International photo contest of nature protected areas
Congrats to everyone who devoted their time to seeing and picturing the beauty around us.
Keep photographing our breathtaking nature and upload your images for the Wiki Loves Earth contest and other Wikimedia competitions!
You can enjoy the picture of a stunning deer, which was taken in Nepal and became one of the local winning images for this year’s contest
During the previous week, the Wikimedia community had an opportunity to attend the annual Wikimania conference, which was located this year in Katowice, Poland
On one of these days, we had a chance to organize a meetup for the Wiki Loves Earth community!
Organizers, jurors, and everyone who is involved or interested in the photo contest could attend the meeting.
We had a cheerful round of introduction, talked about the last contest updates, and discussed the tools that local teams are using, especially the experience of the German organizers.
Everyone could take some WLE postcards and stickers as a warm memory.
Thanks to everyone who joined and we are looking forward to the next touchpoints!
Macro photography can brightly transmit the true beauty of exact species and their unique details. But despite its wonderful results, this type of photography also has its difficulties and requires a precise view, especially if its nature and the way of controlling everything around it are not that possible.
“You never really know what you’re going to find, so it’s always a coincidence.” – shared Sven Damerow.
We welcome you to read this interview and learn many interesting details about macro photography!
Sven Damerow is a German hobby nature photographer who specializes in macro shoots.
His images took the winning places in the local German and International parts of the Wiki Loves Earth photo contest several times: in 2023, in 2022, and 2019.
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
How long is your journey as a photographer? Do you remember your first steps in professional photography and what inspired you to get started?
“I started photographing in 2006; at the beginning, I wanted to photograph landscapes because I had seen so many beautiful landscape photos on the internet, then I went to fields and meadows, and there I noticed the endless variety of insects, and I tried to photograph them. I quickly put the landscapes to one side and concentrated on the insects, which I still do today.”
What type of photography do you specialize in? What is your photographic style?
“Macro photography, for a long time, up to a scale of 1:1, for a few years now also a little closer with a scale of up to 5:1. For several years, I have been working with the focus stacking functions of my camera, which means taking several pictures of a subject where the focus always shifts slightly and in the end everything is sharp from front to back.
In my pictures, I try to keep everything as natural as possible, i.e., I don’t do any major editing, I only use natural light and no external light sources.”
What kind of equipment do you use? Can you explain your choice of camera, lenses, and other gear?
“I’ve been using Nikon cameras since the beginning, and over the years, I’ve used a total of 4 different cameras, which have allowed me to take better and better photos over time. I currently have the Nikon Z8 with a Sigma 150mm Macro lens for all pictures up to a scale of 1:1 and also a Laowa 25mm with a scale of 2:1 to 5:1.
I also always use a tripod with a macro sled and plant clamps to keep my subjects steady in windy conditions.”.
What software do you use for post-processing and editing? Can you describe your editing workflow?
“To edit the photos I use Photoshop and to add the stacks together ZereneStacker. In the beginning, I move the images from the camera to my computer and then I look through all the images individually to determine from to which images to go each individual stack. Then the images are automatically counted together and the finished image is created in its full sharpness. After that, I’ll just move the regulators for colors and so on a little bit. At the end, the picture will be exchanged and finished.”
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
How do you usually choose the locations? What was your favorite one?
“I only have a few places where I take photos, I found them simply by looking for places where it is quiet and where there are as many species as possible. My two favorite places are the meadows on the Elbe dike near Rühstädt, especially for photographing butterflies, and Gülpe for dragonflies.”
What was your experience in picturing the protected areas? Is this term somehow changing the photography conditions? What do you advise starting from when picturing the protected areas?
“Of course, you should always move as carefully as possible in nature in order to cause as little damage as possible and this is of course especially true in nature reserves.”
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
How did you first get involved in the Wiki Loves Earth International photo contest devoted to picturing natural heritage?
“In order to identify insects and find out something about them, I often go to Wikipedia and then one day I saw the WLE competition in Germany above an article and I thought it perfect because I already take photos in nature reserves and took part. Of course, I’ll be there again this year.”
The previous year (and not only), your images took winning places in the main nomination in the local German and International Wiki Loves Earth. Did you aim to win, and what was your reaction?
“Who doesn’t want to win? I was of course really happy that it’s worked out several times now. Given the many photos submitted, it is of course an honor.”
Two of your winning images represent beautiful species of insects, which are showcased very precisely. Is this a “catching the right moment” skill?
