Southwest amateur and professional photographers and videographers can now make submissions for an annual photo contest.

Yesterday marked the beginning of Tourism Saskatchewan's ExploreSask Photo Contest for this year, which is set to run until September 15.

Jonathan Potts, chief executive officer at Tourism Saskatchewan, encourages local photographers to submit their photos for the chance to win a great prize.

"We've been running the photo contest for over a decade," he said. "It's a great way for when people travelling to take some pride in the province and get excited about capturing something really cool or interesting they've seen."

The contest consists of six categories; people and places, prairie, wildlife, winter, woods and water, and video.

Prizes include a $500 prepaid Visa gift card for the winner of each photography category, a grand prize of an additional $500 Visa gift card for the best overall photo, and a $1, 000 Visa gift card for the winner of the video category. 

"It's a good opportunity for people for a number of reasons," added Potts. "To capture the great experiences they're having in Saskatchewan and they can also win a $500 Visa gift card."

Anyone interested in more information or submitting an entry can visit Tourism Saskatchewan's website or call +1 (877) 237 - 2273.