Face Off

Last year we asked Houston's high school students to send us their photos, and they responded with images of dogs, cats, books, basketballs, scooters, swimmers, clouds, cheerleaders and strawberries.

Every month or two brought a new category and a new batch of snapshots, and after every round we picked several winners, handing out bookstore gift certificates and holing away the best images till the end of the year, when we had an exhibition at FotoFest and an esteemed panel of judges determined our three big winners. Taylor High's Stephanie Schmitt won a $1,000 college scholarship; Willie Xu, also of Taylor High, got $250; and Danielle Riley, of the Westchester Academy for International Studies, won $150.

So that was last year, and now that we're sophomores, with new backpacks, learner's permits and junior-varsity aspirations, we're hoping the 2008-2009 contest is going to be even better. Our first category is "faces" and entries are due by September 30. All Houston-area high school students are eligible. Send those face images to studentphotos@houstonpress.com. And teachers, if you'd like us to come to your photography class and give a presentation on the basics of photojournalism, hit us up at the same e-mail address.

For more information and complete rules, please click here. — Keith Plocek