Oppose - This looks like it was edited to give a perfectly flat colour, using the select colour tool. Receipts are monotone, but not this much. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 11:58, 19 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Weak Oppose. It's an interesting subject but the image itself is a bit lacking. The skin tones are not particularly pleasing and the image is not particularly sharp or high resolution. Not a portrait that stands out for me. Ðiliff«»(Talk)14:18, 19 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: White balance seems rather off; likely from over-correction of the original. (I also note the removal of the background line.) I didn't know we had an article on Merkel's hand gesture though. Reminds me of the Merkel superglue meme. --Paul_012 (talk) 20:28, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I've been bold and fixed the white balance problem. It serves to fix the blue background and the sickly skin tones, I'm not sure if it's enough for me to support it though. Ðiliff«»(Talk)20:45, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Weak support I was leaning oppose considering that the quality wasn't good. But the EV on this is great. I never knew they even had an article on this. Personally, the EV overshadows everything else. Étienne Dolet (talk) 22:34, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Still? Are you seeing the older cached version or the current one? I adjusted the WB so that the background was near enough neutral grey, but it does still look slightly cool. I just guessed that the background was not colour tinted and it seemed to work ok. The white shirt underneath the red cardigan looks fairly correct, as does her buttons. Her skin tones are not ideal, but acceptable for me. In any case, I don't think it's going to pass, but wanted to double check you were looking at the right version. Ðiliff«»(Talk)14:24, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This is a very notable subject - the gothic cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the 'mother cathedral' of Anglicanism worldwide. These six images show the major architectural aspects of the cathedral. The perpendicular nave, the choir, the rood screen, the stained glass, the Shrine of Thomas Beckett, and the cloisters.
Yeah, that was unfortunate, but I can't really ask them to turn off the lights for me. I could have cropped it to avoid the lights but because of the starbursts from them (it's unavoidable with bright lights pointing at the lens), I'd have to completely lose the framing of the arch and that's a somewhat important part of the perpendicular style of architecture... Ðiliff«»(Talk)16:05, 19 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Stunning. Money well-spent by Wikimedia UK, though I have always thought it's a travesty that you have to pay to get into churches. (It is, of course, quite reasonable to ask for donations, but the thought that you can't get into a church if you've no coins in your pocket seems a little amiss.) J Milburn (talk) 11:45, 20 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'm with you on that. And in addition, some cathedrals charge extra for photography on top of the entry fee - usually about £5-6 which 'buys you the right' to take photos inside. Of course these cathedrals need need funding to remain open, but really? What is so different about someone who wants to take photos as opposed to looking around? Oh well, I guess they decided that they can't easily differentiate between religious visitors and tourists, but a camera firmly identifies you as a tourist. The irony is that in the case of Canterbury Cathedral, I specifically arrived at about 7:30am to attend morning mass so that I would have the whole cathedral to myself (virtually) before it officially opened to the public at 9am, and I managed to avoid the steep £10.50 entry fee in the process. Yes, it was cheeky, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do, and hey, I saved Wikimedia UK some money. ;-) Ðiliff«»(Talk)12:01, 20 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose — Nothing whatever against Michelle Obama — It's just my inveterate opposition to official photos of political figures as FPs (and she is by extension a political figure). I know others disagree with me on this issue. Sca (talk) 15:21, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment -High EV for one thing - she is the first black First lady in the White house... kinda exciting, still. Even if her strictly personal merits might not be that outstanding. Hafspajen (talk) 07:24, 24 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I think this is a much more relaxed and candid portrait than we usually see (compare it, for example, with her first official portrait). I think it has EV as a result; there's certain subjects which we might not have quality images of otherwise. One could also argue that there is often a fine line between official images and non-official ones. At what point does a sitting with the express purpose of taking an photograph become official or staged? I think we have to judge the outcome, more than the circumstance. 70.72.190.205 (talk) 06:32, 25 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. My only tiny criticism is that the crop seems fractionally too close to her right elbow. If there is more in an original somewhere then it would be good to redo that. 31.51.2.9 (talk) 21:24, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
SupportNot quite what I'd expect for a picture of a Cathedral, in terms of all the artwork on display etc, but accurate representation of what it would have looked at the time. Nice clean and no issues I can see. gazhiley13:42, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, it's not very gothic or flamboyant as far as cathedrals go. It is fundamentally a very old building, but it is very sparsely decorated and not very large (as per the article, the nave was left unfinished with temporary brick wall at the end keeping the rain out for over 50 years - the nave was only finalised and consecrated in 1991), so it doesn't quite have the same grandeur of the other English cathedrals. Ðiliff«»(Talk)16:17, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Nice photo, but I oppose unless the creator can demonstrate he has permission to publish this photo, a significant portion of which contains art with no-photography signs next to them. Tokugawapants (talk) 23:24, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Good Point - there's a lot of potentially unauthorised art work on display. I've struck my vote until someone can say if this is an issue or not. I will then re-vote accordingly. gazhiley10:34, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support. I only just noticed that my image was nominated (haven't been very active over the Christmas/New Year period). I would have thought that the image of the choir is a more interesting view though. The fact that art was being exhibited in the nave at the time was a bit unfortunate. Agree with Crisco though, it is de minimis in this case. Ðiliff«»(Talk)16:09, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - Not just you; It looks like this photo was taken slightly off-center. Notice how the flag pole at the top of the palace sits in front of the rest of the roof behind it. Compare the fence in this picture to Google maps. Tokugawapants (talk) 06:38, 24 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support Excellent level of detail throughout, other than a slight part out of focus on the right side vertical rock face - nowhere near enough to oppose though. Lovely scene. gazhiley12:24, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support. It's a shame the article's so short; I managed to find a source for the most basic information, but most of what's online is not in English. J Milburn (talk) 20:10, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 3 Jan 2015 at 09:41:14 (UTC)
Original – Panorama of Paris, featuring the Pont des Arts (bridge of arts) and just behind, the pont Neuf (new bridge) and the île de la Cité. The institut de France (french institute) stands on the right, at the end of the pont des arts. The towers of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral can also be seen on the far behind.
Weak Oppose. In addition to what Crisco mentioned, its's a visually stimulating image, but I find the composition quite messy and confusing. Not many of the Parisian landmarks actually seem to be well shown. Ðiliff«»(Talk)20:03, 21 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Once again, darkness is the devil here : motion blur on the boats (both the the right of the bridge, and the one under the second arch from the right); lack of detail around the banking behind the "700 Pont Au Change" sign; The main bridge itself is too dark to see what it is made from. All minor issues, but all together makes me oppose. Nice enough picture, but the lack of light results in a few issues - would love to see this taken during the day. gazhiley11:04, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support, but then I shamelessly like atmospheric photos. I think it is the light that keeps the composition and everything together, and the details are rather clear, -well, with the exception of the a boat. Here it is the cars who move. Doesn't this has to do with the length of exposure in night pics? Hafspajen (talk) 05:28, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose The cluttered composition (of what's a rather formal and fairly uncluttered cityscape) greatly reduces any EV here. It's a pretty picture, but not much use for illustrating articles IMO. Nick-D (talk) 23:27, 24 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 3 Jan 2015 at 09:41:14 (UTC)
Original – The Lüner Lake, seen from Mt. Saulakopf (2,517 m) in Austria. Left is Mt. Schafgafall (2,414 m) and right Mt. Seekopf (2.698 m). Behind the lake are Mt. Kanzelköpfe (2,437 m) and Mt. Girenspitze (2,394 m) in Switzerland.
