Commons:Photo challenge

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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.

Skip to: 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

1. Choose one or all of the current challenges
2. Read the challenge description(s), which may vary in their rules (e.g., some place restrictions on when the photos are taken)
3. 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)
4. Upload your picture(s) during the challenge period
5. 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.

6. Do not sign your submission(s)
7. 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

2025 – October – Freight cars

The new challenge features freight cars.

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 October UTC.

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. October 2025 UTC (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 4 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

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Entries

Submit your photos

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  Wagon markings on a covered goods wagon (baggage car G10) belonging to the Deutsche Reichsbahn of the Cuckoo Railway
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  Märklin freight wagon model (Shimmns-tu 718) for strip steel coils of the DB Cargo
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  Märklin model of a Deutsche Shell AG mineral oil tank wagon
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  Märklin model of a covered goods wagon (Gmhs 54) of the Deutsche Bundesbahn
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  Old train carriage. NS D 6066. Undercarriage old train carriage NS D 6066.
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  Freight cars at the station in Lysá nad Labem, Czech Republic.
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  Nákladný vlak s vozňami rôznej farby rýchlo prechádzajúci po jednokoľajovke popri zastávke osobného vlaku.
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  Freight wagons of Taiwan Railway Corporation on the tracks of railway at Hualien railway station on a working day
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  Old tank car between two cabooses, which were coupled at the end of freight trains in North America to host the Crew; Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, Nevada City, USA
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  Torpedo Ladle car made by Demag for Transportation of molten pig iron, Völklinger Hütte, Germany
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  Graffiti-covered freight wagon used for alternative purposes in the Godsbanen cultural quarter, Aarhus, Denmark
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  Open wagons with and without coal, Duisburg, Germany
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  The Grain Hopper of London, Ontario
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  Old train carriage. NS D 6066.
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  时代的交会
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  北京站旁，动车进站，photograph by Stanley Sun。
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  北京南站出站
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  Car carrier train, VR
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  Old train carriage. NS D 6066. Towing eye from old train carriage. NS D 6066.
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  catenary working car
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  Wagon Train à Vapeur de Martel (Lot)
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  Wagon Train à Vapeur de Martel (Lot)
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  Wagon Train à Vapeur de Martel (Lot)
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  Old tank car at Magdeburg, Germany
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  Freight cars of former German national railway system at Magdeburg
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  Hamburger Hafenbahn 40
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  Freight wagons of Taiwan Railway Corporation on the tracks of railway at Hualien railway station in the evening
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  historical covered freight wagon in Hamburg seaport
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  Old train carriage. NS D 6066. Coil springs old train wagon. NS D 6066.
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  flat wagon of Hamburg Metro
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  Auf Flachwagen aufgeladene Fahrwerke/Drehgestelle, Güterbahnhof Schorndorf
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  Zug- und Stoßeinrichtungen, Güterbahnhof Schorndorf
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  Bogie of a heavy torpedo car for transporting liquid iron of an iron plant, steel plant Völklingen, Saarbrücken, Germany
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  Tank cars on sidelines in freight station at Hohe-Schaar-Straße in evening leight, Hamburg, Germany
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  Freight car used to transport deportees to Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz II Birkenau (1940-1945); gatehouse in the background, Oświęcim, Poland
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  Door of a covered goods wagon, Keetmannshoop, Namibia
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  Ausgemustert - dennoch freie Fahrt
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  Museumsstück
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  Train Tracks by Riverside Drive During Hurricane Helene Flooding
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  Nákladné vozne na prepravu rôznych druhov materiálu a tovaru, fotené cez okno osobného vlaku idúceho okolo (Slovensko).
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  Tateyama Cable Car, Japan. The train consists of one freight car (in the foreground of the photo) and one passenger car.
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  Freight train near Eltmann
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  Грузовые поезда в России 2H1A5481WI
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  Various parked freight cars, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
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  Parked red boxcar, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
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  Intermodal containers on flat cars, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
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  Tavaravaunut
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  Tavaravaunu
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  A Freight Car in Kolkata
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  Открытая грузовая платформа
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  Шасси типа Chanin для железнодорожных грузовых вагонов.
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  Современный вагон для перевозки грузов.
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  Современный вагон для перевозки грузов.
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  A passenger car on the Georgetown Loop Railroad in Colorado
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  Trem em Campos do Jordão no ano de 2021
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  VLT, Rio de Janeiro
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  Old Train Car, Uruguay, December 2023
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  Train Car, New York City subway
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  rusty skeleton car
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  Talbot bulk goods wagon, Behringersmühle. Fleet of the Frankenschweiz Museum Railway (Fränkische Schweiz steam railway)
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  old forgotten in field
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  Taganrog. Station "Taganrog-2"
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  Old gravel wagon of the former German national Railway system
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  Freight car for the transport of sea fish, Deutsche Reichsbahn, Magdeburg, Germany
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  Freight train wagon in Poland
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  Freight train wagon
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  Wagon - Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie
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  Covered Boxcar at Hualien Station in the evening
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  Грузовые поезда в России 2H1A5601WI
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  Грузовые поезда в России 2H1A5509WI
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  Грузовые поезда в России 2H1A5430WI
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  Old freight cars near Lake Doirani, Greece
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  Train de la baie de Somme
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  Freight cars of Tateyama Erosion Control Train, Japan. The line uses 610 mm narrow gauge.
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  Freight from a train in rural Iowa
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  New wagon ready to start it's journey
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  Assembly train at the construction site of the new Nuremberg-Ebensfeld line
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  JR Freight, Japan
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  Wasco tank wagon at Oldenburg, Germany.
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  Stanchion wagon at Harpstedt, Germany.
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  Hopper wagons at Oldenburg, Germany.
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  Maintenance train at Großenkneten, Germany.
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  Oil train
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  Old 5-ton railway crane
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  Narrow gauge railway in Sardinia
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  Part of an old train
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  Retired covered wagons on display
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  Freight cars scene of many types on the railways at Changhua railway station.
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  To submit your photos please click here

