2 / OutdoorIllinois February 2007 February 2007 OutdoorIllinois / 3
Presenting the year in photographs: Selected entries
from the 2006 OutdoorIllinois photo contest reveal
the amazing nature of life outdoors.
utdoorIllinois and the Depart-ment
of Natural Resources
(DNR) proudly present the third
annual all-photographic issue,
a collection of images created
by winners of our 2006 photo contest.
Arranged by season, these images
where in Illinois. Clearly, everyone
who participated in the 2006 contest
realized the special ability of a photo-graph
to quietly convey messages of
enduring natural significance. Snow-draped
pines. Weathered boardwalks.
Skyscapes. The range of focus includ-ed
virtually everything that matters
outdoors in Illinois.
But we couldn’t stop there. There
were some photos that OutdoorIllinois
staff found so tempting that they made
their way onto the pages of the maga-zine.
Although not selected as a win-ning
entry, we enjoyed the unique and
sometimes offbeat nature of some of
the non-winning entries and decided to
share them with you anyway.
We hope you enjoy this 17-page
visual tour of the best of our Illinois out-doors.
Next month we will return with
our familiar and award-winning format
Meet the winner
This year’s Best of Show winner in
the annual OutdoorIllinois photo
contest said one of his biggest
rewards with photography is the ability
to share the intricate beauty of nature
with viewers.
“I like to let other people see what
I see,” explained Scott Albert, a 21-
year-old photography major at South-ern
Illinois University at Carbondale.
Albert treks to remote locations in
Illinois where he’s been lucky enough
to witness rare moments, including the
award-winning scene he captured of a
glistening spotted salamander in Will
County. The Carol Stream native said
nothing compares to overwhelming
compositions, when lighting and land-scape
converge in natural perfection.
His tips for beginners?
“Take more than one shot,” Albert
suggested. “When you see something
you want to photograph, experiment
with different lighting, different angles
and compositions. You might take 20
shots before you get one you like.”
Prairie State Seasons
O showcase the amazing variety of flora
and fauna in the Prairie State, and
how our readers enjoy spending their
time outdoors.
The selection process wasn’t easy.
Our judges, Chris Young, outdoors
editor and photographer for the State
Journal-Register, and John Muchow,
freelance photographer and photogra-phy
instructor at Robert Morris Col-lege
in Springfield, sorted through
nearly 700 submissions from every-
OutdoorIllinois staff keep one step
ahead of the judges reviewing images
submitted in each of five categories.
Best of Show winner Scott Albert’s
love of photography is leading him
into a career in the field.
Judges John Muchow (left) and
Chris Young sorted through
nearly 700 photographic entries
capturing the seasons of Illinois.
of feature stories, how-to tips and infor-mative
updates about DNR projects,
programs and all of the content readers
expect from OutdoorIllinois—including
great photographs.
Drop us a line and let us know
what you think.
