Commons:Photo challenge

Photo Challenge

The Photo Challenge inspires photographers to take great pictures and upload them to Commons. Monthly thematic competitions encourage participants to try new subjects, new photographic or processing techniques, and to develop skills while improving the Commons repository of free images. Photographs entered into a competition must be new to Commons and taken by a Commons user.

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Contents
Challenges open for submission
Challenges open for voting
Previous challenges
Themes suggested for future challenges

Formal things

Challenges

Challenges are based on a theme and run for a month. The theme may be a concrete subject, an abstract concept, a photographic technique or artistic style.

Participation

Everybody can participate in challenges open for submission. You simply

Choose one or all of the current challenges
Read the challenge description(s), which may vary in their rules (e.g., some place restrictions on when the photos are taken)
Take picture(s) for the challenge(s) during the challenge period (or, if allowed, select from your own existing pictures that are not yet on Commons)
Upload your picture(s) during the challenge period
Submit your candidates at the top of the current challenge gallery during the challenge period. To do that you click the [Edit] button of the Entries section of your chosen challenge and insert the File name above the last entry (or above File:-Insert image here-.svg for the first entry).
Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:
Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron

For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.
Do not sign your submission(s)
If you want, you can have a look at previous challenges and Vote

Challenges are open to any Commons user. Submissions must be your own work, not previously uploaded to Commons prior to the challenge date and should illustrate the challenge theme in the opinion of the photographer. Please read the challenge descriptions, as there may be additional rules or explanations for specific challenges. There is no limit on the number of submissions per user (unless specially so restricted in the challenge), but please choose from among your best and most varied images.

To submit pictures, you edit the gallery of the contest and add your candidate(s) to the top of the list.

New themes can be proposed and discussed here.

Assessment

After the challenge has closed to new submissions, the pictures will be assessed by popularity voting in the subsequent month. You are allowed to vote for images submitted by others if your Commons account is at least ten days old and has more than 50 edits or if you participated in one of the challenges. Challenges open for voting can be found here.

Winning

The best three pictures will be awarded first, second and third place. They will be displayed on the Photo challenge page and may use the template {{Photo challenge winner}} on the file description page.

New media viewing experience

Please note users can disable the media viewing experience for all images on Commons when logged in (uncheck "Enable Media Viewer" under Files and click Save in Preferences, Appearance).

Challenges open for submission

2026 – November – Red

The new challenge features color Red.

Ideally, each submission should contain a summary description of the subject in the file information, including the location of the subject, and relevant categories should be added to the files to enable other Commons users to find them and use them. Please take care not to violate copyright in respect of non-free creative works, and observe our educational project scope and the personality rights of identifiable people, or your files may be subject to deletion.

The challenge will remain open for submissions throughout November AoE.

Checklist for this theme:

Photographs must be the work of the nominator.
Photographs must be newly uploaded to Commons during the challenge submission period i.e. November 2026 AoE (but may have been taken earlier).
Submissions must be added to the top of the "Entries" section below.
Please do not nominate lots of similar photos; instead choose just your best and most varied images.

Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:

Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron

For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.

Restriction: A maximum of four entries can be submitted per photographer.

There are 27 days 18 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

Entries

Submit your photos

Traditional horse head statue with garland
A bunch of fresh red flowers
Red rose about to bloom
Red cotton bugs caught in the act
Kaffeedose
Coffee container
Fire extinguishers at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai
Steamed beetroot with spaghetti pasta (yummy!)
Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience by night (Nevada)
Fallen common camellia flower
A modest outdoor breakfast for seven persons
London Bus in Canary Wharf
Out of service
Red Powderpuffs with historic building in background
Red hibiscus flower in full bloom
Red hibiscus flower at the edge of wilting
Red Yellow canopy of chariot of lord Jagannath
Lone red leaf
Red palmate maple leaves at night
Fächerahorn im Herbst
Japanese maple in autumn
Porsche 911 2.0 Targa
Felsenbad, Schloss Hohenschwangau
Hohenschwangau Castle - rock pool
Legendary Ducati 996 at Serres racing circuit
Ferrari 288 GTO in Rosso Corsa
To submit your photos please click here

2026 – November – Seeds

The new challenge features Seeds.

Ideally, each submission should contain a summary description of the subject in the file information, including the location of the subject, and relevant categories should be added to the files to enable other Commons users to find them and use them. Please take care not to violate copyright in respect of non-free creative works, and observe our educational project scope and the personality rights of identifiable people, or your files may be subject to deletion.

The challenge will remain open for submissions throughout November AoE.

Checklist for this theme:

Photographs must be the work of the nominator.
Photographs must be newly uploaded to Commons during the challenge submission period i.e. November 2026 AoE (but may have been taken earlier).
Submissions must be added to the top of the "Entries" section below.
Please do not nominate lots of similar photos; instead choose just your best and most varied images.

Add your entry between the <gallery> tags as indicated. Gallery entries are placed each on a new line, and consist of the filename, a vertical bar |, and a description. For example:

Electric steam iron.jpg|An electric steam iron

For help on the syntax of entries in a gallery see Help:Gallery tag. Please do not add square brackets [[ ]] or include a thumb parameter or the full URL. The File: prefix is not required, but harmless.

Restriction: A maximum of four entries can be submitted per photographer.

