Winning images of our weekly contest
A deer grazes on the grass in Yosemite Valley during a foggy morning in October 2016.
Mike Stone of Round Lake Beach
Alligators bask in the warmth of the sun at Gatorland in Orlando, Fla. in April of 2015.
Doris Krandel of Palatine
The picture was take on a river cruise on the Seine from Paris to Normandy. The Statue of Liberty was in complete darkness but the boat lit it up just as I was taking the picture.
Larry Naughton of Roselle
I saw what looked like a dead patch in a newly planted blue spruce in my front yard. I checked it out only to see what seemed to be a young owl. I used my iPhone to take a few pictures and a short video. He was not intimidated and just watched me. I thought it was a young Great Horned Owl as I had seen them in the area. Much later a friend heard an Eastern Screech Owl in our yard. When I searched the web to confirm that, I correctly identified the owl in my spruce tree.
Tom Knutson of West Chicago
The sun glows down through a stairwell at the Union Station Hotel in Nashville shining down on the five levels below.
Shawn Killackey of Mundelein
An installation of retired street lamps turns into a walkway sculpture outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Ken Juranek of Des Plaines
A Harris hawk flies over the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The Harris hawk is one of the few hawk species that hunt in packs like wolves.
Fred Share of Arlington Heights
This photo was taken in Dec. at Whalon Lake. I drove to the area with the hopes of catching the sunset. I hit the timing just right. I was very pleased with the composition and the placement of the sun in relation to the tree. The thing that really set this photo off for me is the reflection of the sun in the foreground. The colors are beautiful with the hues of pink and orange spread throughout the bare branches of the tree.
Nancy Havener of Naperville
I took this picture while hiking in Glacier National Park several years ago. Later on this hike my wife and I encountered two black bears on this same trail. We were able to backtrack out of the situation without problems, but never found the moose we were looking for. Just some flowers.
Milton Hoskins of Hampshire
This frost pattern on our window was taken back in February of 2015. The variety of shapes and sizes reminded me of pillow feathers.
Mike Weimer of St. Charles
Taken at fishing pond in Del Webb Huntley just before sunset.
John Weber of HuntIey
Over the holidays I visited Seattle where they had a rare snowfall. As I was walking in the neighborhood there were still flowers blooming and then I saw these red berries with melted snow (ice) on them. I was in awe of the lovely colors and ice on the berries, and thought it would make nice photo.
Emil Schiavo of Itasca
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