Wikimedia Commons is one of the repositories of copyright free pictures on the internet that belies the common belief that these images are necessarily second rate. Each year the competition to find the best image of Wikimedia Commons contributors shows the online world that copyright-free pictures can be enthralling, engaging and memorable. Here, in reverse order, are the top 10 for 2008.
10 – Le Grand Foyer
At number ten, the Grand Foyer of the Paris Opera. A superb composition that captures the grandeur of the place. It was designed as part of the reconstruction of the French capitol by Emperor Napoleon the Third, and over twelve thousand square meters of land was cleared to make way for it. Before it was built, however, there were one or two things getting in its way. The first and primary problem was that the land that it was to be built on was extremely swampy and it took over eight months of continuous pumping to make the ground dry enough to build on. This entry at number ten on the list is an almost perfect interior shot, the lighting is spot on and the sheer decadence of the Grand Foyer is wonderfully captured.
9 – The Snipe Fly
As the age of digital camera progresses, macrophotography is becoming increasingly popular. This candid shot of a Snipe Fly is captured with droplets of water standing on the hairs on its back. Impossible to catch with the human eye, this level of detail takes us in to the world of insects as never before. Caught almost like an insect in amber, this is a timeless reminder that things always look different from another perspective. This absolute scotches the general say so that copyright free photographs on the internet are usually of a lesser standard than those protected by their owners.
8 (joint) – Migrant Mother
This picture is almost heartbreaking in its simplicity. Although taken in the great depression of the nineteen thirties it was released in to the public domain in 2008 and so qualified for the competition. It shows Florence Thompson and her children and shows the poverty endured way back then but also the resilience of the people it affected. The look on Thompson’s careworn face is enigmatic. What she is thinking here was never recorded but the combination of pride amid destitution remains as powerful today as when the picture was taken.
8 (joint) – Animated Gif of a Cicada
4chan has animated gifs of a certain kind but the ones on Wikimedia are of a completely different ilk aka education. This amazing gif shows the transformation of the cicada from its pupa to the adult form. Although the whole process took over two hours there is a gap in the middle of about thirty minutes while the cicada took a rest from the strenuous activity of becoming an adult. Other than that gap the shots are at intervals of thirty seconds and this builds up beautifully in to a record of one insect’s emergence.
8 (joint) – Green Turtle
You have to admit this stunning shot has a wow factor – and a half. At number seven on the chart you might even scratch your head and wonder why it only got to this position but the best is yet to come. The Green Turtle or to give it its scientific name, Chelonia mydas is found throughout subtropical and tropical oceans. It has two separate populations that are genetically distinct. One of the features of this species is that unlike many other turtles that spend all of their adult life in the ocean (except when laying eggs) this one likes to drag itself up on to a sandy beach for a good spot of sun bathing.
7 – Anime Girl
Er, yes. Well. Quite. This may come as something of a surprise but you have to remember that this competition was for pictures and that includes things other than photographs. This young lady is a hybrid of anime and manga traditions and is the personification of the ‘ecchi’ tradition of Japanese art. Ecchi means lewd or naughty and this lady errs to the latter more than the former. In terms of anime and manga the term is culturally translatable to poster girl. Naughty but nice.
6 – Paris at Dusk
This amazing shot was taken from the top of Montparnasse and captures the sheer spirit and vibrancy of Paris in the early evening. It is actually eight photographs that are seamlessly joined together. Add a little post-processing and you get this wonderful image.
5 – Hong Kong Night Skyline
This picture gives a real impression of the sheer magnitude of the humanity that inhabits Hong Kong as thousand of lights resonate in to the dark of the night. If you wanted to recreate this shot then you would have to go to the top of Victoria Peak. It is a 46 segment HDR panorama of the city and is a dizzying, glorious image of a city in the evening.
4 – Crepuscular Rays
The photo that the song ‘Morning has broken’ was obviously written for, this gorgeous picture was taken in Golden Gate Park in the wonderful city of San Francisco. You can see that in the middle left of the image there is a second set of rays that are coming up from the rays. The source of these rays is in fact the reflection of the sun. This is the sort of photo that most people would say was the best of their life and happily put the camera away, safe in the knowledge that they will never better it.
