Commons:Photo challenge

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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.

Skip to: Contents Challenges open for submission Challenges open for voting Previous challenges Themes suggested for future challenges

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

1. Choose one or all of the current challenges
2. Read the challenge description(s), which may vary in their rules (e.g., some place restrictions on when the photos are taken)
3. 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)
4. Upload your picture(s) during the challenge period
5. 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.

6. Do not sign your submission(s)
7. 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.

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

2024 – October – Blue and Yellow

The new challenge features Blue and Yellow colors.

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 October 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. October 2024 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 7 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

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Entries

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  Participant in the large demonstration in Berlin, against the Russian invasion of Ukraine wearing a yellow knitted hat and blue anorak
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  Dove of peace in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag with the inscription “no war”, “love”, “friendship”, painted on a school gate in Jüterborg, Germany
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  Yellow bollard with blue rope on a quay of Helgoland Island, Germany
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  Blue-and-yellow macaw in the Botanical Garden of Guadeloupe, France
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  Dredging of the Langweerderwielen. Warning sign (Life jacket required)
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  Blue Pansies of Eastern PA
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  Stream Bluet at a Pond
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  Setaria Faberi in a Corn Field
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  Golden Stamens in a Water Lily
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  Blue flower bed and yellow fallen leaves in Saint Petersburg, Russia
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  Beautiful Woman on yellow chair, picture by Jasmin Kalini, Malta
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  The colours of toys are blue and yellow
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  Music-Moving Dalian Piano Active (Subway Charity) , pictured by Cynthia, Gao
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  Crane in Amsterdam
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  A yellow security watchtower in Banten, Indonesia
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  Tollbooth in Ngamprah, Indonesia
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  Yellow and blue buoys at Porto Ercole, Italy
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  Yellow drop-off box for old clothing with blue signs and yellow car in Mantua, Italy
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  Yellow and blue front painting on old house, Fuerth, Germany
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  Yellow flourishing eucalyptus and blue sky at Ria Formosa Special Protection Area, Faro, Portugal
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  Nastaliq calligraphy of the Quran inside a mosque in Indonesia
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  Gate of Söyembikä Tower in Kazan
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  Dune slope with view over the lagoon at Curonian Spit, Lithuania
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  Seaweed floating below Dunvegan Castle, Skye, Scotland
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  Yellow buoy on blue Neckar river, Heidelberg, D.
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  Evening Music at 'Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio', Palermo, Italy
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  Yellow rice paddy fields with afternoon blue skies on north bank of Dajia River in Houli Dist., Taichung City
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  Gelbe Hibiskusblüte auf blauem Stoff
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  Ochre linden leaf on the boot of a blue car.
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  Goki Wackelfiqur
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  Facade of a street in Magdeburg, Germany
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  Underwater lighting for swimming pool
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  Southbank Centre yellow stairs, London
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  Bauhaus-Universität, Weimar, Germany
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  Patriotical advertisement in Kyiv during russian invasion of Ukraine
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  Sand and Baltic sea in Poland
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  Rape field and tree in Poland
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  Rape field in Poland
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  Photo of a blue recycle bin beside a yellow bus.
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  Riflessi di luci natalizie sulla fontana a Piazza Venezia, Roma
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  Wiese voller Löwenzahn vor blauem Himmel
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  Raps auf der Insel Rügen
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  Harvest Festival in Israel (Shavuot)
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  Swiss watch
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  Father and son
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  Dark cloud over the Nyuk lake (Karelia)
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  Sunflower and Sky
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  Hinweisschild auf Kreta
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  Королевский ангел (Pygoplites diacanthus). Korallen im Roten Meer, Ägypten. Makadi Bay. Hotel Grand Makadi Hausriff.
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  Autumn foliage in Kunratice (Prague, Czechia)
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  Blue-winged Mountain Tanager in Ecuador
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  Building materials shop in Ecuador
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  Cape Greco, Cyprus
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  Blue and Yellow glasses
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  Golden clouds against a blue sky during dawn
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  A pedestrian crossing sign with small icicles hanging off of it.
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  Yellow cloud on blue sky
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  Helianthus × laetiflorus Pers. on blue sky