Oppose The Nom is for the lake, but the lake is cut off by the peak to the left. Taking this picture from on top of that peak would show the full lake. gazhiley10:32, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support, I like how it shows the mountains surrounding the site. The picture gives the names of mountaintops - The Lüner Lake, seen from Mt. Saulakopf (2,517 m) in Austria. Left is Mt. Schafgafall (2,414 m) and right Mt. Seekopf (2.698 m). Behind the lake are Mt. Kanzelköpfe (2,437 m) and Mt. Girenspitze (2,394 m) in Switzerland. The small yellow squares. Hafspajen (talk) 05:35, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
While that may be true Sca the point is that this is a nom of the Lake, not the area itself, and the lake is obstructed. Nice/impressive pictures unfortunately are not what this section is about. gazhiley15:15, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: I oppose a watermarked version, but maybe someone would be able to digitally remove the watermark without doing any damage to the picture? J Milburn (talk) 19:34, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment — Shouldn't be hard to fudge the watermark, and this is fairly clear for a WWII color shot, but I'm not sure about its EV or significance FP-wise. Minor interest in the mix of German- and Soviet (?)-style helmets. Sca (talk) 15:13, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That ammo looks like 40mm, in which case the gun would be significant since the 40mm was widely considered one of the best AA guns of WWII, and in the pacific accounted for nearly 50% of Imperial Japan's aircraft losses in that theatre at one point. The 40mm is also one of the enduring weapons of war to come out of WWII, as a the gun is still in service in parts of the world. That having been said, a better image of the gun may have greater odds of getting through here, since the EV of a weapon in war is sometimes not as a good as the EV of a photo of the war weapon before or after the battle. 67.10.109.105 (talk) 08:14, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 4 Dec 2014 at 20:28:15 (UTC)
Original – The painting shows Saint Francis of Assisi at the moment of receiving the signs of the Stigmata, the wounds left in Christ's body by the Crucifixion.
Reason
The painting was the first of Caravaggio's religious paintings, from 1595. Caravaggio is the art history's enfant terrible, unorthodox, striking, innovative and rebellious. He was involved in fights an scandals, but he was a magnificent painter. He had a very special unmistakable style that was his own, and he influenced generations of painters of the Baroque style like Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Bernini, and yes, even Rembrandt.
- Well, not much I can do, if he doesn't respond. He was editing on commons since I posted on his talk-page - and must have seen my question - and yet he never responded - and he has an user-box where it is stated he can speak English. Hafspajen (talk) 10:40, 26 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently it was a friend of the uploader who messed up the source, and I have been promised he will be asked... here. So far - no further response. --Hafspajen (talk) 16:02, 6 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Well, no. Nothing, I asked several times. I think the guy is an admin on commons ... but he said he will ask his friend who made a mess of the sources, but so far nothing. Give me three days more (considering time). I leave him a message and if not, we have to close it. Hafspajen (talk) 08:35, 31 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Meets criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5. Is a very high quality (#1). Although image is small this is a technically difficult or otherwise unique image (#2), definitely among our best work (#3). It has a free license (#4) and adding it to articles adds significantly to their encyclopedic value (#5)
The colour-coding is explained in the caption in the article. For me, though, it is still a bit confusing. I don't immediately know which of the four (five?) blue/green colours is "aqua" or "teal", for example, and when I count the different colours in the image there seem to be more than the eight that are explained. The diagram also does not handle depth very clearly, in my opinion. 109.152.146.134 (talk) 12:03, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 4 Jan 2015 at 00:05:50 (UTC)
Original – Island Elliðaey in the Iceland bay BreiðafjörðurDetail of previous version of image of Elliðaey (Breiðafjörður), Iceland pointing out haloing artifactDetail of previous version of image of Elliðaey (Breiðafjörður), Iceland exaggerating the haloing artifact that is present.
Oppose Whole island has a halo, and there is a lack of detail at full zoom. Shadow on the front is unfortunate too as loss of detail of the front. gazhiley10:19, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
In view of the new upload, I will change my vote to Weak Support The other points I raised prevent me from a full support... gazhiley18:36, 24 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. Hmm, I feel completely differently about this. I think the lighting is appealing and visually interesting, and the level of detail quite adequate. All in all a fine picture, I would say. 86.152.161.61 (talk) 14:24, 22 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Conditional support if the halo can be fixed. Otherwise, it's a beautiful picture; personally, I find this amount of shadow aesthetically pleasing. I do see the shadows, but there is still a fair amount of detail in them. I've noticed that people here tend not to like shadows, but the amount of shadow here hardly detracts from a viewer's ability to understand what is being depicted. In fact, the shadows give the subject some depth (figuratively and literally). Tokugawapants (talk) 01:43, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Gladly! The haloing is present where the top of the island meets the sky. This is a common artifact that occurs, for example, when a dark foreground is lightened in post-processing against a light background. I've uploaded a crop (zoomed to 150%) with red arrows indicating the location of the halo and an edited version that amplifies the existing halo effect by using a single, extreme curves adjustment layer across the entire frame. Tokugawapants (talk) 07:41, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, I see. I was looking for something much bigger. To be honest, that tiny pixel-level artefact does not spoil the picture at all for me. I do not even notice it in normal viewing. However, I understand that other people may be looking at things from a more technical perspective. 86.152.161.61 (talk) 12:27, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support — A rugged, moody Icelandic image. I like the shadows. (If it weren't for the modern-looking lighthouse, it would look like it just rose out of the depths.) Sca (talk) 14:49, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 4 Jan 2015 at 13:26:40 (UTC)
Original – Skyline of Detroit, Michigan, in December 2014
Reason
High quality image of the current skyline of Detroit. Lighting is the best that can be had, shooting north from across the Detroit River (in the summer, the sun comes from the north, and thus the skyline is in shadow).
Comment - There is a stitching error at the very top of the image (in the sky, directly above the building labeled 211 between the steamboat and the tall building with the four American flags on top) Tokugawapants (talk) 09:14, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support, with comment - So I've never been to Detroit, but I was wondering if the content on the left side of the image (say, to the left of the steamboat) is typically considered part of the "skyline" of Detroit. I understand a lot of work goes into making a panorama, but if I were asked to present/render the "skyline" of Detroit, I (as someone who's never been to Detroit) wouldn't include most of the material to the left of the image. However, looking at the image in the context of the Detroit article, it makes more sense in that context, but there it's presented as the Detroit International Riverfront, which makes more sense to me, since everything in the foreground this image is part of the Detroit International Riverfront, according to the article's definition. So I guess I'd like it more if it were labeled/described as it is in the Detroit article, i.e. as (a segment of) the Detroit International Riverfront. Anyway, this is splitting hairs and I realize my thoughts on skylines are just my personal opinion, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Tokugawapants (talk) 20:26, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The scale might seem a little wonky, but then the Renaissance Center does dominate much of the skyline. Joe Louis Arena (towards the left of the image) is part of downtown Detroit, as is the RC. As for the riverfront article... I think that's a good idea. I'll include the image there. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 03:18, 24 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 7 Jan 2015 at 14:32:39 (UTC)
Original – Central Park Manhattan Island New York
Reason
Cristal clear shot of the most famous park in the world, Central Park Manhattan Island New York: Central Park is a challenge to shoot for any photographer. This shot, I felt was indicative of the contrast between nature and societies intrusion upon it.
