Gia Pasquale, 2, looks down to her feet at the Hampshire Forest Preserve on Allen Road.

Rebecca Strand of Batavia

This photo shows golden blades of grass glowing from the distant sunset.

Brendan McGee of Batavia

The burros in Custer State Park South Dakota know who has apple slices for them. Getting the burros out of the car is the fun part.

Milton Hoskins of Hampshire

Sunrise over Alleghany Park in Grayslake last month.

Cassandra Gordon of Wauconda

A female polar bear slowly slides her body onto the ice on a relatively warm day in Churchill, Manitoba last November.

Debra Ferguson of Kildeer

A deer peeks out from behind the brush at Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve in Grayslake.

Kelley Dodge of Lindenhurst

A bird with an "angel" is seen hidden among the flowers in late summer at Busse Woods.

Deb Marak of Arlington Height

Cheerleader Emily LeTourneau fires up the crowd at the Ohio Wesleyan University Homecoming football game on October 9, 2010.

Pete LeTourneau of Arlington Heights

Using a Telephoto lens from a distance of three feet reveals startling detail in this dragonfly at Cantigny in Wheaton.

Angela Cichosz of Carol Stream

This photo was taken on Longs Peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park on a recent climbing trip.

Bill O'Grady of Wheaton

This was taken at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, IA.

Joe Gilles of Lombard