
Congratulations to Our 2023 Photo Contest Winners!

2023 First Place Winner – “Hungry Mouths,” (Pileated Woodpecker), Palos South Woods, Palos Park by Tim Minnick

2023 Second Place Winner – “Let the Light In,” (Ruby-throated Hummingbird), Chicago Botanic Garden by Carlos Molano

2023 Third Place Winner – “Common Water Snake Eating Goldfish,” Little Red Schoolhouse, Willow Springs by Mark Hanna

2023 Best Fauna – “Teaching the Owlets How to Fish,” (Barred Owls), Linne Woods, Morton Grove by Carlos Molano

2023 Best Landscape – “Magnificent Fall,” Yellow Trail on Sag Valley Trail, Palos Park by John Slivka

2023 Honorable Mention, Youth – “Hunger,” (Carolina Mantis), Paul Douglas Preserve, Hoffman Estates by Elm Stoelinga

2023 Honorable Mention – “Touchdown Great Egret,” Deer Grove Forest Preserve, Palatine by Monika Lupa Bobek

2023 Honorable Mention – “Prize of the Preserves,” Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village by Michelle Puszka

2023 Honorable Mention – “Sunning Myself,” (Common Garter Snake), LaBagh Woods, Chicago, by Dennis Marton

2023 Honorable Mention – “Feed Me!,” (Barn Swallow Fledglings), Deer Grove East, Palatine, by Lisa Musgrave

2023 Honorable Mention – “Colorful Fungus,” (Laetiporus sulphureus), Glenview Woods, Glenview, by Paula Matzek

Enter Friends’ 2025 Photo Contest
Please submit your photos now
Showcase your work while helping to share the magic, beauty, and wonder of our local forest preserves. Professionals and amateurs alike are encouraged to submit photos that feature plants and animals, landscapes, and people enjoying the many activities available in the preserves. We choose photos that represent a range of seasons, sites, and subjects. And we’re especially interested in pictures of people in the preserves.
Rules:
- Photos must be taken in a forest preserve in Cook County, Illinois. Please visit fpdcc.com to verify the location is part of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
- Invasive and non-native species must not be prominent in the photo. This also applies to photos taken at Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo.
- Each photographer may enter a maximum of five photographs.
- Each photo file name should include the following (yes, your documents will have long names, but all this information is necessary):
- a title (if desired)
- descriptors such as the species photographed (if known)
- location where the photo was taken (forest preserve and town)
- name of photographer
- ex. “‘Motherhood’ mergansers at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village by Kim Munroe”.
- If you are submitting photos for the youth category (18 years or younger), or on behalf of a youth, please specify this in your email and include the birthday of the photographer.
- Winning photographers consent to allowing Friends to use their photos on our website, across social media, in publications, and other materials. Friends will not share photos with other entities unless permission is granted in advance by the photographer.
- Submit photos as a high resolution (this is generally considered 300 DPI/PPI (dots per inch/pixels per inch) or higher) JPG/JPEG file.
- Submit entries via email to: [email protected].
- Use the subject line “2025 Photo Contest.”
- Photo Contest submissions are due by December 31, 2025.
Prizes:
- First Place receives $350.
- Second Place, Third Place, and Best of categories (ex. Fauna, Flora, Landscape, People, Youth Photographer, etc.) receive $100 each.
- Honorable mention receives $25 each.

Enjoy more winning photos!
2022 Photo Contest Winners

2022 First Place Winner – “Planting Team on a Foggy Fall morning,” Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village by Gary Aleksiak

2022 Third Place Winner – “Lunch time” (honey bee), Salt Creek Woods Nature Preserve, Westchester by William Santus

2022 Best Flora – “Hepatica cluster,” (Hepatica acutiloba), Sand Ridge Nature Center, Lansing by Michael Kobe

2022 Best Bird – “When Owl wants to give you a hug” (great horned owl), Potawatomi Woods in Northbrook by Monika Bobek Lupa

2022 Honorable Mention, Youth – “Lost in a Whimsical Land,” (white-crowned sparrow), Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe by Jordan Kreiner

2022 Honorable Mention, Youth – “Mushroom from the Hollow,” Hidden Pond Forest Preserve, Hickory Hills by Elm Stoelinga

2022 Honorable Mention – “Hitching a Ride” (American toad on top of American bullfrog), Thatcher Glen pond, River Forest by Roberta Appleby

2022 Honorable Mention – “First light,” Salt Creek Woods Nature Preserve, Westchester by William Santus
2021 Photo Contest Winners

2021 First Place Winner, “White pelicans” at Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center in Willow Springs by Mark Hanna

2021 Second Place Winner – “Finding peace and inspiration” (Great blue heron), Schiller Woods East Pond, Chicago by Carlos Molano

2021 Best Landscape – “Beam” (Gorgeous golden morning rays breaking through the fog), Busse Lake, Schaumburg by Michelle Puszka

2021 Best People in the Preserves – “Sunrise voyage,” Busse Lake Boating Center, Elk Grove Village by Gary Henle

2021 Best Youth Photographer – “Window to a heron’s soul” (Great blue heron), Chicago Botanic Garden, Glenview, Jordan Kreiner

2021 Honorable Mention (youth) – “Butterfly and bug” (Monarch butterfly and soldier beetle), Whistler Woods, Riverdale by Elm Stoelinga

