Ah, summer vacation in Michigan.

Heidi McClelland's photo that captured her daughter's excitement and pure joy on her family’s first day of summer vacation this year on Intermediate Lake in Bellaire, MI, wins the first week of the first Your Patch of Michigan photo contest.

“This picture is from our week up north with my in-laws,” said McClelland, of Saline. “They rent a different cottage somewhere up north every year. … This picture is of my daughter jumping off of the dock on our first day there. She just turned 8 years old, and was so excited to start our summer vacation!”

McClelland's entry, titled "A Patch of Heaven ... Jumping into Summer," was selected out of more than 550 awesome photos submitted for the week of July 24-30. McClelland wins a $30 gift card to Al Makan Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurant in Clawson.

You, too, can share your visions of Michigan in photos in our Your Patch of Michigan photo contest.

Every week through Sept. 17 we'll have a new photo gallery and a new winner chosen by a panel of Michigan Patch editors. Each weekly winner will get a prize. 

After Sept. 17, we'll pick a grand prize winner from all of the weekly winners. The grand prize winner will receive a certificate for a two-night stay at Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island (to be used before Oct. 31, 2012, and blackout dates and other restrictions may apply). The approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $500.

Do you need to be Ansel Adams to win this? No. The single qualification for photos you send is that they say "Michigan" to you. 

How to enter Patch of Michigan contest

First, become a registered Patch user if you aren't already; just sign up at the top right corner of the homepage. Then add your photo(s) to the gallery for the week of July 31-Aug. 6.

Be sure to include your real, full name and the place where the photo was taken, as well as any other relevant information about what the photo shows. The email address you use to register must be a working one so we can reach you should we have questions — or should you be selected as a winner.

All photos must be posted each Saturday by midnight to be judged for that week. The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. And this wouldn't be a contest without a complete list of official contest rules; you can read them here. Please, no more than three (3) entries per person per week. The winner will be selected each Monday and must respond to notification within 48 hours.

If you aren't quite sure how to upload a photos, check out our step-by-step guide to uploading photos to Patch. If you still have trouble or have questions, email Associate Regional Editor Beth Valone atbeth.valone@patch.com.