Images: Photo Contest Finalists
This photo shows hundreds of stars appearing to rotate due to the Earths rotation on its axis. The center star, known as Polaris, has no movement because it is in line with the Earths axis point. After taking two hours worth of photos, I merged them together to create this star trails effect.
Brendan McGee of Batavia
A female ruby throated hummingbird sits quietly perched for a moment at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Susan Birr of Carpentersville
A lighthouse is silhouetted on Lake Michigan as the sun sets on the Chicago skyline last July.
Tyler Vinezeano of Rolling Meadows
The sun sets on Sentinel Dome in Yosemite National Park in October. Once the sun was completely below the horizon, the sky glowed and a white sliver of the moon became visible.
Bob Esbensen of Palatine
A father and daughter play on the beach near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Stacie Campbell of Hanover Park
Two-year-old Isabella is in awe of the lighting of the Grayslake Christmas tree last November.
Evelyn Rossi of Grayslake
A youg baby named Ben Bailey, born October 3rd in Peoria, is lovingly held in the hands of his grandmother, Joan Sriver.
Curt Sriver of Libertyville
The sun sets on Lempa River in El Salvador last Christmas.
Lucio Diaz of Lake Zurich
These are Sandhill Cranes taken with a Nikon D7000 camera and a 300mm lens. The ISO was 3200 and the shutter speed was 1/800 sec at f5.6.
William Pavelcic of Woodridge
This is a sunset at Nicklaus The Bull Golf Course Sheboygan, WI.
Fred Spitzzeri of Naperville
These are beautiful (and loud) Sandhill Cranes stopping at Jasper Pulaski state park in Indiana on the way to Florida. To get a really good shot, you need a very large lens as these birds are quite shy and gather a good half mile from the observing area.
Mike Davern of Naperville
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