Lockport Man Earns Honorable Mention In Preserve Photo Contest

LOCKPORT, IL — A Lockport man's photos have earned an honorable mention in the Forest Preserve District of Will County's August portion of the Preserve the Moment photo contest. According to the preserve, Matt Serafini earned two honorable mentions for his photos of a Caspian tern shaking off water and a gull searching for a meal above the water. Both photos were taken at Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve.

Bertrand Leclercq of Naperville took the top spot in August's photo contest with his photo of a praying mantis, according to the preserve.

“I specifically look for mantises in the golden rods at the end of summer, they are not easy to spot,” he said in an email after being notified of his win. “They will actually rotate their heads to look at you. Their colors vary from dark brown to green. The one in the picture had very pretty green eyes and posed for me!”

The pose, captured at Riverview Farmstead Preserve, impressed the judges who selected the crisp close-up as the top photo for August.

Leclercq said he has been visiting forest preserves since he moved to Naperville from France in 2004.

The other honorable mentions went to Nancy Havener of Naperville, and another shot from Leclercq.

You can view all of August's photo contest entries on the Forest Preserve District's Flickr page.
The preserve said Four more monthly winners will be chosen by a panel of judges before the contest concludes on Dec. 31. In January, all eight monthly winners will vie for top honors via public voting on the District’s Facebook page.

Monthly photo contest winners receive $75 gift cards. Overall winners chosen in January will receive MasterCard gift cards worth $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. The photo contest is sponsored by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Photos must be taken by amateur photographers age 18 or older, and they must be snapped in a Will County forest preserve after the May 1 contest start date.