Support any – Hope nobody is going to hit me in the head, but yes, I support. Central Park is the beginning of the modern urban planning landscape architecture, modern city planning and a very-very iconic setting. Also like the idea of a winter picture - it shows the structure better - the leafs would cover it otherwise. Leave any complaints here ->. Hafspajen (talk) 18:11, 25 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Dark with a crowded yet uninteresting composition that doesn't really give viewers a feel for the park. I think that this is actually inferior to the (far from great) lead photo the nominator used this image to replace [3]. Nick-D (talk) 04:25, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I don't really agree. The previous was a pond and some trees, with a few buildings in the background. This one shows the plan of the setting much better. The biggest problem with the park is that one have pictures that don't show the park's disposition, aesthetic and functional design and location - just bits and parts of it - or one have the plans and working drawings of the architect, - that don't shows the park, - this one is just a perfect balance. As a landscape architect I am very pleased with this picture, find it very useful. This one shows many of the park's elements and their combinations: - the buildings, roads, the untouched natural rocks, the trees, the playgrounds ... and the combination of it including the contrast of private and public open spaces. Hafspajen (talk) 11:45, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose All the buildings are tilted towards the centre (especially at the sides of the picture), and overall picture is too dark... Given the ease of taking this again, I know we can do better... gazhiley13:04, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The curves that you see are the result of the lens. If you look at the building the photo was centered upon it is square to the photo. As far as ease of getting this shot again, it was not easy at all, frankly speaking. Central park is busy. I had to wait for a half hour to get a clear shot that had no people or moving objects in it. Once the sun comes out the buildings in the background are washed out and the balance IMHO becomes much less in contrast as the sky is just to bright. talk→WPPilot17:02, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose- Dark, tilt, flat color, and (IMO) lacks the EV necessary to represent Central Park. The link for article usage also suggests that it is used in "New York City" which may be in error.--Godot13 (talk) 20:36, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment And I say it does not lacks the EV necessary to represent Central Park. In each and every book about the History of landscape architecture there is a picture of this park. Honestly - with he hand on the Bible - never found any picture in any of these books as informative like this one. Do whatever you want with this information (that would be EV)- or go and start borrowing Landscape architecture books, and you will soon notice it. Hafspajen (talk) 02:16, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Note That is quite flattering, regardless of what the others vote here. I have learned that this board tends to "Sway" so to speak but your comment, from the perspective of a professional is duly noted. Thank you kindly for your comment and your support.talk→WPPilot02:44, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I wish I could find a landscape architect on this Wiki to pull him here and ask. But unfortunately we don't have landscape architect user-boxes only architect ones. Never mind, if it will not be good enough for the FP, try to withdraw permission, put a copyright on it and sell it for any books putting together a Landscape architecture history book. They will most probably be extremely happy to use it. Hafspajen (talk) 03:05, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
That is nice of you to suggest;) but I would rather it be made public and the others here be proven wrong. I am not one to withdraw a submission for criticism in exchange for money. You go right ahead and send it to them, on my behalf and any proceeds can be donated to Wiki foundation, every last dime. Cheers! talk→WPPilot03:29, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose both Quality is very subpar for a FP. The original is underexposed; the alternate is overexposed. Certainly not ideal composition. -- mcshadyplTC20:52, 31 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Both I think the quality is fine. However, I don't think this one picture should be used to represent a place as varied as Central Park. Perhaps it could be resubmitted as part of a set of pictures of central park? Komvuelta (talk) 17:00, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment Needs to be made into an interactive graphic, with a nation label popping up when you point to a flag. Without that feature, it's a slightly frustrating image... PS: Happy Holidays to everyone! --Janke | Talk10:13, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Janke (talk·contribs) It actually is interactive. Check out some of the articles its on. You can click on each one of the flags and cooperative agreements and it will direct you to the corresponding article. I just don't get why that isn't the case on the FP nomination though. Étienne Dolet (talk) 10:19, 23 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment This graph needs to be updated. Armenia will become a member of the Eurasian Union on January 1. On the contrary, Tajikstan is still not a member and it's unknown when it will become one. Furthermore, GUAM is basically a dead union. The last year in the GUAM article is 2007. That's almost 8 years now. --Երևանցիtalk21:51, 25 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The last year listed in the GUAM wikipedia article may be 2007, but the official GUAM web page lists meetings and happenings occurring even in December 2014, so I don't think GUAM is as dead as you think. Updates for the January 1 changes had already been planned, and are now uploaded. As for Tajikistan it was never listed in the diagram as part of the Eurasian Economic Union, it was listed as part of the Eurasian Economic **Community**, which it indeed was. Aris Katsaris (talk) 12:48, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose I don't understand why this is a FP nominee. What is exceptional about this? It has acronyms that are not clarified. It represents countries as flags, which are not identified. -- mcshadyplTC20:55, 31 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 7 Jan 2015 at 21:46:38 (UTC)
Original – Carl Linnaeus, an 18th century Swedish biologist, who laid the foundations for the modern biological naming scheme of binomial nomenclature. This painting is from 1775
Reason
A solid portrait painting of a pretty significant person.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 8 Jan 2015 at 14:36:08 (UTC)
Original – Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting. Artemisia Gentileschi, 1638-39. 96.5 by 73.7 centimetres (38.0 in × 29.0 in)
Reason
We don't have nearly enough works by women artists. Here's a particularly interesting one, in which Artemisia Gentileschi depicted herself as the “Allegory of Painting” illustrated by Cesare Ripa.
Support – a most interesting artist depicted in a most interesting way - ah all those sugar-sweet selfportraits... women artist came up with .. ah, oh my. This one is bold and not flattering but interesting. Hafspajen (talk) 02:06, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 9 Jan 2015 at 17:59:54 (UTC)
Original – Wonderful shot of a classic sailing yacht "Zapata II". A classic racing yacht, Zapata II is a Calkins 50 that was first built in 1964, she is still raced today and located in Newport Beach, CA.
Reason
Great EV, wonderful photo that is clear and well framed
Comment: It is beautiful and I could certainly use that picture somewhere - but only if the time mark is removed, with that mark 02/04/2013 18:35 - it is not so useful. We never use images with time marks logos or signature on if other better is available. You can notice the discussion Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Finnish Bofors crew, ... same problem there. Hafspajen (talk) 03:11, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: And we are using it already, in Flower bud. I am not sure if this negative opinion circle can be stopped by now, they tend to go like an avalanche, but anyway thanks for nominating it and contributing with a fine picture that now can be added to more articles. Salaam. Hafspajen (talk) 10:05, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
And also thank you for nominating an image for Featured Picture status! If you would like to nominate another image, please do so and don't let you be put of by your first experience. Hafspajen (talk) 10:17, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
@Hafspajen Hej. Thank you for your nice comments. This is the link of the pictures, uploaded by me. I've taken most of them myself. Some of them have watermarks. If you like, you can use them in articles. Some of them have watermarks. I f you want to use a watermarked one in an article, tell me so that I remove the watermark.Diako « Talk »11:27, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 10 Jan 2015 at 10:29:28 (UTC)
Original – Neil Gaiman is an English author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. Over his career, he has written short stories, novels, comic books, graphic novels, films and television episodes, with particularly well-known works including the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods and Coraline.
Reason
An excellent photograph of one of the most important living English authors- I've no doubt that there are going to be a number of Gaiman's fans among the FPC regulars who will be as excited as me to see this here. (If this counts for anything, Mr. Gaiman specifically contacted Kyle Cassidy, the photographer, because he was unhappy with the previous portrait on his article.)
Articles in which this image appears
Neil Gaiman (though I am sure it will filter into others).
Comment Though it's interesting that Mr. Gaiman contacted Mr. Cassidy to have a portrait done, what matters for a Wikipedia Featured Photo is the quality and suitability of the photo (which is why I supported this nomination below). — Lentower (talk) 16:21, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support - Very useful. I'd have probably reduced the highlights a little bit (at full size they seem a bit overly bright) but then again I'm not getting paid to take portraits. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 15:39, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support - Good photograph, that shows the subject as a person in real life at night with a city as background, as well as being strong technically. — Lentower (talk) 06:33, 31 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support - Two great things that go great together: Neil Gaiman and Kyle Cassidy. I love Kyle's portraits and this is just one of many outstanding photographs of Mr Gaiman he has produced throughout the years. — MaryHerself (talk) 21:51, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support I don't like the halo around the building that inevitably comes with the lighting level, but such a small part of such a large and pretty much perfect picture isn't enough in this instance to oppose... gazhiley16:59, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 10 Jan 2015 at 16:11:57 (UTC)
Original – The PlayStation 4 (PS4) gaming console made by Sony. Released on 11-15-2013 in North America it is an eighth generation system and competes with the Microsoft Xbox One and the Nintendo Wii U. This console is shown with the DualShock 4 controller that is included with the system.
Reason
High quality image of a video game console. The previous nomination failed because the author wasn't pleased with it yet, but it appears that the image has stabilized.
