Several years ago I was traveling through the Missouri Ozarks when I came across a 100-year-old grist mill near Eminence. It was a rustic structure perched on the edge of a turquoise spring.</p><p>I snapped a few quick shots and didn&#8217;t think much more about it until I got home. But the picture I captured that fall day turned out to be one of the best ones I ever took.</p><p>A few years earlier I was hiking along the Irish coast and found a haunting sculpture that honored victims of Ireland&#8217;s Great Famine. The peaceful photo of that &#8220;Coffin Ship&#8221; is another favorite.</p><p>At Big Bend National Park in Texas, the jaw-dropping sunsets this winter kept me shooting until the light was gone.</p><p>Do you see where I&#8217;m going? There&#8217;s beauty near and far. And that&#8217;s the theme of this year&#8217;s vacation photo contest, which begins today.</p><p>Send us the best pictures from your weekend in the Midwest. We want to see your exotic photos from the Himalayas or your African safari. And don&#8217;t forget to send us your favorites from the Rockies or the Florida Keys.</p><p>We&#8217;ll divide entries among three categories:</p><p><strong>&#8226;Heartland: </strong>Here&#8217;s the place for those scenes from the Lake of the Ozarks, the evenings in the Flint Hills and trips to the Omaha zoo. Photos in this category should be taken close to home &#8212; in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Arkansas.</p><p><strong>&#8226;USA: </strong>This category is the place for pictures from the Grand Canyon, Sea World and the Statue of Liberty. Anything taken in the 50 United States belongs here.</p><p><strong>&#8226;The World: </strong>Pictures taken outside the United States (including U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam) should be entered in this category.</p><p>Members of <em>The Kansas City Star&#8217;s </em>photo staff will judge the entries based on quality and creativity. Winners in each category will receive $150 in cash plus an enlargement of their winning photo. At least six runners-up, divided among all categories, will receive gift cards to Kansas City area movie theaters. Winning entries will be published this fall in the Go section.</p><p>Entries must be postmarked by Aug. 15.</p><p>Because we receive so many entries, we cannot return your photos.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> Complete contest rules and an entry coupon | G5</p><p></div> <hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> @ To see a gallery of last year&#8217;s winners, log on to <strong>KansasCity.com/travel</strong>.</p><p></div>