Türkiye Tops the Podium with 7 Awards at Viki Loves Earth

Turkey's Pride: Seven Photos Win Awards in Wiki Loves Earth Competition

Photographers from Turkey achieved major success in the 2024 International Wiki Loves Earth Competition. Of the 20 photographs that placed in the competition, 7 were taken in Turkey. These awards, showcasing Earth's beauty from small details to spectacular landscapes, demonstrated once again the talents of Turkish photographers to the world.

80,100 Photos Submitted from 56 Countries

The Wiki Loves Earth Competition, held for the 12th time this year, took place across 56 countries with a total of 3,800 photographers uploading 80,100 photographs. Photographs selected by each country's local jury were evaluated by the international jury in two categories: "Landscape" and "Macro."

Turkey's Top-Ranked Photographs

Landscape Category

1. Fatih Yılmaz: Ranked first with an extraordinary photograph capturing Lake Burdur from a bird's-eye perspective composition.

3. İsmail Taşgeldi: Drew attention with a photograph immortalizing Yaylalar Village in the Kaçkar Mountains with a captivating landscape.

5. İsmail Taşgeldi: Photographed a horse drinking water at Hürmetçi Wetland with the Erciyes Mountain landscape in the background.

8. Turan Reis: Placed with a photograph reflecting autumn light in Karagöl-Sahara National Park.

10. Ekrem Kalkan: Achieved success with an autumn landscape from Yedigöller National Park.

Macro Category

3. Mehmet Karaca: Photographed a pair of desert larks appearing to dance in Kapiçam Nature Park.

7. Mehmet Karaca: Stood out again with a frame capturing details of a young chameleon in Kapiçam.

1,200 Photographs from Turkey Participated

Out of 1,200 photographs uploaded from Turkey, 15 were selected to be sent to the international competition. This selection was made following evaluations by the local jury team consisting of Hakan Tokuch, Banu Nazikcan, Engin Tavlı and Murat Özçelik. Turkey's portion of the competition was organized by Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey (WMTR).

The WMTR team noted that it was a major achievement that all photographs submitted to the competition were shared with open licenses and could be freely used in numerous projects, particularly Wikipedia, and congratulated the award-winning photographers.

Turkey's Natural Beauty on the World Stage

Turkey's success this year, following five years of competition participation, once again demonstrated the important place our country holds on the world stage in terms of nature and biological diversity. Turkish photographers captured Earth's beauty through their lenses, becoming an international source of pride in this field. The awards were welcomed with great appreciation as an occasion to celebrate Turkey's natural heritage and mastery in the art of photography.