Celebrating World Photography Day with Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year

August 14th, 2012 Permalink

August 19, 2012, is World Photography Day. This is great opportunity to say thank you to photographers. Without photographers licensing their awesome captures as Creative Commons, we wouldn’t be able to share so many awesome works of art. Once upon a time there were not nearly so many quality images licensed under Creative Commons, but that continues to change. We wanted to celebrate World Photography Day by showcasing the Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year, decided at the last part of June 2012. There were all sorts of categories in this Sixth Annual Wikimedia Commons POTY Contest, so here are extremely varied subjects that were declared Picture of the Year winners. Congratulations! [31 Photos]

WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY, Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 1st place: View of Lake Bondhus in Norway, and in the background of the Bondhus Glacier, part of the Folgefonna Glacier

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 2011 #1 with 143 votes in Final. A view of the lake Bondhus in Norway. In the background a view of the Bondhus Glacier as a part of the Folgefonna GlacierView of Lake Bondhus in Norway, and in the background of the Bondhus Glacier, part of the Folgefonna Glacier. Photo #1 by Alchemist-hp (www.pse-mendelejew.de)

Wolrd Photography Day -- Self portrait of Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station observing the Earth below during Expedition 24

#2 with 118 votes in Final; Self portrait of Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Photo #2 by Tracy Caldwell Dyson / NASA



Wikimedia Commons #3 picture of the year 2011 -- World photography day Cueva de los Verdes, Canary Islands, Spain. Reflection on water

#3 with 57 votes in Final; Cueva de los Verdes, Canary Islands, Spain. Reflection on water. Photo #3 by Luc Viatour (Lviatour)

#4 -- 54 votes in Final; Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris), Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada -- World Photography Day

#4 with 54 votes in Final was a tie; Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris), Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada. Photo #4 by Simon Pierre Barrette (Cephas)

4 tie, with 54 votes, 54 votes in Final; Portrait of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris depicting the characteristic head markings

#4 with 54 votes in Final; Portrait of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris depicting the characteristic head markings. Photo #5 by Tim Evison, from Denmark (Tpe)

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year Final Grandidier's Baobab, picture taken near Morondava, Madagascar

#5 was also a tie with 46 votes in Final; Grandidier’s Baobab, picture taken near Morondava, Madagascar. Photo #6 by Bernard Gagnon (Bgag)

World Photography Day celebrates Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year 2011 Winners  -- # 5 A SNCF TGV Duplex trainset is crossing the Cize - Bolozon viaduct over the Ain river

# 5 with 46 votes in Final; A SNCF TGV Duplex trainset is crossing the Cize – Bolozon viaduct over the Ain river. The viaduct is part of the Haut-Bugey line, which was reopened in December 2010 for TGV services between Geneva and Paris. Photo #7 by David Gubler (Kabelleger / bahnbilder.ch)

World Photography Day celebrate with Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winners -- creative commons license celebrated, CargoNet Di 12 'Euro 4000' (road number 312 006) plowing through snow drifts at about 100 kmh

#6 with 39 votes in Final; CargoNet Di 12 “Euro 4000” (road number 312 006) plowing through snow drifts at about 100 km/h. The train is an intermodal freight train from from Bodø towards Trondheim. The picture was taken on the Saltfjellet between Lønsdal and Bolna, Norway. Photo #8 by David Gubler (Kabelleger / bahnbilder.ch)

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winners for 2011: #7 with 37 votes in Final; Red deer (Cervus elaphus), in Freyr forest, near Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium, World Photography Day

#7 with 37 votes in Final; Red deer (Cervus elaphus), in Freyr forest, near Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium. Photo #9 by Luc Viatour (Lviatour)

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winners  #8 – 35 votes in Final; Vicuña, one of two wild South American camelids. In the background the point on the Earth's surface that is farthest from the Earth's center, Chimborazo volcano - Ecuador.

#8 with 35 votes in Final; Vicuña, one of two wild South American camelids. In the background the point on the Earth’s surface that is farthest from the Earth’s center, Chimborazo volcano – Ecuador. Photo #10 by David Torres Costales (Dabit100)

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winners  #10 – 32 votes in Final; Si-o-se Pol, also called the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, in Isfahan, Iran

#10 with 32 votes in Final; Si-o-se Pol, also called the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, in Isfahan, Iran. It is highly ranked as being one of the most famous examples of Safavid bridge design. Photo #11 by Reza Haji-Pour (Reza H.)

#11 – 31 votes in Final; Saint Petersburg Mosque. Maiolica of portal, in the form of Muqarnas.