Support; while I couldn't care less about the PS4 besides the neat indie titles shown off last E3, the image appears to suitably represent the product. Certainly is a giant image. Tezero (talk) 01:37, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
This is not the place to bring this up Hafspajen - please use this part of Wikipedia for comments on pictures only, not on users. Your support looks like it's purely to counterbalance an accusation of sock puppets, which is not a valid reason for a support. I would suggest striking your comments, and either adding a valid reason for support, or have it as a seperate line rather than as a follow on from the line above. gazhiley15:03, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No, not quite. I like the picture, gazhiley. I think it is clear, crisp, good ev. I think it is well composed actually, balanced within the picture with the diagonals and the volumes well matching each other. And about sock-puppets, I think we had our fair share of it lately. Hafspajen (talk) 15:07, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support The console and controller go together. This photographer has a lot of experiencing photographing hardware of this sort. Nothing significant is obscured with the controller. This is an ideal way to showcase this hardware. The image quality could not be better; the angle of the subject matter seems to be what is being critiqued but I am not persuaded that any complaint like this should prevent the promotion of this picture. Blue Rasberry (talk)20:49, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 10 Jan 2015 at 20:45:24 (UTC)
Original – Darwan Sing[h] Negi, recipient of a Victoria Cross in World War I for his heroic actions in capturing trenches from the Germans while injured, rushing forwards where caution would encourage one to hold back.
Reason
A high-quality scan of what I presume is some sort of photogravure-like reproduction of an image for the Illustrated War News. While not great for identifying his face, I think a candid action shot of a Victoria Cross winner being taken for treatment is still highly encyclopedic. Also, I think that there's a tendency to sanitize war; these sorts of candid images do a lot against that.
As for whether a higher-resolution copy is available: I showed this to a friend who is part of a group actively researching Darwan Sing[h] Negi (the World War I era spelling and modern transliterations vary), and she said she hadn't seen it before. Indeed, most of the images in the Illustrated War News, outside of the occasional formal portrait of nobility, seem to be very obscure. I'm sure we'll be seeing more. If nothing else, it almost seems my duty to. The number of poorly-illustrated events and personages that I can use it to help with...
This was scanned at 600 dpi, and has the expected graininess that will produce.
Edited to add: This is apparently only the second known photograph of Negi...
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 11 Jan 2015 at 12:23:30 (UTC)
Original – Men of the Docks (oil on canvas, 1912) is a painting by Ashcan artist George Bellows which depicts some day laborers at the docks of Brooklyn on a winter's day, apparently receiving news. It has been described as "the definitive essay on the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century ... big, brawny, tough."
Reason
Very well completed painting which is significant in part for the controversy over its sale (although discussion of a sale began in 2008, it wasn't sold until 2014...). Also, it's the National Gallery's first major American painting.
Support — For the stark, gritty atmosphere. Notable that it's the first major American painting purchased by the National Gallery, London (in February 2014). (Wonder why it's not included in Ashcan School gallery, altho two others of his are?) Sca (talk) 16:09, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Support — A huge file of one of Bruegel's most famous works. Lots of prosaic little touches, such as the 5-o'clock shadow on that piper. These are real people. Sca (talk) 01:37, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting detail: The German article notes that the server in the red shirt seems to have an extra foot, and says the artist evidently overlooked this anomaly. Never noticed it before. Sca (talk) 16:00, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the German article, in its inimitable German way, terms it der überzählige Fuß – "the supernumerary foot," or literally, the "over-count-ish foot." The scene: "Hey, this guy has three feet, that's more than the usual count, what should we call it?" "How about the over-count-ish foot?"Sca (talk) 22:12, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose. I respectfully disagree with the nominator about EV. It only appears to be used in Thomas Müller and a list of footballers. It does not seem to contribute much to either. As a simple snapshot portrait, it is hardly among wikipedia's best work. Even in the Thomas Müller, there are other images that are of higher quality and actually depict the subject in the activity he is notable for. Becky Sayles (talk) 14:13, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
How many articles are needed to be featured picture? I have never heard about a nominee photo the necessity of being glued to several articles.Alborzagros (talk) 14:22, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comment -What does not contribute any significant information about the said footballer? Only lead picture. And only appears to be used in Thomas Müller and a list of footballers - please - now. It is perfecly enough. Hafspajen (talk) 20:49, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Look, just because my opinion does not agree with yours does not mean that you need to criticize it. My reason is valid - a photo simply showing a footballer with a neutral expression has a very low EV. Be mature, and stop arguing - DUCK404 a (talk) 18:42, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - before any of the many new accounts start objecting, FP rules say: Digital manipulation for the purpose of correcting flaws in a photographic image is generally acceptable provided it is limited, well-done, and not deceptive. Typical acceptable manipulation 'includes cropping', perspective correction, sharpening/blurring, and colour/exposure correction. Hafspajen (talk) 12:48, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
You highlighted "includes cropping" as if this were cropping, but it isn't. If creation of cloned content is deemed to be allowed (which I personally disagree with), then I think it should be explicitly included in the "acceptable manipulation" list to avoid doubt. 109.152.146.134 (talk) 03:45, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 12 Jan 2015 at 14:12:19 (UTC)
Original – The Langlois Bridge at Arles is the subject of four oil paintings, one watercolor and four drawings by Vincent van Gogh. The works, made in 1888 when Van Gogh lived in Arles, in southern France, represent a melding of formal and creative aspects. Van Gogh leverages a perspective frame that he built and used in The Hague to create precise lines and angles when portraying perspective.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 12 Jan 2015 at 15:31:25 (UTC)
Original – The Dance Lesson, an oil painting on panel completed by Edgar Degas in 1879. Now held at the National Gallery of Art, it depicts women at a dance lesson in a manner influenced by Japanese woodcuts.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 13 Jan 2015 at 11:26:50 (UTC)
Original – 1907 film fragment, dubbed Katsudō Shashin (Japanese for "Moving Picture"), thought to be the oldest work of animation in Japan.
Reason
I found this while working on an unrelated project for MILHIST, and it struck me as highly encyclopedic. According to the article, Katsudō Shashin (活動写真?, Moving Picture), or the Matsumoto fragment, refers to a Japanese animated film speculated to be the oldest work of animation in Japan. Its creator is unknown; evidence suggests it was made sometime between 1907 and 1911, possibly predating the earliest displays of Western animation in Japan. It was discovered in a home projector in Kyoto in 2005. The three-second film depicts a boy who writes "活動写真", removes his hat, and waves. The frames were stenciled in red and black using a device for making magic lantern slides, and the filmstrip was fastened in a loop for continuous play. Being an anime freak and a devout (fanatical?) Toonami fan I figured I'd place this here and see if anyone else thinks it should be featured.
If it doesn't say in the article then I would not know; given the technological abilities of the day I would suspect not that fast, but that's my opinion. TomStar81 (Talk) 03:55, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 13 Jan 2015 at 11:37:21 (UTC)
Original – A bird's eye view of El Paso, Texas, dated 1886.
Reason
This is a highly detailed map of El Paso, TX, dated 1886, that shows the city as it appeared after the US civil war but before the turn of the century - in short, back when the west really was wild. In particular, the map shows the initial area of concentration for the settlement of El Paso, which has since grown to encompass the entire area shown in this map and then some. It is also interesting to note the name of the streets shown vis-a-vis the time period given: despite the fact that El Paso borders Mexico, all the street names reflect the Anglo-American settlers as opposed to the Southwestern and south of the border names now widely used in the city.