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  Pelecanus blues...
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  Sunflower
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  Paper and metal
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  Waste bin
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  Lemon
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  Sun-n-Sand Motor Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi
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  Sunset on the Kola Peninsula
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  Security guard
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  Продавщица мороженого
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  Глиняные котики
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  Футбольные болельщики на ЧМ 2018
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  Cutaway of automatic transmission
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  Locotracteur sur le chemin de fer de la baie de Somme
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  Yellow male inflorescence of a common hazel (Vorylus avellana) against the blue sky
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  Yellow colored easter egg on a blue background
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  Yellow and blue spiked ball (Massage ball)
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  Yellow window reveal with blue window shutter
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  Donket-Curtiusstraat, Amsterdam
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  Autumn has come
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  Golden stag at the Blå Porten (Blue Gate), Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden
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  Manchester City W.F.C. players wearing yellow pre-match jerseys, with small details of blue, warm up in front of the Joie Stadium's blue stands
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  Blue plastic baskets and Yellow plastic baskets
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  Zolotyxina-Shamli- Yellow-blue Heart
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  Tank ship on the Rhine
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  Blühender Raps. Sächsische Landschaft im Frühling. Erzgebirgskreis, Sachsen.
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  Beurs van Berlage wall, September 2018]]
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  Farfalla Leptotes pirithous su fiori gialli, Riserva naturale Valle dell'Aniene
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  Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) nectaring on Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)
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  Lake Geneva in Blue and Yellow
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  The outdoor roller skating rink is blue and yellow Color matched at Kang Chu Sports Park
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  Yellow flowers are kept on blue background
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  Bleu et jaune à une station de vaporetto à Venise
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  Bleu et jaune sur une façade à Burano
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  Blue and Yellow candy
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  Aquilegia alpina in Vanoise
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  Vase with Iris against a yellow background by Vincent van Gogh
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  Wheatfield with Crows byVan Gogh
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  Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel, Japan
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  Yellow vine leaf on bird protection
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  Dinghy in Port de l'Aber-Wrach, (France)
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  White wine in a glass
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  Blue and yellow colors riot
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  Blue and yellow wooden toys at display
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  Yellow and blue clad boys on d go
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  Blue and yellow color riots on the stagh
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  Little yellow little blue at beachside shop
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  Boxes of Kodak UltraMax film on a mirror
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  Sächsische Landschaft im Frühling. Erzgebirgskreis.
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  Gelbes Schiff mit Glasboden im Roten Meer in Ägypten. Aufgenommen vom Strand des Hotels Grand Makadi. Makadi Bay, Ägypten.
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  Golden Ginkgo Against the Blue Sky
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  Flight of the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw
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  Crane hook
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  A sunset taken while in a ride up using the Skyride to Grouse Mountain.
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  Cows Ice Cream, Whistler
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  Blue and yellow Opel Manta B GSi (Til Schweiger replica)
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  Blue and yellow trains at Gdańsk central station
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  Granchio blu (Callinectes sapidus) nell'acqua, alla riva della spiaggia della Riserva naturale Palude di Torre Flavia (Mar Tirreno centrale, Lazio, Italia)
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  the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, and the Lighthouse are located at Macao
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  Making decoration with colorful sand
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  Paraglider under a yellow parachute on an azure background in Vanoise
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  Sunset in Dahan River ,New Taipei City
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  Fiore di nasturzio (Tropaeolum majus) fra le foglie di giaggioli
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  Hong Kong Citybus
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  Sunset photo showing a tanker while docked at the Conoco Phillips 66 Refinery
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  Winter Squash for a Year
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  Sunset - fire
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  Yellow field, blue sky.
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  Heliopsis helianthoides
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  Dahlia Constalia Lemon Flower
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  Yellow Coneflower
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  To submit pictures please follow this link

2024 – October – Recycling

The new challenge features Recycling.

