Announcing '600 sq mi: Photos from Houston'

Houstonist has known for a long time that there are a lot of talented professional photographers in this city. But what we didn't really realize — until we started the Houstonist flickr group about a year ago, that is — was how many incredible amateur/semi-pro photographers we have around here, too. We're constantly amazed by the images we see, both on- and offline, and a while back we started thinking to ourselves, "Wouldn't it be cool to host a gallery show of some of these photos?" And then we thought to ourselves, "Yes!" No, wait ... yes.

And so it's our pleasure to announce 600 sq mi: Photos from Houston, Houstonist's first-ever photo show. It'll be a juried show that will run the month of September at MSquared Gallery in the Heights — a chance for all photographers, whether they've been shooting for years or just picked up a camera, to display, advertise (and sell, if they want to) their work. The theme of the show, as you might have guessed, is Houston; exactly what that means is up to you. As long as a photo has something to do with Houston and was taken in the Houston area, it'll work.

We have the framework set up for the show — now all we need are your photos. All the information you'll need to enter is at www.600sqmi.com, which you'll want to check regularly: We'll update it as often as is necessary with the latest news, deadlines, FAQs and anything else you might need. One thing we want to make clear: All the photos will be judged without regard to the photographer's background, so don't think that you don't have enough experience to enter. You do.

The deadline for getting your photos in is Friday, June 1. We can't wait to see your work — and to see it on the gallery wall.

Questions? Check www.600sqmi.com or e-mail us at photoshow (at) houstonist (dot) com.