COMMENT: Aside from the stain, is there any other issue with the image? I'm only asking because I suspect that the image could be digitally cleaned up to remove the stain, but I don't want to put this back in circulation for FP consideration in there are going to be additional objections over unmentioned problems here and now, so please do point out any additional issues. TomStar81 (Talk) 01:46, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The crop seems tighter than it would have been originally, which has generally had a problem in the past... but yeah, the yellow stain is my biggest objection. It'd be a difficult clean up job, though. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 02:31, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Frankly, I'd oppose it on crop alone. In its current state, it would be impossible to print it in such a way that it could be used in the same way the original map was, because the edges have been lost left, right, and top. Adam Cuerden(talk)22:02, 1 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
May I ask how you can tell that it's cropped enough to be unusable? The evidence of a dark line signifying the edge of the picture along at least half of each virtical edge would indicate to me that it isn't cropped, at least not enough to say the map would be impossible that it could be used in same way as the original map... To me, it's missing maybe a millimetre or two off half the edges - I certainly wouldn't oppose for that reason... But I am interested in hearing other opinions... gazhiley14:58, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The layout of these sorts of maps is generally roughly similar to File:Thaddeus M. Fowler - New Kensington, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 1896.jpg - A border all around, not perfectly even but more handdrawn. If you were printing a copy of this map, that's more or less what you'd be looking to reproduce - but that's impossible: Not only is the borders missing, but there's also not enough paper that matches the rest of the image.
Comment - It's amazing how clear it is considering the low number of pixels. Perhaps that adds a softness to the lines. User:Crisco 1492 it can't be accepted even if it is a photo of historical value? Does that mean that no old photos can be accepted for Featured picture status? CorinneSD (talk) 18:56, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The information template says that the National Library of France has this image. They've scanned most of their collection in high quality. The low resolution is certainly fixable. Also, something this low resolution would likely not pass even if it were completely irreplaceable. The nice thing about film images is that, if you scan the negatives, you can get some big and sharp files. (Also, the uploader says that s/he has an 8*10 glossy print... that's easily 2500 px long side when scanned) — Crisco 1492 (talk) 19:06, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support Fantastic set as usual... So clear, we can even make out the shadowy reflection of Diliff in the brass bowl of the light about the Chancel... Shame about the motion blur on the Organist(?), but not exactly like you can demand he sits still... gazhiley09:25, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Thanks for the nomination. Closer, perhaps it could be combined with the already promoted image of the nave? Obviously it doesn't need to be added to this nomination now, I just mean that assuming this set is promoted, the nave image could be added to the set. Ðiliff«»(Talk)18:13, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support — Fine images. One can even tell that the Bible is open to the Song of Solomon, though one can't read the text. (And that may be a good thing.) Sca (talk) 22:05, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose for now. We should have the original resolution (will do myself) and (since this is the English Wikipedia) subtitles of what the guy is saying. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 04:24, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose as above. It needs a translation as it's on English Wikipedia, and I'm confused at the opening few seconds, what is that supposed to be? Mattximus (talk) 21:35, 3 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - it was probably never meant to be filmed. If the officials knew about it this might got destroyed. It is pretty obvious what it is. These are the countries who react to things like Teddybear Airdrop Minsk 2012 and want to delete the article on Jimbo Wales. If he took a real big good quality camera to take the clear pictures you demand, the guy might have ended up in prison. Hafspajen (talk) 02:58, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I agree with Haffy. If this is something spur of the moment but important, or something likely to be censored, the jitter is fine. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:03, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Those are all valid points by Hafs, and this video is appropriate in the context of the Donetsk People's Republic article, (although a more lucid caption is needed than "The Barricades From Ukraine Have Been Seen After"). But as a stand-alone Main Page feature, it's not sufficiently comprehensible, IMO. It would leave readers scratching their heads. Sca (talk) 14:23, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I speak Ukrainian. I might be able to help establish whether it's worth the efforts. Er, what's the url? [EDIT] I've found it. I don't know who decided it was in Ukrainian: it's actually in Russian (which I could translate, but there are an abundance of Russian speakers available at English Wikipedia: the only thing they may have problems with is the regional accent which I do know). --Iryna Harpy (talk) 00:21, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I will not have a chance to listen to it until the evening, but then I can see what I can do. Obviously, if someone wants to translate/subtitle it before (European) evening, I have no objections.--Ymblanter (talk) 07:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
0:07 - 0:09 Дорогие земляки
0:09 - 0:14 У меня будет чисто техническая информация, но она может оказаться всем нам очень полезной
0:14 - 0:20 Если вы обратите внимание вон в ту сторону, вы увидите белый флаг с красным крестом
0:20 - 0:26 Там передвижной медицинский пункт нашего первого добровольческого медицинского отряда
0:20 - 0:30 для оказания медицинской помощи тем из вас, дорогие наши и любимые, кто будет в ней нуждаться
0:35 - 0:37 Я буду краток
0:37 - 0:41 Мы, врачи - плоть от плоти своего народа
0:41 - 0:48 Мы едины со своим народом. Мы готовы выполнить наш врачебный долг перед вами до конца и любой ценой
0:48 - 0:50 Мы уверены
0:56 - 1:05 Мы уверены, что каждый из вас так же до конца исполнит свой долг перед нашей родиной и перед своим народом
Now this is my unprofessional translation:
0:07 - 0:09 Dear compatriots
0:09 - 0:14 I have a purely technical communication for you, but this informacion might be very useful for all of us
0:14 - 0:20 If you look that way, there is a white flag with a red cross
0:20 - 0:26 This is a mobile support hospital run by our first mobile voluntary medical detachment
0:20 - 0:30 to provide medical services to those of you who need it
0:35 - 0:37 I will be very brief
0:37 - 0:41 We, doctors, are part of our people
0:41 - 0:48 We are united with our people. We are ready to render medical services fully and by every means
0:48 - 0:50 We are sure
0:56 - 1:05 We are sure that each of you will fully pay your debt to our fatherland and our people as well
I do not care. I was asked to help - I spent one hour of my time (which is btw pretty expensive) to provide the translation. Next time I might politely refuse.--Ymblanter (talk) 22:17, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That was not intended to reflect on your much-appreciated translation. It was intended to refer to how the file meets (or does not meet) the FP criteria, specifically #5: "Adds significant encyclopedic value to an article and helps readers to understand an article." That this film shows a relatively standard statement and not something particularly significant means that I will not be changing my !vote to support. I will, however, be glad to do the timed text. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 22:28, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose per Sca about the opening seconds. Also, rather than being an undercover footage, which would justify the poor quality, this seems to me to be a poorly done propaganda shot, or at least not undercover. The journalist apparently has worked for Russia Today, so would probably be tolerated by the people there, and judging from what the man in the video is saying, the video could be interpreted as trying to portray the situation not as threatening but as people trying to help. In that case a better quality can be demanded, I think. Yakikaki (talk) 16:46, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't speak Russian, but this video struck me at first view as POV, i.e. pro-Russsian-separatists. (Correct me if I got the wrong impression.) Again, it's technically subpar and IMO of scant EV for an English-speaking audience. So they're demonstrating for their POV? That's not news. I say this even though I understand their point of view. It's similar to that of many other ethnic Russians, in other ex-Soviet so-called republics. (I have personal experience with the phenomenon.) That's not the key issue in Ukraine. The issue in Ukraine is whether geopolitical change should be sought through violence or other extralegal means. I don't see how this video elucidates the topic. The English subs help, but they don't change the essentially chaotic character of the segment. Sca (talk) 18:36, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 14 January 2015 at 00:01 UTC
Original – St. John the Baptist is an oil painting on walnut wood by Leonardo da Vinci; completed from 1513 to 1516, it is thought to be his final painting.
Reason
Very impressive, high-quality scan. Used in a wide variety of articles, including one on the painting itself.
Support - I'm honestly quite shocked this apparently hasn't been nominated already. I even prefix-searched the Featured picture candidates subpages. Adam Cuerden(talk)00:25, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 14 Jan 2015 at 01:18:04 (UTC)
Original – De Menagerie, a 1690 oil on paper painting by Melchior d'Hondecoeter. The artist is known for his paintings of birds, including exotic ones from the Indies (as here).