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 October 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. October 2024 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 7 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

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Entries

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  Municipal flagship building of Stadtwerke Neustadt in Holstein, Germany, made predominantly from recycled materials from the Baubörse (building material exchange)
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  Barge on Saar river delivers sheet metal pressed into cubes for recycling by Saarstahl
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  Direct recycled soft drinks tin cans into lanterns, Namibia
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  Blacksmith/recyclers of Médine district in Bamako, Mali: Boy beating old sheet metal flat for the recycling of scrap metal into watering cans
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  Un éboueur vidant une poubelle dans son camion
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  Scrap line with recycling containers in Mallorca
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  Collection point for green waste for processing at the composting facility
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  Clothing bins to collect for the textile recycling
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  Bottle banks to collect for the glass recycling
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  Used clothing bin
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  Isola ecologica informatizzata per il conferimento dei rifiuti differenziati (plastica, carta e cartone, metalli e vetro). Trevignano Romano
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  Sedia rotta riutilizzata come porta piante e cassetta della posta ad Anguillara Sabazia
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  Tire piles waiting for recycling
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  Wooden building made from recycled material in Neustadt in Holstein, Germany
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  Tin cabinet with recycled bags in Nantes, France
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  Composting site with 3 single bins in Halluin, (Fr)
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  Container for plastic candles in a cemetery for later recycling
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  Storage bins
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  Use of used tires
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  Used tires in the forest!
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  Waste sorting containers
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  Flower beds from old used tires (and various waste). Yugyd-Va National Park, Komi.
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  Recycle bin behind a green gate
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  Temporary Sorted waste containers in Japan
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  Müll trennen mit Humor
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  Paper collection container in Haifa (Israel)
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  Bottle collection container in Haifa (Israel)
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  Containers in Haifa (Israel) for recycling clothes, paper, plastic
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  Container for collecting packages in Nesher (Israel)
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  The Doll-shaped art installation is made out with recycled flowerpots at Dafeng Village in Banqiao Dist.,New Taipei City
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  Sculpture of lion made out of used tires by Korean artist Ji Yong-Ho. Yerevan, Tamanyan street.
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  Coletores seletivos em um prédio educacional de Pelotas, Brasil
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  Blossom-shaped windmills, flower-shaped windmills and wind chimes made from recycled materials
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  Iron waste recycled as an aeroplane
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  Temporary separate trash cans set up at an outdoor event in Japan
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  The Middle-aged woman was sorting and collecting recyclable garbage
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  Recycling of plastic waste
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  Sorted waste containers on Stella Plage (Fr).
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  Where to put your empty cans and PET bottles before disembarking Stockholm ferry boat Emelie
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  Activists of the "Razdelny sbor" project (Separate Collection) collect fractions that cannot be handed over everywhere
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  Activists of the "Razdelny sbor" project (Separate Collection) collect fractions that cannot be handed over everywhere
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  Activists of the "Razdelny sbor" project (Separate Collection) collect fractions that cannot be handed over everywhere. On the table are samples of products that can be obtained from recycled goods.
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  Old knife sharpening man
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  Torn denims used to write visitors comment
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  Recycled paper collage
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  Old items displayed at garage sale
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  Recycling required 1
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  Recycling required 2
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  Recycled and restored
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  Stylishely recycled
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  Libreria per lo scambio dei libri usati, Bosco Macchia Grande, Manziana
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  Container for beverage caps in Ustka (Poland) 2022
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  Container for beverage caps in Ustka (Poland) 2023
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  Container for beverage caps, Freedom Square in Ustka (Poland) 2023
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  Container for beverage caps in Ustka (Poland) 2024
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  Waste containers in Saint Petersburg
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  Classification and recycling in Qingdao
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  Sorted waste containers in Japan
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  Recycling containers on McMurdo Station, Antarctica in 1998
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  Recycling from Walking Trail
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  To submit pictures please follow this link

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.

