Commons:Photo challenge
Photo Challenge
The Photo Challenge inspires photographers to take great pictures and upload them to Commons. Monthly thematic competitions encourage participants to try new subjects, new photographic or processing techniques, and to develop skills while improving the Commons repository of free images. Photographs entered into a competition must be new to Commons and taken by a Commons user. |
Formal things
- Challenges
Challenges are based on a theme and run for a month. The theme may be a concrete subject, an abstract concept, a photographic technique or artistic style.
- Participation
Everybody can participate in challenges open for submission. You simply
- Choose one or all of the current challenges
- Read the challenge description(s), which may vary in their rules (e.g., some place restrictions on when the photos are taken)
- Take picture(s) for the challenge(s) during the challenge period (or, if allowed, select from your own existing pictures that are not yet on Commons)
- Upload your picture(s) during the challenge period
- Submit your candidates at the top of the current challenge gallery during the challenge period. To do that you click the [Edit] button of the Entries section of your chosen challenge and insert the File name above the last entry (or above File:-Insert image here-.svg for the first entry).
- Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:
Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron
- For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.
- Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:
- Do not sign your submission(s)
- If you want, you can have a look at previous challenges and Vote
Challenges are open to any Commons user. Submissions must be your own work, not previously uploaded to Commons prior to the challenge date and should illustrate the challenge theme in the opinion of the photographer. Please read the challenge descriptions, as there may be additional rules or explanations for specific challenges. There is no limit on the number of submissions per user (unless specially so restricted in the challenge), but please choose from among your best and most varied images.
To submit pictures, you edit the gallery of the contest and add your candidate(s) to the top of the list.
New themes can be proposed and discussed here.
- Assessment
After the challenge has closed to new submissions, the pictures will be assessed by popularity voting in the subsequent month. You are allowed to vote for images submitted by others if your Commons account is at least ten days old and has more than 50 edits or if you participated in one of the challenges. Challenges open for voting can be found here.
- Winning
The best three pictures will be awarded first, second and third place. They will be displayed on the Photo challenge page and may use the template {{Photo challenge winner}} on the file description page.
Table of contents
New media viewing experience
Please note users can disable the media viewing experience for all images on Commons when logged in (uncheck "Enable Media Viewer" under Files and click Save in Preferences, Appearance).
Challenges open for submission
2023 – September – Beach
The new challenge features Beach.
Ideally, each submission should contain a summary description of the subject in the file information, including the location of the subject, and relevant categories should be added to the files to enable other Commons users to find them and use them. Please take care not to violate copyright in respect of non-free creative works, and observe our educational project scope and the personality rights of identifiable people, or your files may be subject to deletion.
The challenge will remain open for submissions throughout September UTC.
Checklist for this theme:
- Photographs must be the work of the nominator.
- Photographs must be newly uploaded to Commons during the challenge submission period i.e. September 2023 UTC (but may have been taken earlier).
- Submissions must be added to the top of the "Entries" section below.
- Please do not nominate lots of similar photos; instead choose just your best and most varied images.
Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:
Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron
For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.
- Restriction: A maximum of four entries can be submitted per photographer.
There are 9 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)
Examples
Entries
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Arctic Circle
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Strand langs Hjeltefjorden på øya Herdla ved Askøy
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Fjellskålstranden på Osterøy
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Badestrand i Hjelvik på Osterøy
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Plage de Grand Rocher on the north coast of Brittany, France
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Playa San Bruno near Isla Canela, at the border to Portugal
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Whitesands Beach near St Davids in Wales, UK
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Gunwalloe Church Cove Beach, Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England
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Linda Praia de Arraial do Cabo
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A section of East Coast Park Singapore lined with Singapore's national flag ahead of National Day on 9 August.
