This is 2009's amateur grand prize winner in Great Lakes Forever's photo contest. Photo: Gerri Jones - Thirty Mile Point in Winter

Echo reporter Andrew Norman broke a big story this spring: People like beer, and the Great Lakes are full of its primary ingredient.

That story has sources from some of the region’s small breweries hailing the region’s versatile water, which lends itself to a diverse set of beer styles.

But beer giant Budweiser also has love for the lakes, and is once again partnering with the Biodiversity Project’s Great Lakes Forever program to sponsor their sixth annual photo contest.

The contest has professional and amateur categories, and the top prize is a kayak and a Garmin navigation system. Plus, the best photo will be immortalized on history’s most timeless canvas, the beer coaster – thousands of which will be distributed to bars across the region.

Check out the past winners, the submission form and official rules (PDF).

And as long as you’re taking stunning pictures of the Great Lakes, don’t forget submit them to Echo’s own little awareness program: The carp bomb gallery.