Back in January, we challenged our readers to show off their photography skills by announcing our first in what is planned to be a series of photo contests. The theme was “family traditions.”

Now we have our first winner. Or, rather, winners. The black-and-white family photo submitted by Bill and Ellen Sellner was unanimously voted upon by our readers as the best photo submitted for the contest. The picture shows the Sellners taking a family photo with their grandchildren, though things seem to have gone awry before the shutter clicks.

Family photos are, of course, a major tradition for many families. They’re a good way to show how people have changed over the years and to bring relatives together. Whether it’s a picture with immediate family, grandchildren, aunts and uncles or cousins, they’re undeniably a popular part of any family gathering.

However, as the Sellners have shown, they don’t always go to plan. A baby starts crying at the last moment, a kid starts to fidget as they get bored from standing or maybe there’s an unfortunately-timed sneeze.

In a way, however, these imperfect family photos can end up being perfect memories.

So congratulations to Bill and Ellen Sellner for being the winners of the contest. We’re happy you shared your family memories with us and your fellow readers.

We’d also like to give a shoutout to Patrick Collins, a former Marshall-Shadeland resident, who was the other person to submit a photo for the contest. Head on over to our Facebook page to see the picture he submitted.

Now then, it’s time to announce the theme of our next contest, which will accept entries until June 21. On social media, there are few things more enjoyed than pet pictures. Whether they be cats, dogs, bunnies, goats or birds, pet pictures are perhaps one of the few things everyone can agree are enjoyable.

As such, we’re tapping into that theme for our next contest, as we’ll be looking for the cutest Northside pet. Send us your furry friends. Or, in the case of lizards, parrots and other hairless animals, not so furry friends.

Same submission rules as the last contest still apply. As a refresher, entries can be sent to editor@thenorthsidechronicle. com, or messaged to us over Facebook.

The contest is limited to Northside or former Northside residents only. Remember to include which neighborhood you live in or used to live in.

A caption should also be sent in with the photo explaining who is in the picture and what is happening in it.

Photos can be edited for aspects such as coloration, brightness or other such visual details, but should not be edited in such a way to, for example, add in another person or thing which was not in the original picture.

Participants are limited to only one photograph per contest, but interested photographers can submit pictures to future contests, even if they’ve won a past one.

After June 21, we’ll put all submitted photos up on our Facebook page and our readers will get to vote on which one they think is the best.Voting will end at noon on June 28.

The winning photo will be printed in the July edition of The Chronicle, as well as the announcement for the next contest.

We are hoping to run more of these contests throughout the year, as the first one has been a lot of fun. However, we need to see continued interest by our readers to keep them going. So please, if you love photography or think you have a particularly cute pet, send in a picture. It’s a nice, free way to support your local newspaper, and can make for a great refrigerator clipping if you win.