“Since I’m always out in the meadows at sunrise, is it not hard to catch the right moment because the insects can’t escape after the night and the cold of the morning.”
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
What is the most important and the hardest part of taking macro and close-up images?
“Insects are very small, so it is important to always work very precisely. The main difficulty in macro photography is the wind, but you can’t really influence it.”
Can you share some of your favorite projects that you are proud of or photographs you’ve taken? What makes them special to you?
“For example, the gold wasp I found one morning. I had talked to another photographer the day before about the fact that I had never seen this beautiful insect before and then the next day I did. It’s very small and I tried to photograph it on as large a scale as possible, which only worked with manual focus shifting and I ended up with a great photo.”
What influences or inspires your work? And what is the most rewarding part of being a professional photographer for you?
“Nature with its infinite variety of insect species, you always find new species that you have never seen or photographed before.”
Author of the photo: Sven Damerow
We wish you wonderful shoots and unique uploads for the Wiki Loves Earth!
The international contest framework is from 1st May — 31st July.
Here are the general results during these three months:
3,800+ participants uploaded their photos;
77,000+ images were uploaded;
3,500+ images already are used in the Wikipedia;
53 countries organized a contest;
9 countries have already submitted their local winning images.
But, if you are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, or Togo — you still have some additional time to upload your images during the first half of August!
Follow each country’s timeline here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/Participating_countries.
Stay tuned to see all the local submissions!
We remind that you have time to upload your images not only for the main contest but to take part in the special nomination “Human Rights and Environment”, uploading images that demonstrate a human effect on nature and not only.
For more details, read here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/Human_rights_and….
Also, this year, we await your beautiful videos filmed in the nature-protected areas.
Check your country’s criteria and the main requirements for the videos here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/Common…/Video_nomination.
Let’s depict our breathtaking nature in the best way possible!
Within the project Heritage Guard Network, we are collecting responses from people who have experience photographing, especially in nature-protected areas or cultural monuments and faced some risks.
This will help to sum up the final papers and answer the main questions that we asked for this seed project.
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE FORM BY 20TH AUGUST: https://bit.ly/4c3eyqv
We welcome you to join our questionnaire, share it with your friends, and contribute to the important project devoted to cultural and natural heritage!
We will share the final results with you afterward.
All great photos start with simple practice. After that, you receive the desired image you would like to showcase.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to depict natural heritage sites and upload your images for Wiki Loves Earth or any other Wikipedia photo contest. However, everyone would like to improve their basic photography skills, which will allow them to capture the world more effectively.
What is the path of a professional photographer? How can you take a stunning image, even on your mobile phone? How can you start taking pictures for the largest photo contests? Where can you get ideas and inspiration?
We discussed these and many other questions with Cesare Barilla, and we invite you to continue reading this post, which could be quite useful for other professional photographers and beginners!
Cesare Barilla
Photo used with the author’s permission
Cesare Barilla is an Italian nature landscape professional photographer.
In 2023, his image took 1st place in the local Italian contest, and 8th place in the International Wiki Loves Earth (landscape category). Also, Cesare’s other image took 6th place in the International Wiki Loves Earth special nomination “Human Rights and Environment”.
How long is your journey as a photographer? Do you remember your first steps in professional photography and what inspired you to get started?
“I remember entering the world of professional photography in 2014 when I bought a Canon Eos 1100D with my first salary. However, my love for photography dates back to when, as a child, my dad gave me a disposable Kodak film camera. From that day, I discovered photography, and I did nothing but leaf through my parents’ album of memories. In the years to come, the revolution came with digital photography and the first compact cameras. I always had one in my jeans pocket; I never went out without it.”
What type of photography do you specialize in? What is your photographic style?
“I specialize in landscape photography, but I am also passionate about modern architecture and street photography. These photographic genres are never missing from the photographs of my travels. My photographic style is sometimes minimal, other times, I pay a lot of attention to the composition to have a captivating and non-trivial photograph.”
Author of the photo: Cesare Barilla
What kind of equipment do you use? Can you explain your choice of camera, lenses, and other gear?
“About a year ago, I converted to the mirrorless world by purchasing a Canon EOS R6 II combined with a Canon RF 15-35 mm f2.8 L IS USM lens and a Canon RF 70-200 f4 L IS USM lens. I chose this equipment because I already owned a Canon EOS 6D reflex which allowed me to take excellent photographs”.
What software do you use for post-processing and editing? Can you describe your editing workflow?
