Fall colors steal the show in October photo contest

Matthew Dunn spent time in early fall looking for spots in the preserves where the fall landscape would come alive as the leaves changed, and his efforts certainly paid off. 

Dunn's photo of a picturesque creek winding through a forest ablaze with fall color at Hammel Woods was selected as the winner of the October installment of the Preserve the Moment photo contest. 

"I thought the creek running through Hammel Woods would be a great location, so I went there the past few weekends waiting for the fall colors to peak," said Dunn, of Bolingbrook. "Finally, I captured the photo on October 30 with lots of yellow and orange leaves." 

Judges in the photo contest were impressed with how well Dunn's photo captured the beauty of the season.

"The beauty of fall and the visual changing of the seasons is perfectly captured in a photo like this," one voter said. "The added visual of the creek running through the fall colored leaves adds to the composition of this beautiful photograph." 

Order the District's 2027 calendar featuring photo contest entries

Dunn said he bought his first camera about nine years ago and initially used it mostly while on vacation. About two years ago, he decided to start taking his camera out into the forest preserves to explore.

"I bought a telephoto lens at this point and started getting into wildlife photography as well," he said.

These days he said he tries to get out to take photos on the weekends and as work and other commitments allow. Wooded preserves like Hammel Woods and O'Hara Woods Preserve are among his favorite photography spots, but he also spends a lot of time at Hidden Oaks Preserve and Whalon Lake because they are close to home.

Dunn said he was pleased with his win. 

"There have been some really great photos selected, so it is an honor to have a photo of mine selected," he said.

Honorable mentions

Voters also selected three honorable mentions from the October photo submissions:

Laurie Lasseter for a photo of a praying mantis enjoying a meal at Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve.

Mark Hanna for a photo of a great horned owl at Veterans Woods.

Thomas Hahn for a photo of a pair of pelicans at McKinley Woods.

The contest continues 

Monthly winners from February through December will advance to the final round of the photo contest, where they will compete for likes on Facebook in January 2027 to determine first, second and third place overall.

Each monthly photo contest receives a $75 gift card. The overall winners of the final round will receive Mastercard gift cards worth $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. At the end of the contest, three participants also will be randomly selected to each receive a $75 Mastercard gift card.

The contest is made possible through the support of The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Participants are encouraged to read the rules before entering.

All photos must be taken in a Will County forest preserve. If you are not sure which locations are forest preserves, check out the Interactive Map, which shows all Forest Preserve District locations.