Reason
High resolution, representative of the artist's oeuvre
Comment Think we could do slightly better with the crop at the top - it's such a tight crop anyway, it seems a shame to lose even the few pixels... Adam Cuerden(talk)06:42, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
For historical images that were widely reproduced, I think we can make an exception, but we ought to include all the pixels that do exist... But she's 15 in this photo, so I'm just not comfortable doing a restoration. Adam Cuerden(talk)16:01, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not usually this much of a caricature, though. He tends to exaggerate a bit to give a still painting more life, but doesn't tend to go as far as here... These ones are very modernist, actually, remind me of artworks from the 20s and 30s. Adam Cuerden(talk)12:39, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment — If the primary subject's cheeks are that red, why aren't his eyes red too? (Or did Hals have a red-eye app on his palette?) Sca (talk) 23:01, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Editør: That - and all images like it - fails criterion 8, inappropriate digital manipulation. That one fails particularly hard, as it doesn't even mention it was modified from the source given. With paintings, we need to show them as they are now; this is a long-standing consensus. We can argue a little bit, since lighting can change how a picture looks, but only a little. "High technical standard" for paintings means "shows what the painting looks like", not "what we might wish it to look like", as the latter tends to kill all value for discussions of the painting. Adam Cuerden(talk)00:19, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Agree. That one in particular is a lot whiter than the painting is now (compare what appears to be the frame, which is still visible in the lower left corner; do you know any wood that is that bright?) — Crisco 1492 (talk) 04:21, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Of course that images fails a bunch of criteria, but that is not relevant, no-one is nominating it! My point remains that we should not select a dark and unclear image of a painting as FP based on speculation of the state of the painting. A reliable source about the state of the painting would clear things up quickly and would probably convince me to change my vote. – Editør (talk) 09:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OpposeComment - As much as I think this is a nice picture, it lacks an element of uniqueness (there is nothing in this picture, in my opinion, that makes it FP worthy apart from its sharpness) - DUCK404 a (talk) 04:49, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
A gorgeous painting by an interesting Russian artist. Practically glows. Pretty new in the articles, but given the previous edit was August, and it does an excellent job in illustrating the text about his "colourful paintings and joyful genre pieces", I think it's stable enough.
Support But there's also a thin black line on the right edge of the photograph. Although hardly noticeable from a distance, it indeed catches ones eye upon closer examination. In fact, it looks to be cropped a little too much on the right edge. Just check out the signature. Only half of the date appears "19-". Étienne Dolet (talk) 00:01, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Given the shadow, I believe that's the edge of the frame - frames often cover a small amount of the original artwork, so painters who go right to the edge often find a little bit covered. Could maybe crop the line, though. Adam Cuerden(talk)01:19, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support Saw it earlier this year on loan in Stockholm at the Royal Academy of Arts. A significant work according to the museum. I remember the colours as more bland, however a second look on the web seams to indicate that the painting is not as dull as I remember. P. S. Burton (talk)13:37, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I forgot that it is now 2015. I do not think it has been cleaned. I just remembered the colours as more bland. But then I was this picture and realised that my memory served me wrong. P. S. Burton (talk)19:47, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
'Comment New I recognized this one! Or half of it. I had a spooky feeling that I somehow know this - but in a different way. This is on of our selection of the winter pictures! Hafspajen (talk) 21:47, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 16 Jan 2015 at 11:29:49 (UTC)
Original – The nave and the sanctuary of Eibingen Abbey, aka Abtei St. Hildegard. Despite the long history of the Abbey, the actual church was only built in 1904.
Reason
High-resolution image of a notable German abbey church and a great example of the Beuron Art School
Support - Nice to know Diliff is an inspiration to everyone. Very well done. This is making me very, very, very impatient for the Swiss Arca plate to come in so I can use my new Nodal Ninja. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 16:44, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Technically excellent as already mentioned. I didn't realise you had started using the same 35mm Sigma that I have. If you're going to use 75 frames, surely 50mm is a better focal length though? 75 frames for this angle of view and a 35mm lens means more overlap than is probably needed. Just a minor technical point though. :-) Ðiliff«»(Talk)18:59, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Ha, you probably have a point here, but it isn't so much the overlap as the FOV. Currently, I'm doing -50°,-25°,0°, 25°, 50° on the horizontal and that is probably too much (gives me about 145°, which is of course unusable in practice). I guess doing four shots on that axis would be enough, but that is not giving me very convenient numbers with 25° steps (perhaps I will try it next time). What did you use when you still had the 35mm in use, 30°? I would of course prefer the 50mm, but the reality of most German churches is that the benches are so close that anything beyond 40mm becomes very tricky with DOF. Many churches are dark enough anyway (not this one, though) and I'm not keen on having unsharp parts even at f/16. Of course you have an advantage with those glorious cathedrals --DXR (talk) 19:48, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
is it just me or can anyone else not read the above two comments without thinking tweed jackets and thick rimmed spectacles, and thermos flasks in hand?! haha I wish I knew what you two were talking about! gazhiley11:23, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry Gaz, I guess for everyone else that simply appreciates the final product, it's not that interesting. But the technicals behind how they are created (interior panoramas) is a little complex. DXR, actually with the 35mm Sigma, I was usually only doing 3 columns by 2 rows (and 5 bracketed exposures) with 24° horizontal rotation, whereas when I got the 50mm, I 'upgraded' to 5 columns by 3 rows and 20° horizontal rotation. Four shots on the horizontal axis would be more than enough but it's a bit annoying when you want to start the panorama with a good centre point. I have my Nodal Ninja attached to an Arca Swiss Z1 DP ball head which has a panoramic rotator on it (as part of the Arca Swiss clamp, rather than at the bottom of the ball head where it attaches to the tripod). So what I do is, I lock the rotation of the Nodal Ninja, get the bubble level correct using the ball head adjustments, then rotate the ball head panoramic rotator using grid lines on the live preview of my camera to determine when the view is completely centred. The benefit of the Arca Swiss ball head rotator is that it rotates on a completely horizontal axis, whereas if you use the regular rotator on the bottom of the ball head and your tripod isn't perfectly vertical, you will not be rotating on the horizontal axis. Does that make any sense? It's a minor advantage, but it actually simplifies the overall process, and certainly makes stitching much easier because all the images are already properly aligned and straight. With 4 columns, it is not so easy to align in this way because you don't have a centre point to work with. Also, you should still be able to get a good DOF with a 50mm lens if you use the correct hyperfocal distance. For me with my 50mm lens, it means focusing on a point about 10 metres away from the camera, and gives you an 'in focus' distance of about 30cm to infinity (from memory) at f/13. I don't know if you do that already. It might be more of a disadvantage to go to f/13 or more on the D800 because diffraction would have more an effect on your camera than mine (because of the additional resolution). When I was using a 35mm and wasn't taking the panoramas as seriously, I used to be lazy and focus on the rear wall of the church but it didn't maximise the DOF. With the 50mm, using the hyperfocal distance is crucial. Anyway, hope that helps. Ðiliff«»(Talk)14:14, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Ðiliff - no need to ever apologise though! I come here to learn more about photography... Just sometimes I get lost! That makes sense tho yes... gazhiley15:11, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Ðiliff that approach sounds quite logical. I have just started to use a ballhead, even though I mainly use it for leveling at this moment. With regards to the DOF, I'm pretty sure that your maths is off somewhere here. Did you want to write 300 cm? Perhaps I am getting it badly wrong, but I am nearly certain that there is no way to get such a large DOF with a normal prime lens on a full format sensor. For example, this calculator suggests a hyperfocal distance of about 6.5m for 50mm f/13, leaving 0-3m (and therefore too much for many church benches) unsharp. --DXR (talk) 20:33, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, you're right, I meant to say 300cm. Different hyperfocal distance calculators seem to result in slightly different ranges, but on my 5d Mk III, you get acceptable 'in focus' sharpness from 150-200cm onwards from my experience. The thing is, with a small amount of downsampling and the fact that the loss of focus is progressive, it isn't really terribly out of focus until much closer than the theoretical minimum limit of focus. For example this image, where the nearest bench seats were probably about 50cm from the camera and the next row forward were about 150cm away. They aren't completely in focus but are acceptably sharp, I think. By the third row, they are most likely just at the minimum focus distance. As I said, it would be a more obvious effect on the D800 because of the resolution advantage. Having said that, I would rather have more resolution/detail in the majority of my image and a slight loss of focus on the really close foreground objects, than have a lower resolution and everything sharp. But I suppose 50 megapixels isn't too bad already. ;-) As for my ball head, I still mainly use it for levelling, and the panoramic rotator on the clamp is more just handy rather than essential. Ðiliff«»(Talk)23:39, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 16 Jan 2015 at 14:09:43 (UTC)
Original –70 cm × 51 cm (28 in × 20 in), c. 1500–1525
Reason
St. Anthony the Abbot is portrayed by Hieronymus Bosch in meditation, in fantastic landscape filled with weird creatures and small demons popping up around him, trying to disturb his peace, while he is sitting under the the trunk of a dry tree. The abbot was renowned for his ability of refusing temptation. Among Hieronymus Bosch most famous works is The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 16 Jan 2015 at 14:52:31 (UTC)
Original – Tsarskiy Kurgan from 4th century BC, one of the best preserved burial places of Ancient Greek poleis (archeological monument №266). Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine
Support The other picture in the article also shows the entrance of the tomb, which would increase EV. However: 1. I see some technical difficulty in properly exposing the day-lit surroundings and the shaded/dark part of the corridor (maybe HDR could do the trick); 2. The "wow-effect" in this photo urged me to click the article, which is important; 3. This photo is technically sound (has the sharpness and the depth of field required in this case). --Ebertakis (talk) 21:18, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 16 Jan 2015 at 16:39:16 (UTC)
Original – Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus, completed by Sebastiano del Piombo in 1519, is thought to be a post-humous portrait of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who was long considered the first European to reach the Americas. His voyages initiated the Spanish colonization of the New World.
