Photos Of The Week: Walk On The Wild Side

FLORIDA — Phone cameras make it so easy to capture great moments any day, any time. Have you taken some photos of flowers in bloom, children frolicking at the beach, breathtaking sunsets, dramatic skylines or a funny photo of the family dogs plunging into the backyard swimming pool?

The Florida Patch sites publish a collection of Photos of the Week each weekend sent in by readers.Whether you snapped an amazing shot with your smartphone or spent hours capturing the decisive moment on a Nikon D6, send your photos to Tampa Bay Patch editor D'Ann White at dann.white@patch.com with the location of the photo and the name of the photographer. You might see your photo featured on Patch.

This week, we take a look at readers' photos of some Florida wildlife.

Florida State Parks Photo Contest

Those who love taking photos will have a chance to win a stand-up paddleboard, annual state parks pass or a fire pit when they submit photos to Florida State Parks taken at one of Florida's 175 state parks, trails and historic sites.

Florida State Parks is launching this year's annual photo contest, "Explore Florida State Parks."

"We have had extraordinary attendance at our parks, and we know along with that comes an increasing number of incredible images of our beaches, inland waterways, forests and trails," said Chuck Hatcher, acting director of Florida State Parks. "To entice more interest in our longstanding photo contest, we have upgraded our prizes and will add an honorable mention for each photo category. I’m excited to see the special memories created while exploring our beautiful parks."

Submissions will be accepted on the photo contest website. The contest is open to all Florida State Parks visitors, and the submission period runs now through March 10.

Each entrant can submit up to five photos, one in each of the following categories:

• Explore Nature.
• Explore New Points of View.
• Explore Parks in Motion.
• Explore Trails.
• Explore Wildlife.

First-, second- and third-place winners will be selected from all submissions by a panel of employees from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The first-place winner will receive a Florida State Parks-branded stand-up paddleboard, a Florida State Parks Family Annual Entrance Pass or a BioLite Fire Pit, valued at $1,000.

Winners will be announced in early April For a full list of prizes and more details, visit the photo contest website.