Vote Now To Pick 2020 'Preserve The Moment' Photo Contest Winners

Press release from the Forest Preserve District of Will County:

The stage is set for the 2020 Preserve the Moment photo contest winners to be chosen via online voting.

This 2020 contest was bigger and better than ever with a record number of submissions and a wide variety of subject matter photographed at preserves located throughout Will County. A total of 1,092 photos were uploaded to the website by 467 individual amateur photographers.

The focus of the photos included tiny insects, vast landscapes, towering trees, birds of all shapes and sizes and mammals roaming their turf. To see all of the entries, visit the Forest Preserve’s Flickr page.

Eight monthly winners were selected by a panel of judges from May through December and those finalists will now vie for overall contest honors. But this time, members of the public will choose the winners by voting for their favorites via the Forest Preserve District’s Facebook page.

VOTE NOW

Online voting to determine the top three photos from the monthly winners will be open from 2 p.m. Wednesday, January 6, to 1:59 p.m. Monday, January 11, on the District’s Facebook page. The top three photos will advance to a final round and voters will have from 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 12, to 10:59 a.m. Monday, January 18, to pick the winning photo.

Overall winners will receive MasterCard gift cards worth $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. Monthly photo contest winners received $75 gift cards.

Here are the monthly finalists:

• May – A shot of a friendly-looking frog sitting on a log at Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve by Byron Morgan of Crete.
• June – A widow skimmer dragonfly perched on a branch near a pond at Hickory Creek Preserve by Jon Flodstrom of Frankfort.
• July – A tranquil summertime scene at Lake Chaminwood Preserve that shows the preserve's 136-foot-long timber bridge reflected in the water below by Paul Wenger of New Lenox.
• August – A close-up of a praying mantis at Riverview Farmstead Preserve by Naperville resident Bertrand Leclercq.
• September – A heron snacking on crawfish at Whalon Lake by Matthew Serafini of Lockport.
• October – A coyote cruising through the brush at McKinley Woods by Eileen Capodice of Minooka.
• November – A cuddly-looking baby opossum nestled in the woods at Lower Rock Run – I&M Canal Access by Teresa Wisnieski of Joliet.
• December – A colorful sunrise captured at the crack of dawn at Lake Renwick Preserve by Kevin Kuchler of Channahon.

The photo contest is sponsored by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

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This press release was produced by the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The views expressed are the author's own.