#11 with 31 votes in Final; Saint Petersburg Mosque. Maiolica of portal, in the form of Muqarnas. Photo #12 by Сподаренко Юрий Степанович (Canes)

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year, 12 with 29 votes in Final; Castle Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany

Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winner #12 was another tie with 29 votes in Final; Castle Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany. Photo #13 by Wladyslaw (Taxiarchos228)

World Photography Day -- Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 2011 winner #12 -- 29 votes in Final; Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting on escobilla, Oaxaca, Mexico

#12 — 29 votes in Final; Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting on escobilla, Oaxaca, Mexico. Photo #14 by Claudio Giovenzana (longwalk.it)

Into the Jaws of Death

The last moments of soldiers’ lives. #13 with 28 votes in Final; A LCVP from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarks troops of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division wading onto Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944. American soldiers encountered the newly formed German 352nd Division when landing. During the initial landing two thirds of the Company E became casualties. Photo #15 by Robert F. Sargent, Chief Photographer’s Mate (CPHoM) of the United States Coast Guard

A nearly full moon sets as the space shuttle Discovery sits atop Launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

#13 — 28 votes in Final; A nearly full moon sets as the space shuttle Discovery sits atop Launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Photo #16 by Bill Inglais / NASA

The Atacama Dry lake, in Chile. At the horizon, the Licancabur volcano

#14 with 26 votes in Final; The Atacama Dry lake, in Chile. At the horizon, the Licancabur volcano. Photo #17 by Francesco Mocellin (Home Wiki)

Eilean Donan Castle, as viewed from the south-east at sunrise

#15 — 25 votes in Final; Eilean Donan Castle, as viewed from the south-east at sunrise. Photo #18 by David Iliff (Diliff)

A hot air balloon being inflated before air trip over Cappadocia, central Turkey, as seen from inside

Another Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year tie at #16 — 23 votes in Final; A hot air balloon being inflated before air trip over Cappadocia, central Turkey, as seen from inside. Photo #19 by Benh Lieu Song (Benh)

 Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 2011 -- World Photography Day celebrate creative commons license -- Pollination by a bee

#16 with 23 votes in Final; Pollination by a bee. Photo #20 by Louise Docker (aussiegall)

A Snowy Ski lift on top of Åreskutan, in Sweden

Snowpocalypse? No. #16 — 23 votes in Final; A Snowy Ski lift on top of Åreskutan, in Sweden. Photo #21 by Anders Carlsson (andersc77)

Himeji Castle, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Three-way tie at #18 with 19 votes in Final; Himeji Castle, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Photo #22 by Bernard Gagnon (Bgag)

Two boys at the beach. One is buried in the sand and the other is bending forward while holding the other's head

#18 with 19 votes in Final; Two boys at the beach. One is buried in the sand and the other is bending forward while holding the other’s head. Photo #23 by Böhringer Friedrich (Böhringer)

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the R136 super star cluster, near the center of the 30 Doradus Nebula, also known as the Tarantula Nebula or NGC 2070

#18 — 19 votes in Final; A Hubble Space Telescope image of the R136 super star cluster, near the center of the 30 Doradus Nebula, also known as the Tarantula Nebula or NGC 2070. Photo #24 by R. O’Connell / NASA

19-–-18 votes in Final A Red deer Cervus elaphus in Freyr forest near Han sur Lesse Belgium

#19 with 18 votes in Final; A Red deer (Cervus elaphus), in Freyr forest, near Han-sur-Lesse, Belgium. Photo #25 by Luc Viatour (Lviatour)

One of the Maid of the Mist tour boats approaching the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls

#19 — 18 votes in Final; One of the Maid of the Mist tour boats approaching the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Photo #26 by Saffron Blaze

El Golfo Beach in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

#20 with 17 votes in Final; El Golfo Beach in Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Spain). Photo #27 by Luc Viatour (Lviatour)

A mountain massif of Flakstadøya island backgrounding the road (Fylkesvei 807) to Nusfjord village, Lofoten, Nordland, Norway

#20 — 17 votes in Final; A mountain massif of Flakstadøya island backgrounding the road (Fylkesvei 807) to Nusfjord village, Lofoten, Nordland, Norway in 2010 September. For example, there are such summits as Stjernhauet, Stjerntinden, Bjørntinden and Sautinden either visible or nonvisible due to the cloud situation. Photo #28 by Simo Räsänen (Ximonic)

Écorché (with mummification) of a horse and his rider, (detail), made between 1766 & 1771 by the french anatomist Honoré Fragonard

#21 with 16 votes in Final; Écorché (with mummification) of a horse and his rider, (detail), made between 1766 & 1771 by the french anatomist Honoré Fragonard (1732-1799). Museum Fragonard of the National Veterinarian High School of Alfort, in Maisons-Alfort, France. The technique used is still partially unknown. Photo #29 by Jebulon (French Wikipedia)

Panoramic picture of Rätikon mountain range in Austria, near the border of Switzerland, with Austrian Alpine Club hut Tilisunahütte on the left

#22 — 15 votes in Final; Panoramic picture of Rätikon mountain range in Austria, near the border of Switzerland, with Austrian Alpine Club hut Tilisunahütte on the left. Photo #30 by Böhringer Friedrich (Böhringer)

Broad view of Hurricane Isabel captured from ISS

#23 with 14 votes in Final; Broad view of Hurricane Isabel captured from ISS. Photo #31 by Mike Trenchard, Earth Sciences & Image Analysis Laboratory of Johnson Space Center / NASA

Mouth of the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska

#24 — 11 votes in Final; Mouth of the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska. Photo #32 by Richard Moore (Sbork)



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