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This photo is of pilings and the beach area at the South Haven Harbor Entrance in Michigan, shortly after sunset with clouds. I like the way the overhead light highlights the pilings, rope, and sand. Bill Seger of Lombard

Jax's face is painted as he visits the Hamill Center at Brookfield Zoo. One of his favorite things to do is face painting and on this occasion, he painted it all by himself. Deb Marak of Arlington Heights

A prairie dog stops to eat at a prairie dog town in the Badlands of South Dakota last week. Fred Share of Arlington Heights

I was up in Door County last week and took some photos of the beautiful peninsula. After a rainstorm, this Nasturtium was standing tall holding onto raindrops and glistening in the dappled sunlight. As Fall brings a decline in many flowers, the Nasturtium holds its blooms until the first frost. This one was still in its peak and just beginning to be noticed. Tony Lyons of Wheaton

A grasshopper warms itself on some sedum the morning of August 31 at Prairie Crossing in Grayslake. Kelley Dorner of Grayslake

This is the Sawyer Glacier at Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska. Dawn Mazzuca of Round Lake Park

This is a view looking east from Kingsbridge Road in Elk Grove Village of the super blood moon shortly before the lunar eclipse on Sept. 27. The image is a composite 19 separate photos. The 18 images of the moon were taken at two-minute intervals, tracking the moon's progression across the sky over 34 minutes, prior to the lunar eclipse. James Fidler of Elk Grove Village

The flowers on this African Succulent plant are carrion flowers which have a distinct odor of rotten or decayed meat. It's sort of like a corpse flower. This smell attracts flies to help pollinate it. My plant has not bloomed in 6 years! I'm thrilled it did this year. I also liked the way the flower is laying on my patio. It looks as if it's floating on the water. It also has different textures in the picture. Cathy Groth of Wheaton

I have to admit that when I am in the field shooting, I don't always know what I have until I get home and look at the pictures on my computer screen. In this case, I thought I was shooting the butterfly, but when I got home the bee was there as well and in perfect focus. There was no photo shop involved, just luck. Bob Williams of Huntley

This summer, I zoomed my camera in on the Mama horse and her newly arrived baby at their boarding home on the east side of Elgin. Mary Lou Roder of Elgin

I like photographing flowers after a rain. These colorful mums in my wife's garden were photographed this past September after a strong afternoon storm passed though the area. Mike Weimer of St. Charles

Four children sit at the top of a rock in McCullough Gulch near Breckenridge, Colorado last August. Alicia McGowan of Kildeer