Winners Announced For 2023 Homewood Izaak Walton Photo Calendar

HOMEWOOD, IL — The voting has ended for the entries for the 2023 Izaak Walton Preserve Photo Calendar. Over 190 submissions, representing the landscape images and animals of the preserve in Homewood throughout the year, were judged be a panel of professional photographers. The winner photographs were submitted by:

• January: “Wintery Glow” by Jim Shover
• February: “Ice” by Laura Devine
• March: “Fox” by Howard Stark
• April: “Bloodroot” by Ingrid van Drongelen
• May: “Fuzzy Goslings” by Kenneth Pangburn
• June: “Warts and All” by Howard Wolinsky
• July: “Ducks” by Amanda Mikrut
• August: “Goodmorning from God” by Kristi Yapp
• September: “Cat” by Laura Barnoski
• October: “Fungi Funhouse” by Tina Ray
• November: “November Sundown” by Suzanne Mitchell
• December: “Frosty Bridge” by Todd Wittenberg
• Front Cover: “Maximilian Sunflower” by Steven Mathews
• Back Cover: “Golden Rays” by Topher Campbell

The panel of five well-known professional photographers from across Illinois were asked to judge the entries.

• Henry Matthiessen III, is a self-described “artist, photographer, life mentor, thrill seeker” working in the Tri-State area. His Stoned Art Studio & Gallery is in Dubuque, Iowa: http://www.stonedartstudio.com... He commented, “Thank you, it was an honor to participate in selecting the 2023 calendar photos. The amount of beautiful and excellently made photos made the job very enjoyable and difficult. It was great to see so many photographer’s taking opportunities, making outdoor landscape photos, bringing the beauty of nature to the world.”

• Rich Chapman is an event, and portrait photographer, utilizing skills learned as a newspaper photojournalist. He runs a studio with his son Richard in Algonquin: www.richchapmancreative.com
• Richard “Camera 2” Chapman is an event and portrait photographer with his father Rich: www.RichChapmanPhotographers.c...

He commented, “I’m always impressed and inspired by the HIWP calendar contest entries. Whether shooting with a cellphone or a professional camera, the entrants never fail to find and document the beauty of nature. There’s something truly amazing that can only happen outdoors, ‘in the wild,’ when all of the majesty of inspiration, subject, lighting, and serendipity combine in a single moment. It’s a gift to capture and share that moment with others, and I thank all of the participants for sharing their moments with us.”

• Mat Zook is a nature photographer from Plainfield, is the founder of the 8,500-member Illinois Photography Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/group...

• Marty Hackl is a Chicago-area nature photographer and a member of the Rockford Symphony: http://martyhackl.net/

After the independent judges, selected their favorites, visitors to the Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve Facebook “Liked” their favorites as well. This was used to break ties in the judges’ voting.

Details on the sale of the calendars will be announced soon.

The Calendar Committee thanks all entrants and the judges, adding that now is the time to start taking photos for the 2024 calendar.

If you have a question, contact the Homewood Izaak Walton Photo Committee at hiwpcalendarcontest@gmail.com.