looking for a different perspective on the lighthouse and thought it might be fun to focus on this necklace."

Camera info: Canon Digital Rebel, 1/2000, f/5.6, focal length 21mm, ISO 200.

There's less than two weeks to go before the entry period for our August contest, with the theme "At the beach", closes. If you have one great beach shot and want to try to win one of our three prizes, enter your photo now.

We're posting more entries every day so you can begin to decide which photos you like in preparation for the start of voting Sept. 2.

You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

A contest photo shot at Megansett in the Cataumet section of Falmouth, near the Bourne line, on Cape Cod.

Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester is a popular spot for some of our contest entries.

This contest hopeful was taken at 7 a.m. at the lighthouse on Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable on Cape Cod.

A contest submission shot along the Costa Brava in Spain.

The photographer who shot this contest entry writes, "I just like all the gray in this picture. It wasn't the nicest of days at the beach, but we didn't care."

One of several contest entries we've received from the photo-rich 2008 New England Sand Sculpture Festival held at Revere Beach, Revere, Massachusetts, in July.

Another Revere sand sculpture entry. This photographer writes: "A close-up of the third place sculpture, 'Everyone Needs a Hobby' by Fred Mallett of South Padre Island, TX. This picture was taken after a fierce thunderstorm; some rain damage is visible."

Camera info: Nikon D300 with Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR lens with a focal length of 200mm, 1/1600, f/3.2, Aperture priority, ISO 320, CenterWeightedAverage metering, Auto white balance.

This contest entry depicts a gentle breeze on North Topsail Beach, NC, in July. Camera settings: 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 100.

A Nikon CoolPix camera was used to get this contest shot on one of the hottest days of this summer.

Lovells Island, one of the Boston harbor islands, was the setting for this sunset shot. The 62-acre Lovells, a favorite among campers, was named for Captain William Lovell, an early settler of Dorchester.

This entry was taken at this year's sand sculpting competition at Revere Beach.

Interested in entering your own "At the beach" photo (just one) for our August contest? It's easy to do -- here's how.

We're posting more entries every day so you can begin to decide which photos you like in preparation for the start of voting Sept. 2.

You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

Standing on a beach in 'Sconset on Nantucket, 37 weeks pregnant. The title of this August contest entry was inspired by the lyrics to "Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch.

"She was about 15 seconds away from being eaten alive by baby greenheads," writes this amateur photographer, who submitted this beach shot from Gloucester in the August contest. Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel XT, 1/400 sec., f/4, Canon 50mm 1.4 lens, ISO 100.

This contest entry was shot at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester with a Nikon 4004, 35mm lens, f/5.6, ISO 100, tmax 100 b+w.

This contest entry was taken during a vacation in Seabrook, NH.

It's only halfway through the month, and we already have more than 100 entries for this month's contest. If you haven't entered a photo -- remember, you can enter just one -- that fits this month's theme of "At the beach", you'd better get going. It's easy to do -- here's how.

We're posting more entries every day so you can begin to decide which photos you like in preparation for the big vote, which starts Sept. 2.

You can see all the entries that we have posted so far here.

This entry was shot with a Canon S3 IS, manual mode, 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400, 150mm equivalent lens.

Notice the single sunlit footprint in this contest entry? Camera settings: Shutter speed 1/800, f/2, focal length 50mm, ISO 100.

The photographer who entered this picture in the photo contest writes: "This was taken near Great Island in Wellfleet. It is looking approximately southwest over Cape Cod Bay at low tide about 10 a.m. Taken with a Nikon D300 with an 18-200 zoom at 130mm. Exposure was 1/130 sec at f/9."

A fisheye photo taken at Plum Island and entered in the RAW "At the beach" photo contest.

This contest entry shows sunset at Powder Point in Duxbury.

Another contest entry with the theme, "At the beach".

This mallard was out for a walk when captured for this contest entry. The photographer used a Sony A100k with a Minolta 70-200mm lens at 200mm.

Remember, the August theme is “At the beach” -- here’s how to enter one of your photos.

This August contest entry was shot at Turks and Caicos islands in the Caribbean.

As this photographer wrote with this contest entry: "If only this were my desk."

Not sure where this contest entry was taken, but then again, with nice sunsets, does it really matter?

This contest entry became this family's Christmas card last year. Nice to be reminded of summer in the depths of winter.

We are getting a tremendous response to our August contest -- but in your enthusiasm, all of you aren't reading the rules carefully. (I know, I know, it's like reading the directions for assembling a bookcase ... nobody does it.)

The main rule that several of you have overlooked? Everyone is limited to one photo per theme per month.

What may be confusing some of you who are creating a new Flickr account is the Flickr policy that you have to upload 5 photos into your account before Flickr will include your account in its Search. Upload 5 photos, but make sure the contest tags are on just one of them. If you use our Uploader, which adds the contest tags for you, just go into your Flickr account and remove the tags from all but one picture. Let me know if you are having trouble.

I've emailed everyone who has more than one photo tagged for the contest, and everyone so far has readily removed the contest tags from all but one photo. Some of you haven't yet, so get a move on!

Anyone who still has more than one photo entered as of the close of the contest at midnight on Aug. 31 will be disqualified. Sorry, but it's the only fair thing to do. Thanks for honoring this, and thanks for entering some really great photos.

This photo entry was shot as the day was fading on a beach in Harwichport.

Chilson Beach, shown in this contest entry, is located in Franklin, MA.

The shoreline of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was the setting for this contest entry. So healthful. I feel thinner just looking at this.

This entry was taken at sunset on Father's Day, 2005. It's one of nearly 70 entries in our August contest, which has the theme, “At the beach” -- here’s how to enter one of your photos.

This contest entry was taken mid-afternoon at Nauset Beach, Cape Cod, after a March snowstorm.

This contest entry is a poignant take on the beach theme.

Here's one of our contest entries. The August theme is “At the beach” -- here’s how to enter one of your photos.

Here’s another contest entry.

The photographer writes: "The L St. Beach is a popular place on a wicked hot day in Boston."

We've heard from a few people that they uploaded a photo for the August "At the beach" contest, but when they searched for our August contest entries using the tags "Boston.com August contest", they saw everyone else's entries, but not their own.

Here's the Flickr page where you can see all the entries so far.

So we did a little investigating, and lo and behold, found these little tidbits on Flickr's Help page:

"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: