The best illustrations of Wikipedia 2006

The final vote at the Commons Picture of the Year 2006 ( POTY 2006 ) contest ended , in which members of the Wikimedia media repository community selected the best, in their opinion, illustrations from those added in 2006.

Since its birth in September 2004, the Wikimedia Commons archive of materials (or simply Wikicommons), managed by Wikimedia and replenished by the user community, has already accumulated more than 1 million images, videos and audio recordings that can be used by anyone without any restrictions at no cost.

Within the framework of the project, the daily elections “ Images of the Day ” are held, as well as the constant selection of candidates for the annual competition “Images of the Year”.The winners of the year 2006 were both the works of the participants themselves and the illustrations donated to the community by third-party authors.

The first place was taken by an impressive photograph of the Northern Lights captured in the sky above Bear Lake in Alaska. It is already included in almost all Wikipedia articles about this amazing natural phenomenon.

In second place was a picture of the Parisian homeless, who seemed to many to be a great example of socially conscious art, reminiscent of the troubles of modern society.

The third place with an equal number of votes was shared by two naturalistic photos: a North American blue jay wintering in Algonquin National Park in Canada, and expertly shot mating dragonflies.

Also, photographs were awarded with honorary marks, which almost reached the pedestal, but still are samples of excellent material for Wikipedia articles and not only. Without a doubt, the altruistic community of free authors has once again shown that it can produce real pearls.