Romeoville Resident Earns Honorable Mention In Preserve Photo Contest

ROMEOVILLE, IL — A Romeoville resident's photo of an egret earned an honorable mention in the August portion of the Forest Preserve District's Preserve the Moment Photo Contest.

According to the preserve, Greg Winkelmann of Romeoville took a photo of an egret at Rock Run Preserve to earn the recognition.

Byron Morgan of Crete snapped the winning shot of a bee and a butterfly at Hickory Creek Preserve to take home first place for the month of August, according to the preserve. His photo received the most votes through public voting on Facebook after being chosen as one of five finalist photos by Forest Preserve judges.

Morgan is the fourth monthly winner since the contest began in May.

Besides Winkelmann, two others received honorable mentions in August:

• Bertrand Leclercq of Naperville for an upside-down praying mantis at Riverview Farmstead Preserve.
• Jenny Cain Vocu of Joliet for a land snail slithering across the trail at Rock Run Preserve and also for a garter snake curled up on the forest floor at Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve.

Four more monthly winners will be chosen through December, the preserve said. Monthly winners receive $75 MasterCard gift cards.

Once the contest concludes on Dec. 31, the eight monthly winners will vie for overall honors via Facebook voting. The top photos will receive gift cards of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. Three contest participants chosen at random will receive $75 gift cards.

All prizes are funded by The Nature Foundation of Will County. Participants must be 18 years of age or older and amateur photographers, and the photos must have been taken in the Forest Preserve District’s preserves after the contest began on May 1.

To view all photo contest entries, visit the District’s Flickr account.