September 2024

• Roof
• Accessibility

Previous challenges

August 2024

Dust: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Mustangs in Colorado, USA, 1971	Dusty Billiard Table, former Pozzuolo del Friuli barracks, Ferrara, Italy	The Milky Way with cosmic dust
Author	Foeniz	Nicola Quirico	Zwiebackgesicht
Score	13	10	7

Spices: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	The Christmas spices star anise, cinnamon and cloves	Chili peppers at the market in Santanyí	Blüte mit Safranfäden
Author	F. Riedelio	F. Riedelio	Tetraeder
Score	17	6	6

July 2024

Manholes: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	A lion is coming from a manhole, in León, Spain	Manhole opened for cleaning, Heidelberg	Child coming out of a sump
Author	Guy Delsaut	Foeniz	Saral Shots
Score	15	13	9

Breads: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	African bush squirrel eating bread gotten from tourists in Namibia	A young man putting discs of bread into the oven in the Islamic Cairo section of Cairo, Egypt.	Bread being kneaded in a bakery in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Author	Lusi Lindwurm	FischerFotos	Mozzihh
Score	24	12	9

June 2024

Construction sites: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Carpenter working on a concrete formwork	Workers attaching a chain to the Main bridge in Ebing	Demolition site of the so-called Kaufhof store "Tortenschachtel" (cake box) on Berliner Platz
Author	Ermell	Ermell	F. Riedelio
Score	17	14	11

Mushrooms: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Poisonous mushrooms against a forest in autumn, Wrzosów, Poland		Mycena interrupta NZ
Author	Ivonna Nowicka	Famberhorst	Haydenrjones
Score	15	13	9

May 2024

Waves: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	This was shot in Kakinada Beach, shows struggle of fishermen in middle of sea	A wave painted with a white neon lamp in a flashlight, city beach in Płock, Poland.	Port Saint-Michel in Batz-sur-Mer
Author	Zahed.zk	Lightpainterplock	Ibex73
Score	28	19	11

Pets: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Australian Shepherd Dog	Hachi and Boy	Cat enjoying the sun between daisies
Author	Ermell	HachiBoy	Lusi Lindwurm
Score	27	15	13

April 2024

Vertical lines: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Колонны здания администрации и думы Новгородской области 2H1A4397WI	Columns on the façade of the Philharmonie in Luxembourg	Fassade Mark- Twain- Grundschule 02
Author	Kora27	Ermell	ThoBel-0043
Score	25	14	11

Flames: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Visitors at the 2024 Easter fire in Rottorf	Campfire at lake Yngen, Filipstad Municipality, Värmland, Sweden	Osterfeuer im oberen Murtal
Author	F. Riedelio	Mozzihh	Bitisajn
Score	21	14	10

March 2024

Grays: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Sieben graue Köpfe	Reflections - Shyok River	Nina-Replica
Author	Mensch01	Prof Ranga Sai	Wingerham52
Score	20	18	11

Courthouses: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Palazzo di Guistizia with Courte di Cassazione at river Tiber, Rome, Italy	North facade of Palais de justice de Paris.	Supreme Court of Finland at night
Author	Mozzihh	FreCha	GPSLeo
Score	19	15	12

February 2024

Lunar New Year: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Dragon Dance, Oklahoma City, OK, Lunar New Year, 2024 (Year of the Dragon)	Sec. 1, Wuchang St., Taipei City, with LED lights decorations above on 2024 Chinese New Year	Eu Tong Sen Street in Chinatown, Singapore, with CNY decorations above
Author	OKJaguar	Junyu-K	S5A-0043
Score	11	9	9

Knots: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Boat knot	Figure-eight loop in mountaineering	Root knot of a beech tree
Author	Teseo	Wagner Cxxx	Foeniz
Score	11	9	8

January 2024

Silos: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Garfield Grain Elevator and Silos Garfield Washington USA	Feed silos in Hirschbrunn near Burgebrach	Silos of the Hannoversche Portland -Cementfabrik (abandoned in 1986)
Author	DaveGinOly	Ermell	Hgrobe
Score	19	13	8

Masks: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Narrentag 2024 - Elzacher Schuttig	Kirchseoner Perchtenlauf - old winter parade tradition in Bavaria. Mask of type "Klaubauf"	Taken in Dublin, march 2014
Author	Rainer Halama	Würmchen-vom-Mölchlein	Oncewerecolours
Score	13	13	10

Previous years

• Photo challenge in 2023
• Photo challenge in 2022
• Photo challenge in 2021
• Photo challenge in 2020
• Photo challenge in 2019
• Photo challenge in 2018
• Photo challenge in 2017
• Photo challenge in 2016
• Photo challenge in 2015
• Photo challenge in 2014
• Photo challenge in 2013