The top 10 finalists for the Pure Michigan Summer Photo Contest have been announced.

This photo contest was created as a way for area residents to showcase their artistic talents and the amazing outdoors and activities that make Michigan such a great place to live.

We received more than 100 wonderful photos, and selecting the finalists was nearly impossible. Thankfully, we had an outstanding judging panel who chose the top 10 photographs.

All of the finalist photos are incredible, and I look forward to seeing which one the people pick to display in the Michigan Capitol.

The 10 finalist photographers and photos are: Maria Dahn of Coloma for “Kayaks on Fortune Lake,” Connie Hartwig of Stevensville for “Pebbles in Lake Michigan,” Molly Pate of Berrien Springs for “Sunset Sail at South Haven Beach,” Camie Green of Union for “Handstands at Sunset,” Doug Weingart of Bridgman for “On the Beach at Sunset,” Mark Coulston of Eau Claire for “Red Barn in a Sea of Corn,” Randy Willis of Benton Harbor for “Rainbow over Vineyard,” Bruce Wrenn of Berrien Springs for “Sunset at Rock Harbor,” Madeline Gordon of Edwardsburg for “Sunflower Field,” and Russell Szwabowski of St. Joseph for “Mackinac Bridge at Dusk.”

The finalist photos have been posted to my Facebook page, John Proos Supporters Page, and to the Pure Michigan Summer Photo Contest page on my Senate website.

Visitors to the pages will be able to vote for the photos they like the most. Each finalist photo will receive one vote for each “like” it gets on Facebook and one vote for each vote it garners on a poll on my website.

The finalist photos will also be displayed in the district for viewing and voting. The Carnegie Center for the Arts in Three Rivers will exhibit the photos from Nov. 12 to Dec. 15. The Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph will display the exhibition from Nov. 17 to Jan. 6.

Voting will end on Dec. 2 both online and in the galleries.

I encourage southwest Michigan residents to check out these amazing photographs and vote for your favorite image.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents southwest Michigan.