Reason
Considering I named myself after him, I can't really turn this down. High quality scan of a useful image. Note that no contemporary portraits of Columbus are known, allowing this to have high EV in his article.
Support Nice picture. By the way -Sebastiano was born 1485 - Colubus died 1506 - Sebastiano was 21 than. And text in Latin say it's Columbus.-- too.Hafspajen (talk) 17:08, 6 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I really have no qualms about the frame – in fact, I now feel that the frame adds value to the image. I am really concerned about this image's darker appearance and lower contrast. – Paine EllsworthCLIMAX!21:43, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. (edit conflict) I would never oppose this type of nomination, although as the one who reverted this file's inclusion in the article on Columbus, I have serious concerns about this image. It is darker and grayer with less contrast than the status quo image in the article. Since most of Wikipedia's readers are non-experts in the worlds of art and professional photography, they probably won't grasp the aesthetic value of the "inner beauty" of this candidate and would opt for the "better appearance" of the existing .png image in the article. I very much appreciate the high values of Crisco 1492 both in terms of this choice of candidate and his distaste for an unproductive edit war. I would welcome that contributor's launch of an RfC on the talk page of the Columbus article. That way we would be better able to determine which of the two images is more appropriate for that encyclopedia article, and perhaps for any other article as well. – Paine EllsworthCLIMAX!21:39, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
RFCs are a bit of overkill for anything like this. The issue with digital manipulation (which the PNG has, for certain) is that it almost always modifies the color of the work to an unrealistic level. There are no pure whites in the real world, certainly not 255/255/255 like Columbus' collar. The loss of detail there is frightening. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 21:54, 7 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with that, and no matter how hard I tried with Corel, and for all the improvement in other areas I made, I could never get the collar detail right. The rest of it looks really good though; here's a gnarly screenshot. – Paine EllsworthCLIMAX!00:59, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I started the enhancement from scratch again and uploaded the result here. I felt it necessary to do this because another editor reverted my reversion. Any who would like to compare the three images may do so on my talk page. – Paine EllsworthCLIMAX!17:35, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I think this should pass, but it needs to be used in articles, and in this version. Conditional support on it being lead image in at least one article. Adam Cuerden(talk)23:15, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, of course it is used now as the "lead image" in the Christopher Columbus article because you reverted my inclusion of a better image. Even Chris has stated that the image you reverted "is, IMHO, the right direction...". So I wonder, Adam Cuerden, if you would be so kind as to tell me precisely why you feel that this darker, low-contrast image of this great painting is superior to the image you reverted? – Paine EllsworthCLIMAX!03:30, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Paine Ellsworth: The Google Art Project is a reliable source for information on what paintings look like. It has a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. We cannot actively mislead readers on the actual appearance of a key early document, any more than we could arbitrarily change the text of an early source while presenting it as the original. It is never, ever an improvement to actively mislead our readers: Paintings are one-off objects; They aren't like photos where different prints can have radically different levels. Where are you seeing Crisco saying you're right? Adam Cuerden(talk)07:23, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I said "right direction", not right. I much prefer the (presumably accurate) Met scan, but if Paine insists on having an edit, something that doesn't blow out the highlights is indubitably "the right direction". — Crisco 1492 (talk) 15:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the right direction, so you agree that there is a better direction to go. I don't feel we're misleading readers if we highlight with discretion so they can at least get a better view of the subject, in this case a great painted portrait of who is most likely Columbus. I suppose the point is moot, now. Joys to all! – Paine17:26, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 17 Jan 2015 at 19:46:51 (UTC)
Original – Todi is a town in Perugia, Italy; perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, it commands distant views in every direction.
Weak Support Well it's hardly got the colourful appeal of Tenby, but it still looks pretty... Slight focus issues and visable halos prevent full support sorry... gazhiley12:29, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - Please help me understand the appeal of these pictures of generic cityscapes (and of buildings such as the Bassac Abbey one below). I can see that these pictures are of high quality, but they lack uniqueness. I don't want to vote on such pictures until I can understand this. - DUCK404 a (talk) 02:18, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
From the description at the top & section 5 of the FP criteria : "Featured pictures are images that add significantly to articles, either by illustrating article content particularly well,...." ergo they don't have to be unique, they can be an FP for just being something that adds SIGNIFICANT value (EV), not neccessarily appealing visually or appealing to every person's unique interest level... Using this picture as an example, it perfectly demonstrates the article about this town, ergo fits that criteria... Does that answer your question DUCK404 a? gazhiley11:28, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support --Per above..Yep! its once-in-a-lifetime chance to nominate a PoC pic. Well guys, any idea why they are named so? The nebula isn't creating any stars as it did some 6000 years ago. But surprised that even now, those diffraction spikes still appear in HST images while many other ground based guys don't show it up to a large extent..--The Herald : here I am13:38, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose Sadly, this animal is classified as "vulnerable" and I'd love to promote its photo, but his shot is not very sharp, the light is harsh and the background doesn't help it either. Sorry. --Ebertakis (talk) 21:43, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 19 Jan 2015 at 13:03:24 (UTC)
Original – Tischbein portrays Goethe as an idealized, almost otherworldly person, as a man of great insight. He wears a large wide-brimmed hat, fashionable among German artists in Rome, and a creamy white traveller's duster.
Reason
A famous and much inonic depiction, much disputed, significant and appreciated painting of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is described in Goethe's work Italian Journey. It has acquired an important place in the history of art as a German icon of national painting. The painting had an indisputable role in shaping the world’s image of Goethe. The painting is considered as one of the highlights of the museum's collection.goethe-roman-campagna-1787/ staedelmuseum.de Used, Google file.
