A black kite (Milvus migrans), a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae

The Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized raptor in the family Accipitridae. In the wild it is an opportunistic hunter that often scavenges for its food. When Tim Sträter came upon this kite in the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, the bird was on its perch, staring down at the zoogoers with some curiosity.

“The most interesting part of the composition was the dark background,” said Sträter. “I took a few photos and fortunately there was one between them that was very successful.”

Sträter has a passion for taking pictures of animals in zoos, where he often practices his photographic hobby. He took photos on a point-and-shoot camera until 2011, but he recently purchased a DSLR, and he says it continues to teach him new skills every day he shoots with it.

Though he uses Flickr to organize his photos, he said he sometimes receives messages from people when they upload them to projects like Wikimedia Commons. Sträter licenses his photos freely because he appreciates it when they can be of value to someone else. “I love to take photos, but I also love it when others use photos which were taken by me. I think everyone should be able to use pictures of others without having to pay for it (except for commercial purposes).”

As for the selection of this photo for the Picture of the Day, he said, “I’m flattered and proud. I never thought that photos made by me would be used for something like Commons and Wikimedia projects.”

(See more of his photos on his Flickr page.)

Matthew Roth, Global Communications Manager
Reporting by Elaine Mao, Communications Intern

Morgan Pressel sizing it up

While golf might seem leisurely for the pros who have caddies to carry their clubs, try carrying a 400mm 2.8 lens with a 1.4x extender weighing over 15 lbs (7 kilos) in 90 degree (32 Celsius) temperatures for 7 miles (11 km). That’s what Keith Allison, a part-time professional photographer, did during a stop on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour in 2009.

In this photo, today’s Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day, Allison had been following LPGA Golfer Morgan Pressel for several holes during her practice round, hoping for an opportunity to get a unique shot. Allison was impressed with how Pressel devoted a considerable amount of time to reading the greens before attempting putts from different locations, even though it was a practice round.

“Golf can be interesting to photograph and that golfers have a unique challenge each week because each course and each hole is different,” said Allison. “One of the most important skills a golfer needs is the ability to read a green and determine where to aim the putt and how hard to hit it.”

In college, Allison was on the photo staff for a semester, and although he enjoyed the experience, he found that film was not for him. It was 1985 and the choice method to develop photos was with Kodak film and a darkroom, which Allison described as an “expensive and frustrating process.” He abandoned film for digital once those cameras became reasonably priced and the quality was high enough for him to purchase one. Soon after, Allison noticed an advertisement for a sports photography workshop. On a whim he decided to enroll and upon completing the course he was credentialed for several professional basketball and hockey games. From there Allison has gone on to do other professional sports covering football, baseball and golf.

“After being on the court of an NBA game literally feet away from the players trying to capture them making a dunk, I became addicted to the challenge of capturing compelling moments like I see in Sports Illustrated each week,” said Allison.

Allison boasts a collection of over 29,000 images uploaded to his Flickr account  and does weekly searches to see where his photos get used online. Wikimedia Commons has frequently made the list of results as many media organizations have accessed his photos via Commons. Having seen his pictures on Commons, many photo editors have contacted him directly for book projects, magazines and websites. Although he believes in the mission of Commons, Allison prefers it when others see a photo of his they feel is appropriate that they add to the Commons rather than him uploading directly.

Allison added that he supports the mission of Commons contributors. “Occasionally, I accept paid assignments and license images but I primarily take photos because I am passionate about it and not because of any potential compensation. I think its great when people share their talents with the world and are not doing it for the money.”

Jordan Hu, Communications Intern

The day's catch at the Ensenada Fish Market

After 20 years of photographing the Fish Market of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico (aka Mercado Negro,) Tomas Castelazo is still drawn back to it for what he describes as a “good photographic and social experience.”

Castelazo says that whenever he goes to photograph the Fish Market of Ensenada, he comes out with great images. The market  is a culmination of several things that fascinate him as a photographer, he said. “The graphic environment is great,” with many shapes, textures, rhythms, abstractions and colors to photograph. Coupled with the smells, noises, tastes and interactions with the vendors, Castelazo finds himself returning often to shoot.

One day, while visiting the market with a friend, he managed to capture the close-up above of some freshly-caught Atractoscion nobilis (or White Seabass) that were on display.

“I loved the balance when I came across this image. On one side, the heads and the eyes give the picture a good rhythm. On the other, you can see the different textures and colors of the tails. I thought that they were both elements of the same subject, but presented separate and different interpretations,” said Castelazo

Brightly colored grapes and leaves in the fall

Castelazo considers himself as a “committed photographer,” who believes that “getting paid to take photographs does not necessarily mean better quality.” He operates in a middle ground between a hobbyist and a professional: “sometimes professional, sometimes hobbyist, but always committed,” he said.

From staring at cameras on the shelves of camera stores to working behind the lenses, Castelazo says his fixation with photography began when he bought his first camera at 13, a Kodak Instamatic. He worked with black and white for many years until he made the jump to digital and began experimenting with color, where he particularly enjoys exploring the different elements of his surrounding environment.

“When possible, I use photography as a language, to communicate or sensitize people with respect to environmental or social issues of our day and surroundings,” said Castelazo. ”But photography is also about giving people a visual experience that will take them out of the present experience, a moment of relaxation.”

Having taught Sociology and Photography at the high school and college level, Castelazo says as a teacher he believes that Wikipedia is a “great social experiment with incredible potential to do good.”

“It feels good to be acknowledged and recognized. But most importantly, a featured picture gives the image an opportunity to be seen and utilized in additional projects. That is where the real value is,” said Castelazo.

(View more of Castelazo’s photos)

Jordan Hu, Communications Intern

The historic Landsort Lighthouse, depicted in today’s Picture of the Day on Wikimedia Commons, is the southernmost point of the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. The lighthouse is located on the island of Öja, which is isolated with no road access. Commons contributor Arild Vågen (User:ArildV), who lives in Stockholm, took a boat to the island and spent the day there taking photos.

In the afternoon, as Vågen was preparing to leave the island, he decided to take one last walk while waiting for his boat home. Along with a friend of his who volunteers at the Landsort Bird Observatory, Vågen explored the area around the lighthouse, climbing around the rocks to get this picture. By then, the weather had taken a turn for the worse–the temperature dropped and the sky became cloudy, but Vågen didn’t mind. “I like the light and the weather here,” he said.  ”It’s more exciting and interesting than a sunny picture, and it might remind us that life on the islands has been tough for long periods and that the islands are exposed to rough weather.” Vågen also pointed out the naval guns visible in the shot, “which reminds us of the Baltic Sea’s dramatic history.” The island has a long history as a military base, he said, and it only became completely open to visitors after the Cold War.

For his trip to Öja that day, Vågen borrowed a camera and lens from Wikimedia Sverige, which offers a technology pool which any of its members can borrow photographic equipment from. Since 2012, Vågen has also been a board member of the Swedish Wikimedia chapter.

He first got involved with the Wikimedia projects in 2008, when he started editing Wikipedia. He mostly wrote articles about Stockholm architecture and history, and he initially only took pictures if they were directly required by articles on Wikipedia.

However, he gradually started making more contributions to Wikimedia Commons. “In the last year, I have also documented areas that are changing, many old port and industrial areas turned into residential and commercial areas. Both now and in future it is important to have pictures of how the area looked before,” said Vågen. ”And there is often an interesting story to document with the camera.” One example of such an area is the island of Kvarnholmen, Nacka, which Vågen “documented for Commons before the old environment is lost.”

Vågen primarily enjoys shooting buildings and landscapes, especially the Swedish mountains and the Stockholm archipelago, but also urban landscapes. He was a project manager for Wiki Loves Monuments 2011 in Sweden. He has always been interested in photography, but only in recent years has he pursued it more seriously. The Wikimedia Commons community has been a valuable learning resource, he said.

“I started contributing to Wikipedia and Commons because I share the vision: ‘Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.’ That’s what we’re doing,” he said. “And it’s great fun to contribute!”

(View more of Vågen’s images)

Elaine Mao, Communications Intern

Joaquim Alves Gaspar (User: Alvesgaspar) captured this beautiful shot of the Lys River on a recent trip to Ghent, the capital of the East Flanders province in Belgium. It may not be immediately obvious just from looking at the image, but today’s Commons Picture of the Day was actually quite a tricky shot to get.

The sky was overcast that day, which presented many challenges for Alves Gaspar. As anyone who has ever tried to photograph a scene on an overcast day will know, it is difficult to obtain a shot like this because the sky is typically reproduced as a uniform white, while the rest of the scene is covered in shadow. Alves Gaspar’s solution to this problem was to underexpose the image “so that the sky doesn’t appear ‘blown,’” and then digitally adjust the brightness and saturation of the other parts of the image to bring back the details and color.

In addition, he said, “one detail that few will realize is that this image is a panorama composed of seven different shots, which were later ‘stitched’ with the help of special software.” Alves Gaspar believes that the final result “reproduces well the mood of the place, with the calm waters of the canal, the colorful buildings and the soft lighting,” conveying “a mood probably close to the one experienced and expressed by the Flemish painters of the past.”

Alves Gaspar has been contributing to Commons since 2006, with more than 1,500 photos uploaded, and approximately 80 Featured Pictures. He attributes much of his knowledge about digital techniques and macrophotography to the image forums on Commons, especially in Featured Picture Candidates, “while reviewing the creations or being reviewed by talented users.”

Even before digital photography, Alves Gaspar had been pursuing photography as a hobby for a long time. He recalls that as a young man, he had his own black-and-white photography lab, and he took pictures using “one of those Rolleiflex-type cameras with twin lenses, borrowed from someone–they were quite expensive.” He took one of his favorite photographs during that time, a silhouette of an old man with a cane in one hand and a camera in the other, walking through a tunnel. “The challenge for anyone looking at this photo is to figure out whether he was approaching or walking away from me!”

He primarily enjoys photographing people, although he finds that to be the most difficult subject, and he also enjoys capturing nature themes and urban scenes. “Like in other forms of art, I consider that the interpretation of reality is an important component of photography, through which we seek beauty, sometimes in unsuspected places and forms, and show it to the others,” he said, citing macrophotography as an example, “where the details of an insect or of a humble flower, so often looking as if coming from an alien world, continue to amaze whoever has the chance of observing them through a macro [perspective].”

(View more of Alves Gaspar’s featured pictures)

Elaine Mao, Communications Intern

Two hippos touch snouts

William Warby actually prefers photographing animals to humans because “animals don’t get impatient while you’re adjusting camera settings.” In this Picture of the Day, however, it was Warby’s patience that was running out.

On a trip to the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable, England, Warby could not believe his luck when he chanced upon a pair of hippos that appeared to be playing with each other. The hippos have been at Whipsnade for as long as Warby can remember, but it was the first time in his experience that they were in a suitable part of the enclosure to get a great photo. Being at a zoo, Warby had to contend with cages, glass and walls in order to position himself in a vantage point that would give him an unobstructed view of the playful pair.

Things did not get any easier for him when rain began pouring down. Luckily he had an umbrella handy to shield himself from the rain and was positioned underneath a tree that provided some shelter. Unfortunately, the tree had some low-hanging branches that increased the degree of difficulty of the shot, as the branches crept into half of the photos taken that day. He said that on a typical day at the zoo he finds that only 5 to 10 percent of the animals lend themselves to good photography.

“When photographing animals in a zoo you don’t get to pose them in convenient positions, you have to play the hand you’re dealt on the day,” said Warby

His first introduction to photography can be attributed to his mother, who worked as a photographer’s assistant before he was born and, according to Warby, was a “pathological picture taker” throughout his childhood. His parents bought him his first camera in 1984 when he was 5 years old, a Fisher-Price Kodak 110 camera. Though his friends have often asked him to take up photography professionally, he found the experience “dispiriting” when he looked into doing some stock photography some years back.

Warby has published over 3,000 photos to Flickr under the Creative Commons License that have been used in everything from school textbooks to museum exhibits, iPhone apps and CD artwork.

“I find this kind of widespread usage of my photography far more rewarding the small financial gain I might have made by not releasing these photos under the Creative Commons license,” he said.

Warby noted that over the years he has settled into taking some types of photos more than others. He said his favorite images have subjects in nature, particularly those he shoots with a macro lens, such as insects and flowers. But as much as he’d like to photograph animals in their natural habitats, “there aren’t too many hippos roaming the English countryside.”

Instead Warby utilizes his annual membership to the Whipsnade Zoo in order to take pictures of animals he “couldn’t realistically gain access to any other way.”

A cheetah watches over its family

In the very same zoo where he shot the hippos, he managed to capture this stunning portrait of a cheetah standing guard over its family. Warby said that “cheetahs are one of the main attractions of the zoo,” so he had to wait his turn, hoping that they remained stationary long enough for him to get in range for a good shot.

This photograph was taken through a chain-link fence. To blur the diamond-shaped wire pattern sufficiently to make it invisible, Warby had to lean over as close to the fence as possible.

Although Warby hasn’t contributed directly to Wikimedia Commons until his work was added from Flickr, he stands firmly behind the goals of Commons.

“I am of the opinion that sharing cultural works benefits everybody including the creator and no project has done more than Commons to enable a culture of sharing creative works to thrive,” he said. “In my case it has dramatically expanded the audience for my photography and created a positive feedback loop that has given my photography a sense of purpose and value.”

Jordan Hu, Communications Intern

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Very few buildings in the world inspire the reverence and wonder of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Diego Delso captured this image, displaying both the sublime beauty of the monument and the intricate artwork of the arch in the foreground. Delso, otherwise known by his Wikimedia Commons username Poco a poco, was vacationing with his brother in India. His tour guide told him about the archway that gives this stunning view of the building.

While this iteration of the photo looks spectacular, Delso said the original did not turn out quite so well. When he initially shot it with his Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, the foreground arch turned out to be very dark, which he said was “a consequence of using the camera in automatic mode.” However with the help of users NorbertNagel and Aleks G, Delso was able to edit the picture to bring out the frame.

Delso first began taking pictures in 2002 while on vacation in Japan. He purchased a Casio Exilim, which had just 1 megapixel, “but it was small enough to carry around everywhere.” He later upgraded to the Canon EOS Digital 400D to better take pictures of an extended trip to the United States. Delso admits that during that trip, “I used the camera mostly in automatic mode because I never invested time to understand all those camera gadgets.”

Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

It wasn’t until he joined the Wikimedia Commons community and began interacting with other contributors that he further developed hi photography skills. After discovering the Quality Images process on Commons, he began to propose a lot of pictures to QI based on the criteria of “beauty” rather than “quality.”

Delso mentioned that “the feedback from experienced users on my pictures was invaluable.” At the same time, this motivated him to further educate himself on the features of his camera. He began to understand important concepts like depth of field, chromatic aberration, overexposure, perspective distortion, and he also started to save pictures in RAW format so that he had more flexibility to improve his pictures with post-processing software.

Despite having three of his pictures featured as Picture of the Day on Commons, Delso maintains his modesty. “The best thing is that after 6 months of photography fever, I still have the impression that I have so much to learn and experience, and it is so much fun sharing all that in Commons,” he said.

(View more of Delso’s images)

Jordan Hu, Communications Intern

Kiril Lazarov, Macedonia national handball team captain.

German Wikipedia contributor and handball aficionado Armin Kübelbeck routinely takes pictures of sporting events, where he captures what he calls “unrepeatable moments,” or candid expressions that capture a sliver of time that will not come again. “I can’t tell a player, ‘Can you do it one more time, but now with a smile on your face?’” he said. “I have to take the available light and the moments as they come.”

In the unrepeatable moment above, which was the Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day on 10 May, 2012, Kübelbeck captured Kiril Lazarov, the captain of the Macedonia national team and one of the most notable Macedonians in the history of the sport, right before he took a seven-meter throw. Unlike many of his images of players in action, this shot shows a much more interesting human element and very little movement.

“For me this smile shows resoluteness and a good portion of slyness and self-confidence. I’m not sure to whom he was looking: his coach, the other team’s coach, a teammate or an opponent,” said Kübelbeck, who was sure Lazarov was not looking at the goalkeeper, who stood in front of him at the time. “But the message is clear: I’ll throw that ball behind the line.”

Adult European Robin.

Kübelbeck began taking photos in the 1980s with a Canon A-1 with a 50mm 1:1.4 lens. He developed the black-and-white images he took in the basement of his parents’ home, where he set up a studio and experimented with many kinds of chemical processing effects, such as sepia toning and solarization.

On December 31st, 2006, he uploaded his first photo to Commons, which he refers to as an archive for his pictures. Kübelbeck said he is not active in the Commons community nor does he submit his own photos for consideration as Featured Pictures.

He is committed, however, to improving the encyclopedic content of Commons and Wikipedia. He also contributes self-made illustrations when his photos don’t successfully capture the meaning of the article he is editing.

He did also admit to enjoying the attention his photos get when they are featured: “Where else would my images and writing have such an audience? A dilettante’s work!”

Matthew Roth, Global Communications Manager

Today’s Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day depicts King’s Cross, one of the largest train stations in London. Colin (User:Colin) visits King’s Cross every day, and when he saw that the new departures concourse had opened on Monday, 19 March 2012, he instantly knew he wanted to get a picture of it.

“[It] had been under construction for quite a while and was closed off, so you couldn’t really see what it would look like,” he said. “Then it opened, and I got a chance to stare at it on my way to work. It is an amazing building. I decided that I would come back with my camera.”

The next day, Colin brought his camera to the station as planned. At first, he tried shooting with his standard lens, but he “couldn’t capture the expanse and the architecture that just sweeps up in front of you and over your head,” so he switched over to his fisheye lens. “Normally such a lens isn’t a good choice for architecture as the straight lines are bent,” he explained. “This is OK for an arty picture, but would it have any educational value? Would it be any use for an encyclopaedia that will naturally be conservative about images? Fortunately, in this case, much of the scene contains bent lines already.”

The resulting image provides an amazing 180 degree view of the station. Colin purposely used a long, ½ second exposure “for the blurred effect it gives to the frantic commuters.” However, he points out, “you’ll note that all the commuters who are stationary are studying their mobile phones.” He feels that the choice of lens and exposure combine to convey the impression of a “vast and energetic scene.”

Colin considers himself a hobbyist photographer, and while he has been interested in taking photographs since he was a teenager, he only became serious about it when he purchased his first DSLR 18 months ago.

Colin first started contributing to Commons because he wanted to add photos to Wikipedia articles he was working on. He has been a Wikipedia contributor since August 2005, and he uploaded his first picture to Commons in November of that same year. He was working on an article about anticonvulsants, so he took a picture of a glass ampoule of paraldehyde using his compact camera.

After purchasing his DSLR, he became more involved on Commons. “I realised I could contribute high quality photographs rather than just adequate ones,” he said. “The requirement that the content needs an educational purpose is a limitation — no arty stuff — but also helps me come up with ideas for new pictures.”

Colin feels that his participation on Commons has been useful in helping him learn and improve as a photographer, both through his own contributions and through his involvement with the community. “Since I’ve started learning to take better pictures, I’ve gotten involved in some of the picture review processes. Looking at, and judging other peoples pictures, is a good way to learn what makes a good picture,” he said. “I’m really chuffed that I’m able to take pictures that people want to look at and enjoy. I plan to keep improving and submitting better pictures.”

(View more of Colin’s photos)

Elaine Mao, Communications Intern

It was an early morning in autumn and Luc Viatour (User:Lviatour) was on a nature path with a naturalist friend well-versed in the habits of deer, when he chanced upon this red deer (Cervus elaphus) stag running through a field. “The hardest part is the approach,” said Viatour, emphasizing the importance of keeping a safe distance.

This image – which was selected as today’s “picture of the day” on Wikimedia Commons – is part of a series which Viatour especially loves, since he feels it was “a moment with nature.” He hopes it will inspire others to “want to go early in the morning and observe nature preserves.” In addition to nature photography, Viatour is also interested in astronomy, architecture, color and black-and-white photography…“in fact all [subjects and styles],” he said.

He first developed a passion for film photography at the age of 14, and “digital photography accentuated this passion.” Viatour is now a professional photographer, after he decided that photography was an activity he wanted to devote himself to full-time.

Viatour considers himself a computer and free software enthusiast, which is how he first discovered Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia Projects. “I like the idea of free software that I use every day,” he said. “It seemed logical to contribute to something that I use. As I am not very good at writing, I helped with what I think I do best.”

He started contributing to Commons in 2005, when he uploaded one of his best pictures, from a series of photos he took of the solar eclipse in 2009. “I realized then, [after I] saw the success, that some images were better in the public domain [than forgotten] in one of my drawers,” he said.

(View more of Viatour’s featured photos or visit his personal website)

Elaine Mao, Communications Intern