For many years, one of the most popular publications produced by the staff at the Suffolk News-Herald has been the annual calendar. Even as people have moved more and more of their lives to digital formats, carrying their calendars around in their pockets on smartphones and other devices, the newspaper’s annual printed calendar has continued to be so popular that we’ve made sure to order extra copies and keep them around, even into the spring, as folks regularly stop by asking for it.

We’d like to believe the popularity is at least in part because of the great photography we’ve highlighted on those calendars in past years. And there’s probably something to be said for that assumption.

But this year, we think we’ve got an even better idea, a plan that could result in the newspaper’s most beautiful calendar yet: This year, we’re asking our readers to submit photos and vote for their favorites. At least six of the photos in this year’s calendar, including the cover, will have been submitted and then chosen by our readers. A seventh photo will also be from a reader who submitted it as part of a competition we held for Peanut Fest.

One thing we’ve learned in recent years is that most of the best photographers in Suffolk do not work for the Suffolk News-Herald. In fact, many of them aren’t professional photographers at all. They’re just people with cameras who love to get out and find gorgeous shots around their wonderful city. The Snapshots of Suffolk contest, sponsored by the Suffolk News-Herald and Mike Duman Auto Sales, will give them a chance to share their talents and their photos.

To participate, visit www.tinyurl.com/SNHcalendar. If you’d like to enter a photo, make sure it’s in the wide (landscape, or horizontal) orientation, register on the site, upload your photo and then spread the word to your friends to visit the site and vote. Both submitting photos and voting are free, so there’s nothing to hold back your participation. The six most popular photos will be published in the calendar, and the one with the most votes will be published on its cover.

We’re excited to let folks in Suffolk be a part of Suffolk’s most popular calendar this year, and we can’t wait to see the results.