Breathtaking

The voting is on for Third Annual Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year. Not just anyone can vote, unfortunately. From The Wiki:

Voting is open for all Wikimedians who were registered before 1 January 2009 and with at least 200 edits on any Wikimedia project (at time of voting).

But that shouldn’t stop you from looking at some breathtaking photography, Gentle Reader. Here’s a single-page gallery featuring all 501 (!) images nominated for the 2008 awards… from which I’ve selected three that caught my eye. There are some spectacular images in this gallery, covering every possible subject known to man. And not all of the images are current… there are some amazing photographs of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, for example... including one shot from a tethered balloon 2,000 feet above the city.

Credit for the image above (UlvikfjordMountainsPanorama.jpg): Aqwis. This is a full size image... and have you EVER seen calmer water? Ever?

Credit for the images above (Schnepfenfliege Rhagio scolopaceus2.jpg): Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak. The top image is a 40% re-size, the bottom is a full sized and cropped detail from the original image.

Credit for the images above (Hong Kong Night Skyline.jpg): Base64, retouched by CarolSpears. The same drill applies on these images... top is a 50% re-size, bottom is a full-sized cropped detail.

And the great thing? All of these images are published with a Creative Commons license… meaning they’re free for use as long as the author is credited. As always... click the individual images for larger.