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Images: Photo Contest Finalists

I grabbed this shot out at Rutland Forest Preserve a few weeks back. Around the house, the trees had been budding so I went out looking to catch that "spring is finally here" feeling. That's when I found this bud, and oh was it perfect. Spring finally is here! David Ahrens of Elgin
This photo was taken between the Fabyan Villa Museum and Fabyan Windmill near the foot bridge. The morning this photo was taken, it was at sunrise and there was fog coming off the river. Lauren Kohout of Geneva
Last August, before hundreds of participants jumped in Lake Michigan for the first leg of the Chicago Triathlon, I took this photo of the serene lake dotted with sailboats at 6 a.m. Soon after, hundreds of swimmers disrupted the quiet beauty of the Lake Michigan harbor. Carolyn Hill of Geneva
This is a 2:1 macro of a dandelion that has been cropped to isolate the delicate detail of a single structure atop the flower's head. I added a vignette and adjusted the lighting in post processing to provide more visual appeal. Angela Cichosz of Carol Stream
I took this picture of our rescued pit bull mix named Karma. My original intention was to take macro photos of the tulips and daffodils in my gardens. Karma had other plans including interrupting me and getting into the pictures. Being her first spring in a loving home, her curiosity is amazing to watch. Ray Vegter of Carol Stream
Cole Share tries to hit the ball as it is tossed across the plate on his first day of tee ball. Fred Share of Arlington Heights
A figure stands in the window of an abandoned structure in Sego, Utah earlier this month, an abandoned mining town an hour north of Moab. Petroglyphs can be found on the canyons walls surrounding the old town. Bryan McVey of Arlington Heights
A sea turtle eats seaweed on the rocks near shore at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park on October 31, 2013 on the big island of Hawaii. Philip Cinefro of Buffalo Grove
Mothers feed their young at the Hummingbird Aviary at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Ariz. Nancy Giardina of Libertyville
Beautiful fall colors can be seen from an airplane as it flies over Bar Harbor, Maine in September of 2009. Barbara Grover of Wildwood
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