Will County resident earns award in Brookfield Zoo contest

John Sullivan of Bolingbrook placed in the 2023 Brookfield Zoo photo contest.

More than 700 images, including those of butterflies, African lions, penguins, primates, peacocks and snakes, were digitally submitted in this year’s contest, Brookfield Zoo said in a news release announcing the winners.

The contest was divided into three categories: mammals, birds and reptile/invertebrate/amphibian/fish.

Sullivan placed third in the bird category with a photo of a bald eagle carrying a fish in its talon.

A panel of professional photographers judged the photos and selected the grand prize winner, as well as their top seven choices. The public then was asked to vote over a two-week period for their favorites in each category.

Katherine Ramirez of Des Plaines won the grand prize with a photo of a bumblebee on a background of vibrant purple flowers, the zoo said.

She received a Brookfield Zoo Family Plus Membership, a penguin encounter for two people, an original painting by one of the Zoo’s Humboldt penguins and a $100 gift certificate that can be used in any of the zoo’s restaurants or gift shops.

Winners in the mammal category are:

First place: Aneliese Benitez of Elmwood Park with a photo of a mother snow monkey and her infant.

Second place: Steven DeYoung of Thornton with a leopard photo.

Third place: Karen Grillion of Kankakee with her photo of one of the zoo’s orangutans.

Winners in the bird category are:

First place: Serena Ghanayem of Worth with a peacock photo.

Second place: Jeanne Rosone of Wood Dale with a photo of an egret that just caught a meal.

Third place: John Sullivan of Bolingbrook with a photo of a bald eagle carrying a fish in its talon.

Winners in the reptile/invertebrate/amphibian/fish category are:

First place: the late Nicholas McCarney of Sycamore, with a close-up photo of a snake.

Second place: Brooke Wallace of Antioch with a photo of jellyfish.

3rd Place: Mallory Maticic of Channahon with a photo of a walking stick (an insect that resembles a twig).

More than 6,000 votes were cast to determine this year’s winners, which can be seen on the zoo’s website at www.CZS.org/PhotoContestWinners, as well as its digital monitors located around the park through at least early November 2023.