Make us hungry - we want your pictures of tasty seafood!

Yvonne Etzkorn is the Donor Relations Coordinator at Living Oceans, who is very happy that it's sunny and that she won't have to hibernate through the summer this year.

I was having trouble starting this blog post so I thought I’d look back over last year’s posts for inspiration.  According to my 2011 posts, last year had a cold and miserable summer. After reading those posts I realized all the inspiration I needed was right outside my window.

The view from my office window. Are you jealous?

The sunshine, the sparkling blue ocean, mountains in the background, clouds in the sky; I realized this is what we’re trying to capture in our 3rd annual Ocean Exposures photo contest. Well…not this picture exactly (we’d really like more ocean and less houses and telephone wires), but rather that feeling, the sense of wonder and general delight that being near the ocean invokes.

This year’s photo contest has a much larger scope than previous years.  For one, we’ve expanded it to include all three of Canada’s oceans.  (Did you know Canada is bordered by three oceans?)  So don’t forget to let all of your East Coast and Arctic Coast friends know that they can submit their photos too.

This year we’ve also decided to increase the number of categories to six.

Two new categories this year revolve around sustainable seafood: Sustainable Seafood in the Market and Sustainable Seafood on the Plate.  Not sure what seafood counts as sustainable?  Visit our partners at SeaChoice to download your own sustainable seafood guide.

So far, we don’t have any entries in either of those two categories which means, should you enter, you may not have much competition in winning one of the $125 gift cards supplied by Vital Choice Seafood.

We’re are very thankful to Vital Choice Seafood for supplying a prize for these categories and we want to do a big shout out to Randy Hartnell for supporting Living Oceans. Thanks Randy!

Before founding Vital Choice in 2001, Northwest Washington native Randy Hartnell spent more than 20 years as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. Today, Vital Choice is a leading source for fast home delivery of the world’s finest wild Alaskan seafood, whole-food supplements, and organic fare. Vital Choice foods are among the purest available, and are sustainably harvested from healthy, well-managed wild fisheries and organic farms. The company’s products are recognized for their superior taste and health benefits, and endorsed by leading health and wellness experts, including physicians specializing in nutrition, pediatrics, and integrative health care.

Want to know more: follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Mmm, so much salmon-y goodness.  If you win, you could get this. Tasty!

But Randy isn’t the only person we need to give a shout out to.  We are happily privileged to have a fabulous judge for this category: Vancouver’s own Follow Me Foodie, Mijune Pak.

A serious, yet entertaining look at the restaurant scene, food, culture and tourism, Follow Me Foodie has become a trusted and valuable online source for locals, tourists, food enthusiasts and industry professionals.

Follow Me Foodie articles and creator Mijune has appeared on Food Network, Zagat, OpenRoad Driver, BC Living, The Vancouver Sun, The Now Newspaper, Westender and various other media outlets. You can also catch Mijune at food events, culinary competitions, and on News 1130AM radio every other Friday on “Foodie Fridays”.

Interested in getting to know Mijune and Follow Me Foodie better?  You can find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Now come on, we don’t want to let Mijune down, do we?  We need to give her a run for her money so she has lots of photos to judge.

We’ve still got a ways to go til the end of September so submit your photos soon!  And then send some more in later!  There’s no limit to the number of photos you can submit or the number of categories you can enter, so get clicking!