3 – Steam Locomotives
The secret place where locomotives go to sleep at night, this roundhouse was the home of the steam locos of Illinois. Owned by the Chicago and North Western Railways, this has the feel to me of an elephant house in a zoo. Gigantic creatures at rest while the night away waiting for the dawn and a new day. Quite simply stunning.
2 – Fire Breathing
The camera never lies, so have a guess which country of the east this photo was taken in. Well, wrong, it was actually taken in, er, Belgium, of the visiting Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band and this gentleman certainly does seem to have some brass. The word that sprang to my mind when I first saw this picture was audacious. The colors are beautifully captured and the capture makes the viewer want to lean back to avoid the heat of the flame.
1 – Horses on Bianditz Mountain
And the winner is….. A pair of horses (well, a trio if you count the white one sneaking up on the middle left of the picture). This deceptively simple shot takes in both the beauty of the horses and their natural surroundings in the Spanish countryside. The specific area is Navarra (Navarre in English) and the Aika Mountains are in the background of the picture. The Basque region of the north of Spain is at the forefront of renewable energy technology in Europe and hopes by 2010 to have 100% renewable energy generation. This picture captures fully the beauty and splendor of this remarkable part of Europe, still pristine.
So, there you have it – the top ten of Wikimedia Commons pictures for 2008. To see the rest of the entries to the competition, please go here.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:48 am
All of those are wonderful. Thanks for sharing RJ.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:18 am
That was interesting, I never knew about the photograph competition. Great pics.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:31 am
They are all nice pictures which would be a headache to the judges to isolate the best.
June 6th, 2009 at 7:22 am
RJ you are so creative to think of this what a wonderful article, the pics are awesome
June 6th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Great article RJ!
June 6th, 2009 at 9:35 am
All nice pics but I have to totally agree with the winner.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Nice article. The turtle did have the wow factor for me.
June 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Remarkable pictures,great work,I vote for “Crepuscular Rays,”
June 6th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
very interesting, one of the best ones yet!
June 6th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
It takes one good picture to tell the story. The picture of the woman during the depression says it all.I have looked at this pictures for many years and it always effects me the same way.These people were the strongest of the strong. I don’t know if young parents today could do it.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
all great pics.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Excellent post!!..thats really amaze me..What a wonderful article..stunning pics too..Thanks for sharing this great work.
June 6th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Very interesting photos,and the article is great.
Nice piece of work you have here
June 8th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Awesome pics!
June 8th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
A pleasure to see these photos/pictures. Thanks for drawing our attention to them.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for sharing.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Absolutely amazing! With the first picture, I thought I was looking at A Cathedral. They are all truly magnificent.
Top marks for your artical.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:20 am
I disagree with any pornography although that’s in cartoon format.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Those are all beautiful pictures.
Very nice work. They deserve to win.
http://www.forestwander.com
June 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
These pictures are simply lovely. Thanks for posting the article!
June 9th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
BORING
June 10th, 2009 at 8:03 am
WOW!!!
June 10th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Simply stunning images.
I wasn’t aware of such a competition, thanks : )
June 11th, 2009 at 9:43 am
this post is amazing! i really enjoyed reading the captions and looked at the pictures for a minute singly..they are awesome!:)
June 11th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Good article. Some lovely images.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Fantastic pictures there – great article
June 12th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Beautiful collection. Gives shutter-bugs something to strive for. I had no idea this competition even existed. I’ll have to look at some of the other items submitted.
June 13th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Some stunning pics amongst these. I knew nothing of this competition either!
June 13th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Wonderful pics.. the ones I loved the most was the fire breather and the cicada was interesting animation…
June 14th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
That fire breathing one is amazing! I wish I could do that.
June 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
WOW. Loved that morning has broken one. Could look at that for ages.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:39 am
Wow, these pictures are so beautiful.I think the horses really deserve to be number one.It is just beautiful,all of them are.Good Work, RJ.