Winners Of The 'Seasons of Izaak Walton' 2026 Calendar Contest Announced

HOMEWOOD, IL — The 14 winners of the seventh annual “Seasons of Izaak Walton” photo calendar competition for Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve have been named.

The contest attracted 132 entries from 39 area photographers.

"The Izaak Walton Calendar Crew has done it again--seven years in a row," said John Brinkman, President of the Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve. "We are so pleased to offer a beautiful 2026 Calendar featuring beautiful photos from our Preserve. Many thanks to the volunteers that made this happen and to all of the participating photographers and judges.”

The winning entries are:

• January: Queen Anne's Crown by Paul Reis, Mount Prospect, IL
• February: Skates up by Howard Stark, Homewood, IL
• March: I'mWithEveryoneAndYetNot by Ryan Patrick, Homewood, IL
• April: Woodlands Beauty by Tina Ray, Homewood, IL
• May: Feathers of Resolve by Kenneth Pangburn, Homewood, IL
• June: Coming up for air by Howard Wolinsky, Flossmoor, IL
• July: A Midsummer's Dawn by Jack Chan, Flossmoor, IL
• August: New Beginnings by Laura Barnoski, Flossmoor, IL
• September: Orb Woven by Angela Denk, Homewood, IL
• October: The Golden Hour by Dawn Coen, Homewood, IL
• November: Milkweedpod by Penny Shnay, Park Forest, IL
• December: Bit of Blue by Laura Devine, Homewood, IL
• Front Cover: Crabs by Amanda Mikrut, Homewood, IL
• Back Cover: Turtle by Bobby Lynch, Homewood, IL

Judges included professional photographers from around the state:

Richard “Camera One” Chapman is a career newspaper photographer in Algonquin, IL., including 25 years at the Chicago Sun-Times. He is known as a wedding, lifestyle, portrait, and event photographer. He is the principal photographer of Rich Chapman Photographers.

Richard “Camera 2” Chapman is an event and portrait photographer with his father Rich.

"As always, a beautiful collection of photographs from the Homewood Izaak Walton Preserve," he said. "Taking time out of our stressful lives to connect with nature is always good for the soul. Being able to document that relationship and share it with others is a gift. When selecting images, I focus on the tried and true formula for creating pictures that move me: Subject matter, composition, execution, and the 'wow' factor. Luckily for me, as a judge, there are all of these elements in abundance in this year's entries.”

Judge Marty Hackl is a Chicago area nature photographer and a member of the Rockford Symphony.

Mat Zook is a nature photographer from Plainfield. He is the founder of the 9,500-member Facebook page “Illinois Photography."

Jean Lachat is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer. She spent 25 years as a photojournalist in Chicago, covering everything from Mayor Daley to Michael Jordan to President Obama.

Lachat started her portrait business in 2008 and is celebrating 17 years in business this year. Jean Lachat Photography is located in the heart of Downtown Frankfort at 100 Kansas Street. Her space there is where "a lot of the magic happens," as Jean photographs beautiful and authentic portraits of families, kids, and high school seniors.

The 2026 color calendars will be available in early November at the Homewood Izaak Walton website. The cost is $12 if picked up at the preserve, and $15 if mailed. Proceeds will benefit the preserve.

To order the Seasons of Izaak Walton calendar, visit the website.

The Calendar Committee is made up of local amateur photographers who often take photos at HIWP.

They are: Laura Barnoski, Heather Marcum, Kenzo Pan, Tina Ray, James Shover, Penny Shnay, Howard Wolinsky, and Todd Wittenberg (HIWP liasion).

Francis Fullam and Wolinsky, both of Flossmoor, created the photo calendar in 2019.

For more information, please contact: info@homewoodizaakwalton.com.