Daily Herald photo contest finalists
Seeds blow in the wind from a plant at Volo Bog.
Jim Barnas of Lake Zurich
Ann Marie Philyaw, left, and her sister, Loretta, sit on the side steps of their home in Round Lake Beach as they watch a mega bubble form using an extra large novelty hoop made for producing enormous bubbles.
Marshall Philyaw of Round Lake Beach
Mount Moran reflects in the Snake River near the Oxbow Bend at the Grand Teton National Park last September.
Fred Schroeder of Palatine
A sunrise through the trees on September 2004 outside a bedroom window at a riverside cabin in the Deschutes National Forest near the tiny town of La Pine, Oregon.
Bill Murray of Palatine
An alligator lurks in the waters of the Florida Everglades near the edge of an airboat last month.
Diane Seaborg of Roselle
I took this picture of a pelican from the Tillamook Lighthouse on the Oregon coast. This was one of four pelicans flying in formation one day last September.
Milton Hoskins of Hampshire
Exploring northern New Mexico, I found myself eye to eye with this old Dodge truck.
Susan Birr of Carpentersville
This is a panorama photo of West Branch forest preserve in Bartlett. It was taken last winter. I cropped it, added a vignette and snow effect. There wasnÂ’t much to the photo of the preserve when I went there but I tried to capture a certain mood in the final product.
Angela Cichosz of Carol Stream
I glanced out the window at my house to see this sight and it just took my breath away.
Sue Gager of Roselle
One of the squirrels at Elmhurst College tries to sneak into a classroom with a pilfered cookie.
Angela Cichosz of Carol Stream