Commons:Commons Photographers User Group/Your most memorable shot 2023

It’s that time of the year again: since 2018, we have shared our most memorable shots of the past twelve months with each other. Now in its sixth iteration, the “Most Memorable Shot” has become a tradition we cherish at the beginning of each new year. No matter whether you’re a member of the Commons Photographers User Group or not, please feel invited to share your most memorable picture of 2023 on this page.

I again take the invitation to join in, even though I am not a member of the User Group. This picture is from a wedding I was fortunate to attend while travelling for the last time as a WMF employee to WikiConference India. I took a lot more pictures at this event, one of them was even featured, most of them are a lot more colorful. However I really love this image, as for me it calls the (often very loud) sounds of the wedding to my mind. It was an (almost?) overwhelming experience and I will always be greatful to have been so lucky and could attend this event. --Kritzolina (talk) 11:52, 16 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There are many photos in Category:Wikimania 2023 by Gnangarra that are memoriable for varying reasons. This one from Wikimania resonates with my experiences of 2023. The 'taking of a moment' to observe how the community are enjoying the efforts put in behind the scenes to make Wikimania in Singapore happen.

Several events were certainly memorable, but in photographic terms the year was rather mixed. It didn't quite fit into the usual series of photo projects. Unfortunately, there were no real photo highlights, but a few remarkable shots were taken nonetheless. However, one photo project from the Dülmen-Haltern am See-Havixbeck adult education center has stuck in my mind. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has sponsored adult education projects that should be of interest to 18 to 27-year-olds. The aim is to raise awareness of adult education centers among young adults, offer an exciting topic and at the same time impart a little culture and history. A team consisting of an organizer and three photo artists (including myself) designed and carried out this project ‒ supported by a make-up artist and a seamstress. (All of whom, however, did not belong to the target group in terms of age.) Several workshops were held under the theme “‘’What if …?’ Alternative world stories in the Visbeck special ammunition camp” with the tenor of self-portrayal in the style of steam-punk photography. The image is from the advertising phase and uses elements of the special ammunition depot in conjunction with an object that fits the theme. The design is kept in such a way that the character of the workshops is emphasized. --XRay 💬 10:49, 18 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Most probably this shot, where I grossly underestimated the time needed on this snowshoes hiking day. I finally walked 11 hours... Yann (talk) 14:44, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, my most memorable shot had to be of marine life underwater, that's the area of photography where I'm focusing now. And this shot is a good representative of why. To be honest, the most memorable shot (also underwater) is still to be uploaded (maybe next year, same site, will tell you more) but this one I also liked a lot. I'm working to close gaps of underwater species with good quality material for the movement for a few years now. At the same time, and for those who are not experts in marine life, the beauty (this can be a subjective opinion, of course) and diversity of life down there is overwhelming. And, in my opinion, only when going down there and observing these creatures in freedom will make the experience unforgetable (on top of the zero gravity feeling underwater).

I took this photo one morning at the blue hour in Mont-de-Marsan during my little road trip to the Basque country in January last year. I like this photo very much, mainly because of the colours.

I was attending the opening of a fashion event and took portraits of some notable folks for Commons. I was struck by the deep stare of the subject here and the incredible floral work of her dress. I was fortunate that the lighting situation worked out on my Canon DSLR and flash to pick up all the details. - Fuzheado (talk) Fuzheado (talk) 15:29, 31 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The past year was quite challenging. I found solace in nature, including this morning, which I fondly remember. --Matthias Süßen (talk) 09:17, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Deforestation without reforestation

Due to climate change and the resulting drought, the bark beetle has spread throughout the Thuringian Forest in recent years. The damage was irreversible, and much of the forest had to be cut down. However, the promised reforestation with mixed cultures of various conifers has not yet taken place, which has led to protests by citizens in many places. They appealed to the Thuringian state government to speed up the reforestation process so that the deforested areas are not left vulnerable to soil erosion.

The depicted area 170 meters above the Goldisthal lower reservoir, which is part of Germany's largest pumped-storage plant, shows the bleak situation. Since I hadn't been in this part of the Goldisthal area since my youth, I was quite shocked by this sight when I visited the area last year. -- Radomianin (talk) 22:22, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Dear wiki friends, I understand that this is not a typical contribution for "my most memorable shot". But experimenting with Artificial Intelligence in general and Stable Diffusion in particular, that is very much representing the year 2023 for me.

It was a lot of fun figuring out elements and styles from art history that may fit for our logo. Sometimes I even see the opportunity to use such a logo for promotional and educational work. Ziko van Dijk (talk) 17:58, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