2021 Honorable mention – “Goldfinch on Purple Coneflower” (American Goldfinch), Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe by Carlos Molano

2021 Honorable mention – “Tiger Swallowtail on Blazing Star,” Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester by Fidencio Marbella
2020 Photo Contest Winners

2020 First Place Winner – “Blue glow at sunset” (Great blue heron), LaBagh Woods, Chicago by Corrina DeLorenzo

2020 Third Place Winner – “Unexpected visitor” (Pileated woodpecker), Busse Woods, Rolling Meadows by Carlos Molano

2020 Best Youth Photographer – “Running in the sunlight,” Linne Woods, Morton Grove by Arwa Ghomrawi

2020 Honorable mention (youth) – “Indigo bunting,” McCormick Woods, North Riverside by Adeline Callaghan

2020 Honorable mention – “Golden hour” (Sawtooth sunflowers), Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester by Fidencio Marbella

2020 Honorable mention – “Dashing through the fog,” Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village by Michelle Puszka

2020 Honorable mention – “Autumn blooms” (Buckeye butterfly on asters), Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester by Fidencio Marbella
2019 Photo Contest Winners

2019 First Place Winner – “Wood duck” at Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve in Willow Springs by John Blough

2019 Third Place Winner – “Painted lady on ironweed” at McCormick Woods in North Riverside by Fidencio Marbella

2019 Best Fauna – “Eyes and claw” (Snapping turtle) at Rolling Knolls Forest Preserve Elgin by Gary Henle

2019 Best People in the Preserves – “Enter an Adventure,” at River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook by Michelle Puszka
2018 Photo Contest Winners

2018 First Place Winner – “Solitary sandpiper in reflection” by Gary Henle at Carl R. Hansen Woods in Hoffman Estates

2018 Second Place Winner – “Mononychus Vulpeculus” (Iris Weevil) by Edward Boe at Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington

2018 Third Place Winner – “Motherhood” (hooded mergansers) by Kim Munroe at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village

2018 Best Flora – “Prairie’s purple majesty” (fringed gentian) by Barbara J. Bell at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook

2018 Best Fauna – “Bad hair day” (belted kingfisher) by Kim Munroe at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village
2017 Photo Contest Winners
2016 Photo Contest Winners
2015 Photo Contest Winners

2015 Photo Contest Winner Third Place- Leopard Frog underwater, Bluff Spring Fen near Elgin, Tina Onderdonk

2015 Photo Contest Winner Best Flora- Cylindrical Blazing Star and Flowering Spurge, Shoe Factory Road Prairie near Hoffman Estates, Bob Callebert

2015 Photo Contest Winner “People in the Preserves”- An early spring day, Galloping Hill Prairie in the Spring Creek forest preserve near Barrington, Jim Root

2015 Photo Contest Runner-up- Ducks feeding at Busse Dam, Busse Woods near Elk Grove Village, Wes Iversen
2014 Photo Contest Winners

Second Place: White-tailed deer among Indian grass, Orland Grassland near Orland Park, Jeanne Muellner

2014 Photo Contest Winner Third Place: Six spotted tiger beetle, Bluff Spring Fen near Elgin, Doug Taron

2014 Photo Contest Winner “People in the Preserves”: Fisherman, Busse Lake near Elk Grove Village, Wesley Iversen

2014 Photo Contest Runner Up: Hikers and purple prairie clover, Bluff Spring Fen near Elgin, Alice Brandon
2013 Photo Contest Winners
2012 Photo Contest Winners

2012 Photo Contest Winner First place: Bird’s nest fungus, St. Mihiel Woods near Oak Forest, John Denk

2012 Photo Contest Winner Second place: Long-eared owls, Bartel Grasslands near Matteson, Joe Occhiuzzo

2012 Photo Contest Winner Third place: Friends tour, Theodore Stone Forest Preserve near Hodgkins, Greg Lochow

2012 Photo Contest Winner Best fauna: Jumping spider, Crabtree Nature Preserve near Barrington, Edward Boe

2012 Photo Contest Runner up: Rookery snowstorm, Busse Woods near Elk Grove Village, Robert Callebert

2012 Photo Contest Runner up “Calumet Is My Backyard” student monitoring at Beaubien Woods near Chicago by Laura Milkert
2011 Photo Contest Winners

Best Fauna: Amberwing Dragonfly on Prairie Plantain, Somme Prairie Grove, near Northbrook, Lisa Culp

2011 Photo Contest Runner-up: Iron Weed and Grayheaded Coneflower, Theodore Stone, near Hodgkins, Robert Callebert

2011 Photo Contest Runner-up: White Wild Indigo and Spiderwort, Powderhorn Prairie Nature Preserve, near Chicago, Robert Callebert

2011 Photo Contest Runner-up: Six Spotted Fishing Spider, Dolton Avenue Prairie, near Thornton, Laura Milkert

2011 Photo Contest Runner-up: Six Spotted Fishing Spider, Dolton Avenue Prairie, near Thornton, Laura Milkert

2011 Photo Contest Runner-up: Purple Coneflower, Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, near Lemont, Samuel Vergara
2010 Photo Contest Winners
2009 Photo Contest Winners

2009 Photo Contest Winner First Place – Spring Creek Nature Preserve by Bob Callebert of Des Plaines

2009 Photo Contest Winner Best Flora – Shooting Stars at Deer Grove by Ron Vargason of Arlington Heights