We’re looking for your very best photos of Forest Preserves of Cook County landscapes, close-ups of plants, insects, birds and other wildlife, images that highlight the seasons and shots of people enjoying the outdoors or participating in our recreational offerings.

Winning photos are featured in our annual wall calendar and on our social media accounts. Winning photographers will receive 10 copies of the calendar as well as a Forest Preserves prize package.

Learn more and enter the contest.

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Annual Forest Preserves Photo Contest Official Rules

Submission Requirements

Photos must be submitted via email to fpdcc.info@cookcountyil.gov between August 1 and August 15, 2023, and meet all the following requirements:

• Each photographer may submit up to five photos. Please note that drone photos will not be accepted.
• All photographs must be taken in the Forest Preserves of Cook County (this includes Brookfield Zoo or Chicago Botanic Garden).
• Photographs must be in a digital format such as JPEG or TIF at a minimum resolution of 3600 x 2700 pixels at 300 dpi and a maximum file size of 24MB at time of submission.
• Each photo must include a caption (in the body of the email or as the name of the image file) with the location and approximate date (e.g. Eggers Grove, March 2019; Poplar Creek Trail, Fall 2021).
• Photos must be free of watermarks and graphics. (All photographers will be credited appropriately.)
• Photos included in the calendar will be horizontal (vertical photos should be cropped before submitting).

Photos that do not meet all requirements will not be reviewed by the judging panel.

Though not required, best efforts should be made to identify plants or wildlife in your photos—please include this information in your caption. (e.g. Turkey Vulture flying over Beaubien Woods, July 2019).

Please keep a safe distance and do not disturb wildlife when taking photos. Any photos that show evidence of feeding, audio playback or approaching wildlife too closely will not be accepted. Check out these guidelines for ethical birding for more information on protecting birds and wildlife while out in the Forest Preserves.

If you have any questions, please contact: fpdcc.info@cookcountyil.gov.

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General Rules

• By submitting your photos, you are confirming that the photos are your own work and you own the rights to distribute the images. 
• Photos should feature Forest Preserves of Cook County landscapes, close-ups of plants, insects, birds and other wildlife, pictures that highlight the seasons, and shots of people enjoying the outdoors or participating in our recreational offerings. 
• Photos that were selected as winners or runners-up in past years’ contests are not eligible. 
• Photographers must obtain and supply, upon request, the name of and written permission from any person included in the photo entries, authorizing their image to be used in Forest Preserves of Cook County digital and/or print materials. (Entries of people for whom you are not able to supply the appropriate written releases will be disqualified.) 
• Photos including nudity, profanity, commercial or political interests, graffiti, or anything wildly off-topic are strictly prohibited. The Forest Preserves of Cook County reserves the right to disqualify any photos that are deemed inappropriate. 

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Deadlines

• August 1-15, 2023 – Submission period via email
• September 2023 – Winners and runners-up announced via email; photo album posted on the Forest Preserves official Facebook account.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.

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Winning Photos & Judging Process

Winning photos will be featured in the annual wall calendar and on Forest Preserves of Cook County social media accounts. Each winning photographer will receive 10 copies of the calendar as well as a Forest Preserves prize package.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County uses blind judging to select the contest winners. This means judges do not know the names of the photographers when deciding winning images. The Forest Preserves of Cook County shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. All decisions made by the judging panel are final. 

The Forest Preserves of Cook County judging panel will select the contest winners and runners-up. Fifteen winners will be chosen by the panel: 

• 1 calendar cover photo
• 12 featured month photos
• 1 Brookfield Zoo photo
• 1 Chicago Botanic Garden photo

The panel will also select up to 24 runner-up photos that may be featured in the Forest Way newsletter, on Forest Preserves social media accounts, and on the Forest Preserves website.

Forest Preserves of Cook County staff may participate in the staff photo contest. One staff photo will be featured in the calendar. Members of the Forest Preserves judging panel are not eligible to submit entries to the staff contest. 

Please note: Winning photos may be cropped to fit the format of the calendar.

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Photo Rights

Your photos help the Forest Preserves of Cook County spread the message of how important it is to protect our region’s amazing diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography. 

Photographers retain all rights to photo entries. However, by submitting photos for contest entry, the Forest Preserves of Cook County is automatically granted a royalty-free, nonexclusive, world-wide, irrevocable right, in perpetuity, to: 

• Publish, distribute, and otherwise use the submitted photos in any way, in whole or in part, in any format or media, now existing or later developed, for any lawful purpose, including without limitation, using the submitted photo in its annual wall calendar, on its website, in connection with the photo contest, in connection with general marketing and promotional activities, and on its social media pages.
• As conditions of this permission, the Forest Preserves of Cook County shall credit all photos with the name of the photographer.

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If you have any questions, please contact: fpdcc.info@cookcountyil.gov.