There are 27 days 18 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

Entries

Submit your photos

Bunch of wild berries
Breakfast spread of variety of seeds
Seeds hiding in fresh and ripe watermelon wedges
The fluffy, silky seed heads of a wild Clematis vine
Sezione di kiwi rosso con semi, coltivato nel lLazio
Strawberries - the only fruit that wears its seeds on the outside
Grown from seeds, ready to be seeded!
Successfully sprouted
Sprouted seeds
Vivid Pyracantha clusters
To submit your photos please click here

Challenges open for voting

Voting is open to all registered contributors who have held accounts for at least 10 days and made 50 edits, and also to new Commons contributors who have entered the challenge with a picture. Users cannot vote for their own picture. Voters may select up to three photographs in each theme to award points and can give praise to other photos without awarding points. Voting will be open for one month. The votes not complying with those requirements will be removed or converted to praises. In some cases users might be asked to correct their votes after voting ends.

October 2026

Previous challenges

August 2026

River ends: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Leaving the Seine estuary (Le Havre harbor) into English Sea	Pedemann	11
#2	Confluence du Rhin et de la Moselle à Coblence en 1988 - Confluence of Rhine and Moselle at Sunshine, Coblence, Germany, 1988 - Zusammenfluß von Rhein und Mosel in Koblenz im 1988	Jean-Marie Vugnon (2)	11
#3	The mouth of the Sava into the Danube	Krigore	9

Needles: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	A threaded needle	Krigore	17
#2	Knitting needles	Tn.kuvat	11
#3	IV Needle & Sodium Chloride Water Drops (Black and White)	Zwiebackgesicht	8

July 2026

Disaster rephotography: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Tenement House Rynek 42, Wroclaw, Poland - after World War II Tenement House Rynek 42, Wroclaw, Poland - current state	Krigore	16
#2	Town Hall in Wroclaw - after World War II Town Hall in Wroclaw - current state	Krigore	12
#3	St. John the Baptist Archcathedral, Wrocław, Poland - after World War II St. John the Baptist Archcathedral, Wrocław, Poland - current state	Krigore	11

Puddles: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Peafowl mirror image on a puddle	Sindugab	18
#2	A puddle in Warsaw, Poland	Krigore	17
#3	Reflection in a puddle	Gorillo.Chimpo	13

June 2026

Bokeh: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Domestic pigeon	NBlart23	11
#2	Gruppo di funghi della specie Mycena renati su un ceppo di faggio, in un bosco misto nell'area di Sorano (Toscana)	Albarubescens	8
#3	Greater Flamingo in the evening golden hours of Pulicat,Tamil Nadu	BKadhiravan	7

Street foods: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Two men order from a falafel truck during a heavy snowstorm in New York City	Sashimi-b	15
#2	This is a delicious job!	Maryam Yazdanisheldareh	11
#3	Sweetfish skewers being grilled and sold in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan.	Ka23 13	8

May 2026

Horizontal lines: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Unterführung Essen Hauptbahnhof_Lichtinstallation	YvoBentele	18
#2	Rain, autumn rain - water drops on clotheslines	BogTar201213	15
#3	Ecocathedral in Mildam municipality of Heerenveen, Part of surplus building material stacked in a special way.	Agnes Monkelbaan	14

Oceanography: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Pacific sea nettles at the Vancouver Aquarium.	The Cosmonaut	13
#2	African penguin colony at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town, South Africa	Krigore	7
#3	Shell Collection	Pedemann	6

April 2026

Fair grounds: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Giradabo at Tibidabo amusement park in Barcelona	IM027	13
#2	Lunapark, Krynica Morska, Poland	BogTar201213	13
#3	Swing ride at the Wurstmarkt Dürkheim	F. Riedelio	10

Wooden bridges: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Bridge on the beach	Nocomentapapun	13
#2	Pont en bois sur une rivière entre le Dorgun nuur et le volcan Khorgo, Mongolie, Juillet 2008 - Wooden bridge over a river between Dorgun nuur and the Khorgo volcano, Mongolia, 7/2008	Jean-Marie Vugnon (2)	9
#3	Wooden Bridge over the Elz in Wittenweier, Germany	Kmtextor	7

March 2026

Three-wheelers: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Child with a tricycle in Reggio Emilia 1982	Ermell	32
#2	BMW Kneeler team BJ.1973 at the mountain race in Würgau	Ermell	15
#3	War es so in der Steinzeit?	Mensch01	11

Town entrances: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Solitaire, Namibia	Choinowski	22
#2	Entrance of Marigny in Jura department, France	Spielvogel	12
#3	Town sign of the city of Stralsund with common buzzard, Stralsund, Germany	Mozzihh	11

February 2026

First aid: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	A labrador retriever of the search and rescue dog unit of the Austrian Red Cross. Vienna 2025, Austria.	Aciarium	20
#2	Lifting a person in a rescue basket.	Julian Herzog	12
#3	REGA rescue team	Roy Egloff	9

Orange: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Woman in traditional orange dress called Buhara sun, Buhara, Uzbekistan	PetarM	14
#2	Fire burns, but makes you warm and relaxed	Maryam Yazdanisheldareh	11
#3	People viewing trees across the pond, illuminated by the setting sun.	Ka23 13	9

January 2026

Brutalist architecture: Entries • Votes • Scores
Rank	Title	Author	Score
#1	Architectural detail on The National Theatre in London.	Julian Herzog	29
#2	beautiful brutalism in Metz	KaiBorgeest	12
#3	Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, 1969, currently digitized	Foeniz	12