First hike with a very dear friend I had then recently met (but sporadically conversated with for years). We ended up not doing an excessive amount of walking but took a lot of time to observe and enjoy our surroundings, ourselves and each other. We had a photoshoot near our campspot after she had face painted us. (I had no idea what my face looked like by then.) This picture successfully captures our very happy emotions. --Trougnouf (talk) 18:04, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I travelled to a lot of countries in 2023 but was at home in Oxfordshire, England in January. The hoarfrost was amazing and I went out into the garden to see who was around. There was a pretty great tit but the dunnock calling at the bottom of the lane was nice to find. Charlesjsharp (talk) 19:00, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This picture not only reminds me of the fantastic events during WikiCon 2023 in Linz, but also illustrates my commitment to wiki projects. I'm not a professional photographer, but I love taking pictures from different perspectives and being part of this community. Thanks to everyone who helps and accompanies me.--Cookroach (talk) 19:24, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In late October 2023, I flew from my home city of Perth, Western Australia, to Taipei, Taiwan, via Manila in the Philippines, to give a presentation at WikidataCon 2023. The first leg of that trip, a flight operated by Philippine Airlines, took off from Perth Airport's runway 21 (which runs approx. north-south), turned right, and then headed towards the Indian Ocean over Perth's southern suburbs. I had chosen a window seat near the back of the aircraft, to enable me to take photographs without a wing in the way. Additionally, it was a lovely spring morning with clouds in exactly the right places. So I was able to capture a number of very nice aerial photographs looking towards Perth's CBD from the south, including this one, as the aircraft flew by. Bahnfrend (talk) 03:55, 25 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Technically, this photo was taken in 2022, on the last day of the year, but I only uploaded it to Commons on the first of January 2023, so I'm going to consider it was really taken in 2023. This photo is not just a cemetery landscape, but also a reflection of the significant changes that were happening in my life at that time: the loss of a child, the end of a relationship. For the most beautiful flowers to bloom, they need a lot of dead matter. Often, behind that death, there is also a birth, a new opportunity, a new hope. Photographs express our internal pain and this photo was taken at the most difficult moment of my life. The loss of a child can be devastating, and that day I forced myself to go out and take pictures, but my subconscious screamed loudly, showing what I really felt --Wilfredor (talk) 14:14, 25 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

After several years of drought, the 2022–2023 winter was one of the rainiest in recent California history. Multiple atmospheric rivers battered the entire state of California, downing trees and washing away roads in many areas, especially in the mountains. After hearing about the closure of CA-84 (a mountain pass from Woodside up to Skyline Boulevard in the Bay Area peninsula), I grabbed my drone and cycled to the area where I took this shot. -- King of ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ 16:26, 25 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As a kind of little present to the host of Wikimania 2023 I decided to try out a new method of digitizing my old collection of slides from my previous, past millenium, pre-Wikimedia life. The setup is - from my experience - faster and more efficient than using flatbed-scanners, but is still laborsome, if you have 5 digit amount of old slides. So hopefully I will still get some of them done in the rest of my remaining time. The originals from the 1980's and later are usually also in better shape. Sometimes, just because they haven't been looked as much as the older ones.

If these old images can also be used to illustrate Wikidata Items or articles in Wikipedia, it is even more satisfying. --Wuselig (talk) 17:53, 25 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Air raid sirens sound every day in Ukrainian cities and towns. A man with a camera on the streets arouses suspicion and scrutiny by military patrols. Therefore, only nature shots and studio photos remain.
This photo shows the unstoppable force of nature. The mushrooms started growing before the tree fell, and then changed their direction of growth. I love the vibrant colors in this shot. --George Chernilevsky ^talk 05:56, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A special delicacy of the Igbo people in South Eastern region of Nigeria. It is served in occasions, eateries, or relaxation outlets. It is also used as a snack. This delicacy is a combination of boiled and well seasoned chicken, palm oil, onions,scotch bonnet pepper, sliced oil beans, veggies ( spinach) and salt to taste .--Olugold (talk) 08:13, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I remember it was mostly a cloudy day with a dull light and short sunny periods, and I really did not expect that a good shot could be made. However, it seems like the cloudiness perfectly contributes to the calmness of the ambience and improves the overall composition.--Kiril Simeonovski (talk) 08:59, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The regional administration building in Kherson, Ukraine. The picture shows a banner with a photo from the roof of the building on the day of liberation from russian occupation on 22 November 2022. The people on the roof have proudly raised their fists in a gesture of victory and are flying the Ukrainian flag. The banner on which the photo is printed is as high as the building. It now covers the huge hole torn in the building by a russian missile. However, in some lighting conditions, like the one in which my picture was taken, light shines through the hole so that it can be recognised through the banner. The text on the banner means "Free together"--KH32 (talk) 13:48, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I did not made that much in this field in the last year. I only participated at one event as accreditated photographer, but this was important to me. The european tournament of the 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Trophy. And the tournament were won by "my" german team, the current World and European Champion and World Games Winner in 2022. Was hard to get these shots of the medail ceremony, because the officials did not let photographers on the field. But with some relations ... -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:54, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It was a nice evening in July with some Wikipedians on the terrace of Linz Castle with a view of the colorfully lit Ars Electronica Center and the Danube river--Isiwal (talk) 17:06, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A flock of Northern lapwing, their black and white plumage against the pale sky made a strong graphic impression.

2023 brought us some spectacular skies here in Texas. On this particular evening, the sky was all-consuming. It felt as if the clouds had laid a trail for us earthlings to follow. We also had some incredibly breathtaking red skies as well. ^Atsme _Talk 📧 18:20, 15 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I had been standing there for a while watching "Momo", a 1983 born western lowland gorilla lady, who looked over at me from time to time. She approached me with interest and decided to sit with me - on the other side of the dividing glass. There was a wonderful silence in the air as we looked at each other. In that moment, it felt like we had made a special connection. I didn't take too many photos, but enjoyed the moment. Unfortunately, the original shot was anything but good. But as a black and white portrait, I was able to add a certain drama to the image and perhaps even capture the specialness of that moment. For me, this photo is an example of the unexpected connection between humans and animals. It reminds me that we are part of a larger nature and that it is in our hands to stand up for the preservation of these wonderful creatures and their habitats. --Аныл Эзташ (talk) 20:26, 9 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]