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Bathing beach in the bay Cala Llombards
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Wooden stairs to the beach near Utersum on Föhr
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Beach crows on the beach near Utersum on Föhr
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Bathing beach in the bay Caló des Moro
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Lake Chuzenji, Japan
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Family at beach
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Rolling in shore
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Blue waters meeting land
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Children on beach of Normandy
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Wind and rain shaped sand and dune grass, Stokken beach, Laesoe
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Walking along Storedal beach, Laesoe island
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Sand rippels and dune grass, Ameland island
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Beach meets rocks, Lewis, Outer Hebrides
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Skyscraper mirroring on the beach, Cesenatico
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Pláž. Vodná nádrž Zemplínska šírava, Slovakia
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Pláž. Vodná nádrž Zemplínska šírava, Slovakia
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Pláž. Vodná nádrž Zemplínska šírava, Slovakia
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A view of the rocks at Cannon Beach taken on July 11, 2023
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Picture of beach on the Oregon Coast
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View of beach, grass, and cabins from Rockaway Beach, Oregon
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Caletilla beach, Nerja, Andalusia, Spain
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Poland, Ustka_Beach_Baltic Sea
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Poland, Ustka_Beach_Baltic Sea
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Poland, Ustka, Beach_Baltic Sea
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Poland, Ustka_Beach
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Warning sign on Ellis Beach at the Great Barrier Reef
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Unfaithful Paradise at Doubble Island, the Great Barrier Reef
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Wedding party on the Pantai Segara beach at Bali
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Ball game on Bali beach
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West Runton Beach at Sunset with view of wind turbines
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People playing volleyball on a beach
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Spiaggia sul lago a Trevignano Romano
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La spiaggia degli ontani a Trevignano Romano (Lago di Bracciano)
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Sunset at Mandarmani Beach over the Bay of Bengal, West Bengal, India
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Beach sunset 2
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Beach with boats and shacks
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Fig Tree Bay, Cyprus
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Fig Tree Bay, Cyprus
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Turnagain Arm Alaska
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Turnagain Arm Alaska
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Arashi Beach Aruba 1998
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Sunrise at Taipu de Fora Beach, Bahia, Brazil
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Flamengo Beach, Ubatuba, Brazil
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Península de Maraú, Bahia, Brazil
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Taipu de Fora Beach, Península de Maraú, Bahia, Brazil
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Laweueng Beach, Aceh, Indonesia
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Cassiar the 64 foot Palmer Scott in Moonstone Cove Catalina
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Laguna Beach Sunrise
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North Laguna Beach Sunrise
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Battigia della spiaggia di Torre Flavia (Ladispoli)
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Beach at the Laskovsky Quarry, Tambov
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Stone beaches of Barentz Sea coast.
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Tersky Coast of White Sea
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Stone beach near Teriberka, coast of Barentz Sea.
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Spring beach in Tambov.
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Cabourg beach, France
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Cabourg beach, France
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Etretat beach, France
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Saint-Michel beach, Batz-sur-Mer, France
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Белый песок
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Свежий ветер
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Не все на пляже загорают
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Приватный пляж
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The beach at Copacabana, as seen in November/2013, with the Duque de Caxias Fort on the background.
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Охранник пляжа
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Пляж на озере Бельское 01
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Пляж на озере Бельское 02
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Пляж на озере Бельское 03
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Footprints in the sand, County Kerry, Ireland.
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Reflections of clouds on wet sand, County Kerry, Ireland.
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Driftwood, County Kerry, Ireland.
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County Kerry, Ireland.
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Sand bank of the Lena River.
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Driftwood on Moclips Beach holding back the sand.
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Driftwood on Moclips Beach holding back the sand.
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Point Grenville
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Le conchiglie spiaggiate a Torre Flavia (Ladispoli)
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Riviera_Nayarit
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Kelp and seaweed drying on Sheep Cove beach
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Long Strand beach in West Cork
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Fishing boats at the seashore
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Somnath seashore
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She at the sea shore
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Light house at seashore
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Itsukushima, Hiroshima, Japan
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Hobie cat in Boulogne-sur-Mer beach, France
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Ship Amazing Grace in Tahiti
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Rebun Island, Japan
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Fruit salad seller at Kozhikode Beach, Kerala
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Street fire show at Kozhikode Beach, Kerala, India
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Cala Tonnarella dell'Uzzo beach
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Cala Berretta beach
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Sand beach at the Lena River.
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Cala dei Nachhi beach
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Ribeiro do Cavalo beach
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Montauk Beach, New York
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Beach bar in Kiel, Germany
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Lung Mei Beach at Tai Po
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Lifeguard class at Golden Beach in Tuen Mun
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Tung Wan Beach in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong
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Seal Rocks Heart, Lands End, San Francisco, California, USA
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Lamma Island , Hong Kong
2023 – September – Compost
The new challenge features Compost.
Ideally, each submission should contain a summary description of the subject in the file information, including the location of the subject, and relevant categories should be added to the files to enable other Commons users to find them and use them. Please take care not to violate copyright in respect of non-free creative works, and observe our educational project scope and the personality rights of identifiable people, or your files may be subject to deletion.
The challenge will remain open for submissions throughout September UTC.
Checklist for this theme:
- Photographs must be the work of the nominator.
- Photographs must be newly uploaded to Commons during the challenge submission period i.e. September 2023 UTC (but may have been taken earlier).
- Submissions must be added to the top of the "Entries" section below.
- Please do not nominate lots of similar photos; instead choose just your best and most varied images.
Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:
Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron
For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.
- Restriction: A maximum of four entries can be submitted per photographer.
There are 9 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)
Examples
Entries
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Municipal composting facility of gardening refuse, in Trevignano Romano
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Saprotrophic fungi are decomposers of cellulose and lignin in leafs and in woody material
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Compost bin, Leicestershire, England
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Biogas tank, in the foreground green cuttings
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Composter for garden waste, Adelsheim, Germany
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Новая компостная яма
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decayed compost
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fresh compost
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An old peach pit slowly decaying in soil.
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A leaf in soil.
