Gorgeous golden aspens star in Yahoo News, Flickr fall color photo contest

In the foreground of Jane Wei's "Golden Autumn" photo, the fiery yellow tufts of leaves perch atop stark-white aspen trunks. Far in the background, the cold-blue snow-crusted peaks of Colorado's Kebler Pass offer a contrast to fall's changing colors on the mountains' slopes.

The amazing melange of vivid autumn hues and breathtaking scenery helped Wei's photo capture the top spot in the first joint Yahoo News and Flickr photography contest.

Said one of the contest's judges: "Jane's image is technically superb! The contrast of the brilliant fall colors against the deep blues of the impending winter presents this magnificent surreal landscape. Her composition pulls the viewer deep into the image and invites one to ponder what lies beyond the snow-capped mountains. Well done!"

Wei shared more about her photo: "This was my first time seeing fall color in Colorado. Driving 14-plus hours from San Diego to Colorado was not as hard as I thought. After I slept in the car for a couple of hours the first night, I was overwhelmed for the next seven days by the beauty of Colorado, whether it is the snow on the mountains, the aspens or running creeks. This particular shot captured the prime time of Colorado's colorful trees with the snowy mountains."

We received 1,138 photos from 586 entrants and saw some dazzling displays of fall foliage from across the globe. See all the entries in our Flickr group.

Wei won a $500 Visa gift card. The four runners-up each received a $100 Amazon.com gift card. They will all receive Flickr T-shirts. If you missed this contest, don't worry. We'll announce a second contest soon in our Yahoo News: Your Photos group on Flickr.

Below are our four runners-up: Bob Gundersen's "Beneath the Japanese Feather Maple," Barry Nardone's "Covered Up," William O'Shea's "River one," Sairam Saravanan's "Fall House," and Matt Zygmunt's "Colorado's Front Range."

Previous:

Autumn’s fiery colors herald the changing of the seasons and allow photographers to capture nature’s foliage at its stunning and jaw-dropping finest.

To showcase that, Yahoo News and Flickr are teaming up to create a contest that lets photographers enter their best fall-color snapshots. Possibilities include photography of landscapes, streetscapes, lone trees, massive piles of leaves or anything you think best represents fall's gorgeous yellows, reds and oranges. Whether your amazing photos were taken last year or last week, from the East Coast to the West, we'd love to see your work capturing the full spectrum of autumn colors.

Enter the contest here.

This is great! Are there prizes?

Yes, one first-place winner will receive a $500 Visa gift card. Four runners-up will each receive a $100 Amazon gift card. All five will win a Flickr T-shirt, with an approximate retail value of $20. The winners and other photos submitted through the contest will be featured in Yahoo News slideshows and Flickr galleries, so you can brag to all your friends.

But there are rules, right?

Yes, some basic rules are below. Please see the contest rules for full details.

Photos must be taken by the entrant. You may submit up to three photos in this contest. The contest is open for entries from Oct. 30 at 12 a.m. ET to Nov. 13 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years old.

Photos will be judged by Yahoo photo editors on the basis of composition, lighting, image quality, creativity and the degree to which the subject matter of the photo captures our contest’s theme. Each criterion will be equally weighted. We'll announce the winners no more than three weeks after the contest ends.

Got it. Sounds like a lawyer wrote them! So how do I enter?

Join the Yahoo News Flickr Fall 2013 Photo Contest group. You must have a free Flickr account to submit photos.

[Related: Want to submit your breaking-news photography for publication on Yahoo News? Join our official Flickr group]