2025 – October – Dyeing

The new challenge features Dyeing.

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 October UTC.

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. October 2025 UTC (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 4 days 2 hours left before this challenge ends. (refresh)

Examples

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Entries

Submit your photos

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  Dyeing women's cotton underwear at home in the kitchen using food ingredients.
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  mit blauer Tinte gefärbte Rose
  rose colored with blue ink
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  mit blauer Tinte gefärbte Rose
  rose colored with blue ink
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  mit blauer Tinte gefärbte Rose
  rose colored with blue ink
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  Potassium dichromate crystal dissolves in water and, through diffusion, colors the liquid throughout its entire volume
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  Poly(vinyl alcohol) dyed with copper salts in the presence of ammonia
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  Coumarin derivative - poly(vinyl alcohol) film dyed under the influence of ultraviolet light
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  Brown dye colors water
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  Príprava na farbenie látky doma s prísadami používanými pri varení, najmä rôzne koreniny.
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  crafts at the meeting point between the Parnaiba and Poty rivers
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  Coloranti in polvere per la stoffa naturale e colore per stensil
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  Result of a dyeing process using tie-dye technique - dyed bazin fabric, Bamako 2010, Mali
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  Dyers remove the traditional Bazin fabrics from the dye bath to rinse the dye out in the Niger river, Bamako 2010, Mali
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  Women washing out the just dyed Bazin fabric in the Niger river, Bamako 2010, Mali
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  Dyer explaining Bogolan dyeing with plant colours, finished as ochre basilanfiní (right side) and indigo blue galafiní (middle), Ndomo centre, Ségou 2010, Mali
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  I colori del panno del Casentino. Variazione dei colori dovuta ai vari mordenti: solfato di allume per sviluppare il colore rosso mentre l'allume di rocca con il cloruro di stagno invece che la robbia, hanno prodotto il colore arancio
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  Il genere di funghi Pisolithus hanno proprietà tintorie utilizzate anche nel passato. A seconda dei mordenti utilizzati nel processo di tintura, P. arhizus può produrre vari colori, dal giallo al marrone, al marrone rossastro e al nero.
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  Gas flame dyeing with salt - sodium chloride
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  Coloring Clouds with the Rays of the Setting Sun
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  Autumn Leaves: Red and Green
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  Red window curtain
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  The prototype display area for fabric natural dyeing materials at Xinpu Persimmon Dye House (kirkir)
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  Small towel of persimmon tie dyeing and Large towel of blue cloud tie dyeing
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  This fabric had been dyed dirty by floor dust or sewage water for a long time on the spin mop disc.
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  Undyed denim -- broken twill weave
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  Ecodying - Pflanzenfärbung auf Papier
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  Dyeing the sky with coloured powder after the Andalo Rainbow race
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  Yarn Skein
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  Yarn Balls
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  zoomed in to a pink dye
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  Bubble gum
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  It looks like Jupiter
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  Tanneries. Large open-air vats of color dyes with tannery workers amongst them in Fez
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  Tanneries. Large open-air vats of color dyes with tannery workers amongst them in Fez
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  In a greenhouse, flowers are grown to make natural dyes.
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  Not quite
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  Dyeing wooden baskets
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  the cloth mottled of after fewer touched with bleach drops
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  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.

