Colorado Mountain College is hosting a photo contest, “Living the Elevated Life,” to showcase the Rocky Mountains and the lively communities within the school’s service area. The contest is part of a yearlong celebration of CMC’s 50th anniversary.

Amateur and professional photographers are invited to enter up to three photos. The contest began June 20, and is open for entries through Aug. 6.

“We are looking for photos that capture the essence of life, learning and incredible beauty in the nine counties of the Colorado Mountain College service area,” said Doug Stewart, CMC’s director of marketing and communications.

“Colorado Mountain College serves vibrant communities that exist in some of the most beautiful locations in Colorado,” said Derek Johnston, director of the professional photography program at the CMC Isaacson School for New Media. “This gives photographers of any skill level remarkable opportunities to capture unique and compelling imagery.”

“We thought a photo contest was an especially fitting way to celebrate our 50th anniversary, considering the renowned professional photography program we offer through the Isaacson School for New Media,” said Stewart.

Award-winning photographers John Fielder of Silverthorne and Tyler Stableford of Carbondale, along with CMC’s Johnston, will judge the entries.

Fielder’s Colorado landscape photography, featured in calendars, photo books and guidebooks, is legendary. Stableford, a 2017 winner in the internationally recognized Graphis Photo Annual contest, specializes in outdoor, lifestyle and workplace photography and video. Johnston is completing a multiyear project to photograph Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in large format black and white.

The contest website allows anyone to vote for their favorite photos and share on social media. Using the popular vote as a guide, the judges will select the top three photos in each of the three categories: amateur camera, professional camera and mobile device photos.

The first-place photo in each category will win $500, second place wins $200 and third place wins $100, Stewart said. In addition, some of the winning photos will be selected for printing on CMC’s 50th anniversary commemorative posters and notecards.

For more information or to enter photos in the contest, visit Colorado Mountain College’s 50th anniversary website: cmcbecauseofyou.org/photo-contest. Create an account and upload jpg photos of up to 2.5 MB each.

Winning photos will be announced in August.

The contest is not open to full-time employees of Colorado Mountain College.