And we’re back! After a week off for the holidays (and some technical difficulties this morning) we’re ready to bring you another Around Austin Photo Contest. This week we have an announcement to go along with our post. It involves winning cool photography stuff, so be sure to read on after you pick your favorite photo.

First, Cassandra’s shots:

Photo 1: I-70 provided a pattern of lights on a drive to the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

Photo 2: Outside lamps project the shadow of a tree against the side of an apartment building.

That’s all for Cassandra (she was gone most of the week for the holidays), now on to Pete’s shots:

Photo 3: Barton Springs holds its annual Polar Plunge on January 1. The water is always a cool 68 degrees, making for a much warmer “plunge” than many other locations hosting the same activity.

Photo 4: Jumping off the diving board made it easier for some people to get into the cool water of Barton Springs during the annual Polar Plunge event.

Photo 5: A man stands along the edge of Barton Springs on New Year’s Day preparing for the Polar Plunge.

Photo 6: Colorful leaves brighten up an otherwise drab background of a concrete wall along Baylor Street.

Photo 7: The skeleton of an old building sits along Baylor Street.

That’s all for this week, be sure to vote in the comments! Now, on to our announcement.

Rooted wants to start giving away cool stuff. We want you to get photo-related swag by showing off your photography skills. If you’re not the materialistic type, then it can be a way to show your mom you got published or to claim bragging rights with your photog friends. Either way, we want you to submit your work to the Around Austin Photo Contest. We’ve been doing the contest for a little while now, and we’re ready to take the next step. So far, we average a few entries from non-Rooted photogs every month. We’ve been bested once (by an awesome shot from Reagan Hackleman) and we’re not afraid for it to happen again.

The rules are simple. Submit your photo from around Austin, get the most votes and you win — and the next week we’ll start a month-long photography contest with an awesome prize for the winner. We would just start giving stuff away right now (we’re generous like that) but we want to make sure we’ve got some healthy competition first. Oh, and we almost forgot to mention that the next photographer to best us and start the competition will also win a big advantage.

We’ll explain the details if we lose. For now, here’s a teaser: You’ll be able to get photos from perspectives you never expected to be possible if you win. Send us your photos at photo@rootedaustin.com to get the competition started!