Enter Friends’ 14th Annual Photo Contest – Submit your photos any time in 2022 to qualify.
Attention photographers! Showcase your work while helping to communicate the beauty and value of the forest preserves in Cook County by entering the 14th Annual Photo Contest. Professionals and amateurs alike are encouraged to submit images that feature landscapes, plants, wildlife, recreation, or education. Please send entries from a range of seasons, settings, and subjects. We are especially interested in pictures of people in the preserves.

Best Youth Photographer category:
With so many young nature enthusiasts and photographers, Friends added a “Best Youth Photographer” category in 2020 to encourage their curiosity and creativity. Photography is a great family activity and educational opportunity for people of all ages. If you are submitting photos for this category, or on behalf of someone who is 18 or younger, please specify this in your email and include the birthday of the photographer.

Rules:

1. Photos must be taken in a forest preserve in Cook County, Illinois.
2. Invasive and non-native species must not be prominent in the photo.
3. Each photographer may enter a maximum of five photographs.
4. Each photo name should include the following (yes, your documents will have long names, but all this information is necessary):
   • a title (if desired)
   • descriptors such as the species photographed (if known),
   • location where the photo was taken (forest preserve and town)
   • name of photographer
   • ex. “‘Motherhood’ mergansers at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village by Kim Munroe”
   • Photos that are not submitted in this way may be disqualified.
5. Photographers consent to allowing Friends to use their photos on our website, across social media, in publications, and other materials. Friends will not share photos with other entities unless permission is granted in advance by the photographer.
6. Submit photos as a high resolution JPG/JPEG file.
7. Submit entries via email to: ilana@fotfp.org.
8. Use the subject line “2022 Photo Contest.”
9. Photo Contest submissions are due by December 31, 2022.

Prizes:

First place receives $350

Second Place, Third Place, and Best of categories (ex. Fauna, Flora, Landscape, People, Best Youth Photographer, etc.) receive $100 each.

Honorable mention receives $25 each.