Wikipedia launches 'World's Largest Photo Contest'

[john_h.1]

<p>http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/08/30/wikipedia-launches-historic-monuments-photo-contest-to-expand-commons</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>This is sort of refreshing. There's no dancing around the purpose of the contest -- to collect a body of monument photos they can use for their Wikipedia Commons database. Free photos for a free encyclopedia -- all probono. :-)</p>

[starvy]

<p>I wonder if this is just confined to US or the rest of the world as well where there is a treasure trove of historic monuments.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>It's nice to get citizens involved but I think this should really be a Google project. The resulting work will benefit more people by seeing from a never-seen perspective. </p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>Great Idea !</p>

[billangel]

Thanks for the reference to the Wikipedia site. I

downloaded the Android app that they had made

available for participating in their "contest", and

discovered that there were a number of buildings

of historical importance within walking distance

of where I live in Baltimore that I was unawares

of, and for which they desired that pictures be

taken. While I was photographing one of these

locales this afternoon (a group of rowhouses)

someone from that neighborhood came over and

inquired as to why I was taking pictures there. I

explained that this group of rowhouses was of

historical importance, and that I had been

engaged to photograph them by a organization

that produces an encyclopedia. It was a better

sounding answer I think than the answers that I

usually am able to provide to curious and perhaps

suspicious non-photographers when I ( a stranger

in their neighborhood ) am engaged in street

photography.

I didn't do anything more than take a few shots

with my cellphone, and upload one for that locale

to the Wikipedia database.