“For post-production of my photographs, I use Camera Raw and sometimes Lightroom. The editing workflow is simple, and I mainly work on controls such as highlights, mid-tones, shadows, contrast, clarity, vignetting, lens correction, etc. My intent is to always start from a good base during shooting so as not to have to waste too much time in post-production.”
Your works mostly picture breathtaking nature and its landscapes. Why did you decide to focus exactly on this, and what do you love the most about nature?
“As previously mentioned, my photographic style is mainly landscape because I love nature and its immense beauty, which continually gives me unique emotions with its sunsets and sunrises.”
How do you usually choose the locations? What was your favorite one?
“I usually choose my locations by consulting internet pages dedicated to photography, such as 500px, Instagram, Juzaphoto, and many others. My favorite location always remains my homeland, Calabria, which allows me every time to travel through the landscapes and colors that have always distinguished its identity.”
What was your experience in picturing the protected areas? Is this term somehow changing the photography conditions? What do you advise starting from when picturing the protected areas?
“Photographing protected areas means photographing something unique but at the same time fragile in its kind, which must be preserved and respected, and photography can certainly contribute significantly. The advice I can give is to discover the protected areas closest to our home and photograph their beauty, especially during the most beautiful hours such as sunrise and sunset.”
Author of the photo: Cesare Barilla
How do you prepare for a photography session or project in general?
“When I have to do a photography session or carry out a project, I always try to plan everything in detail thanks also to the help of technology, such as some apps that allow me to plan sunrises and sunsets precisely and also with Google maps which allows me to find the spots take photos from the comfort of your home.”
How do you continue to develop and refine your skills as a photographer?
“I continue to develop my photographic skills by comparing myself with other photographers and continually challenging myself by creating new photographic projects.”
How did you first get involved in the Wiki Loves Earth International photo contest devoted to picturing natural heritage?
“I discovered the Wiki Loves Earth International photography competition through social media. I participated for the first time in 2023, winning first place in the Italian local contest, and I was pleasantly surprised. It is always a great satisfaction to deal with so many competing photographers and their beautiful photographs.”
Two of your last year’s winning images in the main and special nominations in the local Italian and International Wiki Loves Earth represent natural disasters, which are showcased very precisely. Is this a skill of “catching the right moment” or did you plan to showcase them?
“As I said before, my photographic approach is mainly landscape, but precisely for this reason, I am characterized by a profound interest in social, political, and environmental issues, which in recent years have led me to deal with reportage photography, documenting themes such as environmental sustainability and destructive phenomena caused by climate changes, which are increasingly frequent, increasingly evident and increasingly disastrous.
Being in the right place at the right time certainly helps; other times, I have to go to the place where the disaster happened to document, but my intent is to show what is happening to our planet with climate change.”
Author of the photo: Cesare Barilla
Author of the photo: Cesare Barilla
Do you plan to take part in the contest again?
“Obviously, I participated in the photography competition again.”
What would you advise someone who doesn’t have professional photography equipment? How can you take a good picture even on a mobile phone?
“One piece of advice I would like to give to those who do not have photographic equipment is to see photography through their own eyes regardless of the equipment. You can take beautiful photographs by any means, but only if you already have the photo you want to take imprinted in your mind. For example, cell phones have professional functions that help us take beautiful photographs like a professional camera. Anyone who aspires to become a professional photographer is to chase their dreams and always be curious to observe the world with different eyes than the rest of people.”
What influences or inspires your work? And what is the most rewarding part of being a professional photographer for you?
“My work is influenced by the constant desire to show the reality and beauty that surrounds me. The most beautiful part of being a photographer is certainly being able to stop time through my photographs, have a different vision of the world, and entrust every single moment to eternity.”
Can you share some of your favorite projects that you are proud of or photographs you’ve taken? What makes them special to you?
“I would be very pleased to share some projects and photographs that I have created; some of them are special because they contain stories, encounters I have had, and emotions.”
Author of the photo: Cesare Barilla
We wish you a great photography journey. The international team is waiting for your unique uploads. You have less than two weeks until the end of the contest!
Follow the project’s page to check out the process.
Albania, Kosovo, and the Czech Republic already published their local winners.
Look at the stunning landscapes and species here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/Commons:Wiki…/Winners.
You still have time to upload your photos of nature till the end of July and have a chance to win!
Check the results during this time:
54 countries are on the participants list; this is the record number so far! Check them all here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/Participating_countries;
48 countries already started their local competitions in May and June;
16 countries already finished their local competitions in May and June;
Almost 2,000 participants uploaded their images for the contest;
More than 36,000 images have been uploaded so far.
Stay tuned for the results in July!
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