Forest Preserve's Photo Contest Fun Has Only Just Begun

What do a fierce red-tailed hawk and an adorable red milkweed bug have in common other than their coloring?

Both are finalists in the Forest Preserve District of Will County's 2019 Preserve the Moment photo contest. The hawk and bug are among four monthly winners chosen since the contest began on April 1. The other two finalist photos feature a stunning stand of trees and a “hangry” heron with a water snake in its mouth.

But the fun has only just begun. There is still time to enter your forest preserve pictures in the photo contest. Monthly finalists will continue to be chosen from August through December and overall contest winners will be picked by online voters in January via the District’s Facebook account.

You can still enter August’s contest through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31. But read the rules first to make sure your pictures are eligible.

ENTER YOUR PHOTOS NOW

The top three finishers in the overall contest will win these gift card amounts: First place, $500; second place, $250; third place, $150. And monthly winners will receive $75 gift cards. At the conclusion of the contest, three random drawings also will be held for all contest participants. The three drawing winners will receive $75 gift cards. And every entrant will receive a participation gift.

The top winner in the 2018 contest was a photo of adorable squirrels hugging at McKinley Woods. Monthly winners ranged from a moist mink in a creek to funky fungi. A carnivorous red-footed cannibalfly was in the mix as well.

So the possibilities are endless. All you have to do is visit a preserve and let your imagination and your camera lens run wild. Or sit patiently, and maybe you, too, will catch an interesting insect, a bodacious bird or a scintillating sunset.

Photos must be taken in a Will County preserve during the contest time period (April 1 through Dec. 31, 2019) by amateur photographers age 18 and older.