September 2025

• 2025 – September – Bricks

  2025 – September – Gold

Previous challenges

August 2025

Home interiors: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Time to milk the cows.	Old style Chinese decoration	Contemporary blue and white bathroom
Author	Magnolia677	Pauloleong2002	OKJaguar
Score	10	9	7

Bark: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image			File:200130 D 9059.CR2.jpg
Title	Andrews Mare, Lyndhurst, New Forest, Hampshire, England, UK	Willow trees on the bank of the river Windrush at Witney, Oxfordshire, UK	Tree on Lake Gunn Nature Walk in Fiordland National Park in Southland on South Island of New Zealand
Author	JoanaImages	Scampz	Karel Stipek Austria
Score	17	14	10

July 2025

Waterside structures: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, Netherlands	Seen on a tour of Norfolk Harbor, these massive dockside cranes will work on naval vessels.	Blick von der 580 Meter hohen Steilklippe „Cabo Girao“ auf die am Ufer liegenden Terrassenfelder in der Nähe der Ortschaft Câmara de Lobos auf Madeira.
Author	JoanaImages	JoannaPoe	Otto Domes
Score	15	14	13

Vending machines: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Selecta vending machine in Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland.	Ticket machines in the concourse of Nuremberg Central Station	Sake, øl og whisky i byen Fuji i Japan.
Author	W8Kp3mZr1j	Ermell	Odd Roar Aalborg
Score	11	8	6

June 2025

One stands out: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	One purple Tulip surrounded by a few white Tulips.	Flamingos, one shakes itself after a bath, Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau, Camargue, France	a goose surrounded by ducks
Author	MikeBurnsPhotos	Mozzihh	Chrissieminton
Score	17	15	11

Steam: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Treno a vapore nella stazione di Pontassive in occasione della Befana	Sinter terraces full of steam in the morning sun, Lower Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park	Vasca e sorgenti di acqua calda sulfurea al Parco della Mola di Oriolo Romano
Author	Repuli	Lusi Lindwurm	Albarubescens
Score	13	10	8

May 2025

Flowers: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Sunflower field in Burgundy	Waterlily	Hasenglöckchen eingerahmt
Author	Ibex73	Peterdownunder	Englandfan~commonswiki
Score	12	8	8

Flags: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Rettungsschwimmer im Parque Natural de Corralejo, Fuerteventura	Flag of Namibia on an airplane winglet	Paracadutista della Brigata Folgore con bandiera italiana sopra Livorno
Author	Fischer1961	Mozzihh	Marcxosm
Score	18	7	5

April 2025

Meadows: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	A hill dream	Sunset over a green meadow with forest in foreground and layered mountain silhouettes in the distance, under a glowing orange sky.	Fioritura a Castelluccio di Norcia. Italia
Author	Anna.Massini	Martinovmejl	Repuli
Score	14	12	9

Camelidae: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Camel at toni's zoo - B&W	Kamel am Strand in Ägypten.	Ägyptische Motive mit Kamel. Strand des Grand Makadi Hotels am Roten Meer.
Author	Roy Egloff	Kora27	Kora27
Score	16	11	10

March 2025

Hiking: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	1	3
image
Title	Silhouette of a female hiker in front of the Massif du Mont-Blanc	A hiker on the last meters before reaching the summit of the Schneespitze in the Stubai Alps	A picture of three people hiking the path called "Dragon's Back" in Brecon, Wales. Taken by Lauren Moon in June of 2024.
Author	Stephan Sprinz	Milseburg	Lighting-design-lila
Score	15	15	11

Newspapers: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Newspapers are living history	Newspaper reader in Naples, Italy	Rolled up newspaper delivered to a home in Redan, Victoria.
Author	Sindugab	Mozzihh	Peterdownunder
Score	14	12	10

February 2025

Absence: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Absence of essence	Automatic river lighthouse. Yenisei River, Krasnoyarsk	Linden alley at Kalevankangas Cemetery in Tampere, Finland
Author	Tn.kuvat	VSerebrenikov	Xannima
Score	18	17	12

Healthy living: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Heal thy life.	Sun salutation for healthy living	Young athletic girl
Author	Tn.kuvat	Sneha G Gupta	VSerebrenikov
Score	12	11	10

January 2025

Leatherwork: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	2
image
Title	Tanners at work in one of the old tanneries of Fez, Morocco	Pilot with Leather Aviator Helmet	Handmade shoes
Author	Lusi Lindwurm	Roy Egloff	AK-Bino
Score	24	11	11

Ovals: Entries • Votes • Scores

Rank	1	2	3
image
Title	Horseshoe Bend (Arizona)	Underpass of Michelinstraße in Hallstadt	Fontana in un giardino storico in Roccalvecce (Viterbo)
Author	Gzzz	Ermell	Albarubescens
Score	15	12	11

Previous years

• Photo challenge in 2024
• Photo challenge in 2023
• Photo challenge in 2022
• Photo challenge in 2021
• Photo challenge in 2020
• Photo challenge in 2019
• Photo challenge in 2018
• Photo challenge in 2017
• Photo challenge in 2016
• Photo challenge in 2015
• Photo challenge in 2014
• Photo challenge in 2013