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Садовый водоём и ящик для компоста
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Vermicomposting - using worms!
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Gunma Prefecture, Japan
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Fallen leaves in a compost pile
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Kompostgitter aus Holz und Umnutzung defekter Regentonnen für Kompost
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Interior of a compost bin
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Garden compost bin in Italy
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Composting in the Museum of gardening in Bamberg
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Composting in the Museum of gardening in Bamberg
Challenges open for voting
Voting is open to all registered contributors who have held accounts for at least 10 days and made 50 edits, and also to new Commons contributors who have entered the challenge with a picture. Users cannot vote for their own picture. Voters may select up to three photographs in each theme to award points and can give praise to other photos without awarding points. Voting will be open for one month. The votes not complying with those requirements will be removed or converted to praises. In some cases users might be asked to correct their votes after voting ends.
August 2023
Previous challenges
July 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Storm Mathis - Lake Zug | oceans are rising | Contaminación atmosférica en la ciudad de Madrid |
Author | Roy Egloff | Spielvogel | Saldeplata |
Score | 13 | 9 | 9 |
- ½ (half) ->
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Farm track near Micheldever, Hampshire |
My birthday cake! Oops there's only half left! |
Ein in der Längsachse vertikal zerstückeltes Automobil. |
Author | Simon Burchell | Anna.Massini | Levin Holtkamp |
Score | 15 | 15 | 11 |
June 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Tunnel at London King's Cross illuminated in rainbow colours |
Rainbow yarn for knitting, display in front of a needlework shop in Graz, Austria |
This shows the view directly above the basket of a hot air balloon. |
Author | The wub | Lusi Lindwurm | Hu Nhu |
Score | 19 | 11 | 8 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Kasachische Jurten in der Kyzylkum/ Usbekistan |
Chegem-001 | Chegem-002 |
Author | Carsten Siegel | Саня Новиков | Саня Новиков |
Score | 17 | 17 | 13 |
May 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Close up photograph of wing of Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Lime Swallowtail |
weibliche Schwarze Habichtsfliege (Dioctria atricapilla) mit Morgentau |
Caterpillar of the small frost moth on a rose leaf |
Author | ManaskaMukhopadhyay | Carsten Siegel | Ermell |
Score | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Victoria crowned pigeon | Western Crowned Pigeon in Geneva, Switzerland. |
Peacock feather close-up |
Author | Roy Egloff | RomanDeckert | Mister rf |
Score | 10 | 9 | 7 |
April 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Pylon of high-voltage line crossing Elbe River at Hetlinger Schanze near Hamburg, Germany |
Street corner in Nice's old town | Ballonwettbewerb |
Author | Mozzihh | Virtual-Pano | Mensch01 |
Score | 13 | 12 | 12 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Sheep with lamb, lying on a dyke, which they graze as dyke sheep for erosion control, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
Poitou donkey foal (Equus asinus) in the Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park |
Baby alpacas of a Quechua Family (Huaman Quispe farm) - Alpacas bebes - Paqucha uña Nuñoa llaqtamanta |
Author | Lusi Lindwurm | F. Riedelio | Elwinlhq |
Score | 16 | 13 | 13 |
March 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Facade of a house at 277, Fondamenta Cavanella in Burano (Italy) |
Washing clothes in a open area | Laundry lines in a residential neighbourhood in Venice, Italy |
Author | Ermell | Pauloleong2002 | Marc-Lautenbacher |
Score | 15 | 12 | 11 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Ice-Hotel in Quebec Canada, the only one in North America |
Spa at Tschuggen Grand Hotel | The Dolder Grand, Zurich, Switzerland |
Author | Marc-Lautenbacher | Roy Egloff | Roy Egloff |
Score | 15 | 14 | 12 |
February 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Handle of leather trunk from the early 1900s |
Handle Of A Pots Lid | Glättkelle mit rotem Holzgriff |
Author | Mariojan photo | OJjnr | VSchagow |
Score | 14 | 8 | 8 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Royal Clipper sailing the Med |
cruise vessel 'Expedition' in Antarctica |
Cruise ships in Geiranger Fjord, Norway |
Author | Cbuske46 | Virtual-Pano | Hgrobe |
Score | 26 | 10 | 10 |
January 2023
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | A growler became a sculpture | wind-blown rime ice found on a summit cross |
jogger crossing the icy right barrier gate of the Jahnwehr weir in Bamberg, Germany |
Author | Virtual-Pano | Roy Egloff | Ermell |
Score | 19 | 18 | 15 |
Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
image | |||
Title | Hospital corridor in the “Marienhaus Klinikum Hetzelstift“ |
Hospital corridor covered with Namib sand in ghost town Kolmanskop, Namibia |
Ny del av Haukeland Universitetssykehus fra Møllendal gravplass i Bergen |
Author | F. Riedelio | Mozzihh | Odd Roar Aalborg |
Score | 16 | 14 | 11 |