From the baseball diamonds at Russom Park to the forested trails of Rudolphi Woods, Dowagiac’s numerous parks offer a variety of recreational opportunities to residents and visitors alike — opportunities that also would make a great subject for a photograph.

The city is seeking pictures from the public that showcase Dowagiac’s parks, in the first-ever Focus on Dowagiac online photo contest, which opened Monday. Residents and visitors are encouraged to submit up to three pictures they have taken inside the city parks through the city’s Facebook page, located at facebook.com/dowagiacmichigan.

People are encouraged to submit photos of any subject they would like, be it a photo of their grandchild fishing by the creek at Heddon Park, a pickup game of basketball at Walter Ward Park, or simply a shot of the beautiful landscape of one the city’s green spaces.

“Anyone, anyway, can take any picture of anything, as long as it conveys the theme of the contest,” said contest organizer Bobbie Jo Hartline.

Submissions can be in color or black and white, and can be from anytime of the year, Hartline said.

Eleven winning photos will be selected from the top 50 finalists, which will be selected through a public vote via the Facebook page as well from a jury comprised of city employees. The winning pictures will be framed and displayed outside the city council chambers on the second floor of city hall throughout the rest of the season; the top winner will be displayed throughout the rest of the year.

Hartline devised the idea of a public photography contest while discussing ways of replacing the existing catalog art adorning the wall outside council chambers with City Manager Kevin Anderson, she said. ,

“The more we talked about it, the more we wanted to have great shots that would mean something to other people, not just to us,” Hartline said.

The contest is the first of four that the city plans on hosting throughout the next several seasons: the fall will feature photographs depicting city architecture, winter city landmarks, and spring on public sculptures.

“I’m excited to see what people see in their community resources, what they like about them, and how they use them,” Hartline said.

Submissions are open through midnight on Aug. 8. Public voting is scheduled to begin on Aug. 12 on the city Facebook page, closing on Aug. 28. The winners will be announced on Sept. 1, with the city also featuring the winning photo as their Facebook profile picture.

People can also submit their pictures offline, by sending them in to city hall with their name, phone number and address, Hartline said.