[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Winners Announced in World's Largest Photo Contest, Wiki Loves Monuments

[Jay Walsh]

(This release is also posted online at
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Announcement_of_Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2012_winners)

*Winners Announced in World’s Largest Photo Contest, Wiki Loves Monuments

**International jury selects top 15 photos from more than 350,000
photos worldwide

San Francisco, California and Utrecht, the Netherlands - 3 December
2012 -- The international jury for Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 announced
the 15 winning photographs from the world’s largest photo contest,
which ran from September 1st through 30th. More than 15,000
photographers uploaded more than 350,000 freely-licensed photographs
of historic buildings, monuments and cultural heritage sites in 35
countries to Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org) for use
on Wikipedia and other free-knowledge projects.

The grand-prize winning photograph depicts Safdarjung's Tomb and
marble mausoleum in New Delhi, India, and was taken by Pranav Singh.
The tomb was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style as tribute
to the prime minister for Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor from 1719
to 1748. As noted in the jury report, “With gravity and a perfect
sense for the angle of view and light, this picture presents the
object - the architecture and light forming a stage for the tomb,
focusing on the details of the stone carving.”
(Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Safdarjung,_New_Delhi.jpg)

Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 more than doubled the photo total from 2011,
when 5,000 photographers from 18 European countries uploaded 168,208
photos. In 2012, volunteer Wikipedians in 35 countries organized the
contest nationally, with the 324 winning photos from national contests
considered by an international jury for the top prize. The grand prize
is a trip to Hong Kong for a photo tour as part of the Wikimania 2013
conference.

“We have a beautiful selection of images representing the world’s
heritage” says Lodewijk Gelauff, one of the international coordinators
of the contest. “I’m so proud of the hundreds of volunteer Wikipedians
who helped organize the contest in their countries and around the
world. Not only do we have hundreds of thousands of free images that
anyone can use, but we also have a great set of heritage lists on
Wikipedia, which give an overview of more than 1 million monuments
globally. That leaves plenty of unphotographed monuments for next
year!”

The top 13 photos will be displayed in a travelling international
exhibition, and will be showcased in a special Wiki Loves Monuments
calendar for 2013.

Other top photographs:

The other finalists represent countries from four continents,
including South America, North America, Asia and Europe.

2nd Place - Aqueduct of Segovia in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain.
Photographer: David Corral Gadea. The Aqueduct of Segovia is one of
the most significant and best-preserved monuments left by the Romans
on the Iberian Peninsula.
(Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acueducto_de_Segovia_01.jpg)

3rd Place - Ifugao Rice Terraces in Batad, Ifugao, Philippines.
Photographer: Captaincid. Built over 2,000 years ago, the Rice
Terraces of Batad make up one of the four clusters of rice terraces in
Ifugao province that are identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Batad_Rice_Terraces_after_the_rain.JPG)

4th Place - Château de Maintenon in Eure-et-Loir, France.
Photographer: Selbymay. The château, developed from the original
castle, is situated in the commune of Maintenon in the Eure-et-Loir
region of France. It is best known as being the private residence of
the second spouse of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon.
(Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maintenon_-_Chateau_03.jpg)

5th Place - Teatro Comunale di Ferrara in Ferrara, Italy.
Photographer: Andrea Parisi. The Rotonda Foschini, the internal court
of the Teatro Comunale (''city theatre''), in Ferrara was built at the
end of the 18th century.
(Photo link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teatro_Comunale.jpg)

Jury Report
Read the full jury report, including the top 42 photos, here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_international_jury_report_2012_low_resolution.pdf

Related blog posts and announcements
*http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2012_winners
(2012 contest finalists)
*http://blog.wikimedia.org/c/community/wiki-loves-monuments/ (coverage
on Wikimedia Foundation blog)
*http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/WLM_photo_contest_launches_August_2012
(initial press release)

More information
*International contest: http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org
*Statistics: http://toolserver.org/~emijrp/wlm/stats.php

About Wikipedia
Wikipedia and the related sites operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 488 million unique visitors per month, making them
the 5th most popular web property worldwide (comScore, October 2012).
Available in 285 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 24 million
articles contributed by hundreds of thousands of people around the
world.

Media contacts for international contest
Lodewijk Gelauff and Barbara Fischer
Phone:+49 (0) 30 219 158 26 18
Email: press at wikilovesmonuments.org

Media contact at the Wikimedia Foundation
Matthew Roth
Phone: 415-839-6885 x6635
Email: mroth at wikimedia.org

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