Support — Detailed file of a famous painting, said (on English & German WP) to be the most widely known work of this Tischbein — for which he's sometimes known as Goethe-Tischbein. Sca (talk) 22:13, 9 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
oppose There is not even a tinge of satisfactory. I assume that's been to picked indiscriminately as FP and needs to be out of evaluation.__Alborzagros (talk) 07:55, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose. While I do not understand what Alborzagros is saying, the image is currently used only in a gallery; we have a lot of great scans of work by Bouguereau, and we've already featured a couple for their use in his article. I'm not convinced that the EV is there. J Milburn (talk) 10:35, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I mean the painting doesn't satisfy me. I thing it was nominated unprofessionally to qualify label of Feature Picture and has to be get rid of here. Alborzagros (talk) 11:27, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 19 Jan 2015 at 18:41:52 (UTC)
Original – Bellona was an Ancient Romangoddess of war, corresponding to the Ancient GreekEnyo. She was called the sister of Mars, and in some sources, his wife or an associate of his female cult partner Nerio. This painting of the goddess, dating to 1633, was completed by Rembrandt.
Reason
High quality painting by a great master; useful illustration, has long been stable in the article. Underrepresented area.
This painting has some proportion- problems again, like some of Rembrandt's paintings and drawings, the shoulders are un-proportionally small compared to the body and head, she looks like laboratory flask - but alas the shield is really great, so having said that, still support. Only wish Rembrandt would have been more serious when taking drawing lessons.Hafspajen (talk) 11:34, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Striking illustration of the concept of saudade, which has no direct English translation. This is a high quality image (15,036 × 30,000 pixels, file size 131.82 MB) from the Google Art Project. The word "describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing may never return. A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people and things whose whereabouts are unknown, such as a lost lover, or a family member who has gone missing, moved away, separated, or died. Saudade was once described as "the love that remains" after someone is gone..."
Support — Très evocative. Interesting that in Brazil there's an official day of Saudade – it's coming up on Jan. 30. (Saudade seems similar to the German Sehnsucht (illus. below right), the article about which mentions Saudade.) Sca (talk) 15:21, 10 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 20 Jan 2015 at 18:08:41 (UTC)
Original – The Gold crown from Seobongchong Tumulus, a gold crown of Silla origin that is now housed at the Gyeongju National Museum. The crown is 24.7 centimeters in height, 18.4 centimeters in diameter, and 30.7 high when the ornaments hanging from the headband
Reason
A very good image of a crown of Silla, and a Treasure of South Korea. We don't have any similar images, to the best of my knowledge. Featured on Commons.
Support Yoohoo! (I found this on GlobalUsage on Commons, and I don't know about enwiki rules, so if uploader cannot vote, strike this one. Thanks,) — Revi16:00, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 20 Jan 2015 at 19:04:26 (UTC)
Original – Portrait of Henry VIII
Reason
Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger's workshop, depicting Henry VIII. While the firs one was destroyed by fire in 1698 it is still well known today through the second ex. from the workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger 1497/8. It is one of the most iconic images of Henry and is one of the most famous portraits of any British monarch. Workshops paintings-> were not less good than originals, -> compare
A masterpiece by one of the leading impressionist artists, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party is the best known work of art at The Phillips Collection, the United States' first museum of modern art.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 21 Jan 2015 at 13:32:56 (UTC)
Haller Madonna and reverse
Haller Madonna
Lot's Flight
Reason
An interesting set. The Haller Madonna is actually two paintings, one on the obverse and one on the reverse. The obverse depicts Mary holding the infant Jesus, whereas the reverse depicts Lot's escape from Sodom.
I kinda agree, there appears to have been some manipulation in post-processing that leaves a strange pattern around her head (I don't see actual bokeh doing that). That being said, I do love this picture. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 04:26, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment — Focus not very sharp and colors have that faded Polaroid look. I suspect there are better likenesses of von Braun available, such as the apparently official portrait (albeit B&W), below right. Sca (talk) 21:56, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support alt. — It's a big enough file and at least it clearly shows a face with character. (Both photos dated 1960.) Sca (talk) 15:25, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose alt: There is something terribly off about that photo. There's a halo around him; I think it may be the historical equivalent of photoshopped. I'd far rather have some authentically-blown highlights from a period when such was considered a bit artistic. Adam Cuerden(talk)17:41, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose alt This is obviously fake and looks very strange. Perhaps useful to illustrate early retouching, but as a portrait not acceptable to me. --DXR (talk) 12:44, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose first two but Support the third - The first picture has an annoying halo and the second picture is aesthetically displeasing. The third is the best of them, since it shows von Braun's chief accomplishment - rockets -DUCK404 a (talk) 04:46, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose all I can't support scientist-as-hero type photos of someone who was involved in some of the very worst aspects of the Nazi slave labour program (of which Wernher von Braun#Slave labor only scratches the surface): they fundamentally violate NPOV. Nick-D (talk) 10:27, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support Just about clear enough, although not as crisp as I'm sure it could be. Slightly worried about the potential jumper in the 6th window from the left on the top level..... gazhiley09:48, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support - I agree with gazhiley. How in the world did the monks get there? I don't see any path. Also, can you imagine bringing in groceries? CorinneSD (talk) 18:50, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support - Very clear, nice colorful but unobtrusive background, good color in spider itself. Interesting detail of smaller spider -- offspring or dinner? CorinneSD (talk) 18:47, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Husband. He is signaling desperately not to be mistaken for dinner... , ("shuddering"), vibrating with the webb... and some get eaten too.Hafspajen (talk) 20:44, 12 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Weak oppose - I find the background much too distracting and the photo is not of comparable quality to the other featured pictures of arachnids. Having both sexes in the picture is excellent EV for sexual dimorphism, but I find it a pity that the male is blurry. --Ebertakis (talk) 23:06, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I wish to withdraw this nomination if any one can show me a more detailed picture of an Argiope sp. here or in Commons. I've on idea how is it possible to focus two subjects if they in two planes, especially one is restless. Jee02:04, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No need for that Jee, it's a fair point that has been raised. However, I'm with you on this. The quality is as good as it gets and while the background is slightly distracting, the EV makes up for it. The male in the background adds context to the image too. Support --Muhammad(talk)07:42, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The depth of field could be improved by increasing the f-stop. Probably flash would be necessary in that case, which would darken the background, too. But I hate it when "could/would/should" enter the discussion, especially when it comes to a nature shot. Believe me, I've been there and I know that these damn webs move immensely at even the slightest of air motions bringing the spider in and out of focus all the time and that the critters rarely do you the favor of staying put. You have my utmost respect for capturing this shot, but you also have my confidence that you can do better next time. By the way, I think I like this other photo better. The background is somewhat better and the male is much sharper. Add it as an alt? --Ebertakis (talk) 23:07, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Ebertakis for the detailed review. This is one of my last work with my old Panasonic FZ28; so had its limitations. More DOF will end up in more busy background without a flash which I don't have. We considered the other version in Commons; but the female is not much sharp in that view. The male is more in focus there only because the focus is in between the male and female. Here, in the current nomination, we can even see the two main eyes of her. Note that Argiope sp. have poor visibility and their eyes are less prominent compared to other spiders. They detect the presence of their prey from the motion on their webs. They are connected by a string to the web even while rest under leaf outside their web. (I will be away in weekend; can't comment before next Tuesday.) Jee02:23, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support EV was important for my support on Commons and is even more important here on WP. There are trade-offs with increasing f-stop (diffraction, subject isolation, higher ISO noise). Considering the male is actively moving, and in a different plane, I don't see this being improved. -- Colin°Talk14:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I agree. You'd think that to portray the making of something that is supposed to promote one's spirituality, the pace of the video could have been slowed down a bit. CorinneSD (talk) 18:39, 11 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Postpone closure until the copyright status of the underlying music is clarified. (BTW the image was also nominated for speedy deletion due to lack of permission.) ArmbrustTheHomunculus14:18, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Regretful oppose - the shadows are completely black, no structure whatsoever (= lost info). Can it be fixed? (PS: last nom failed because of too few votes...) --Janke | Talk16:29, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support - I don't know if the shadows being completely black is a problem, but it is, after all, the middle of the night. It is a moonlit scene deep in the woods. Perhaps some completely black shadows are appropriate? See Legend of Sleepy Hollow#Plot for the story. CorinneSD (talk) 21:18, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: However black the shadows are (and the artist intended them to be), a scan should show some detail. Otherwise it is certain that information has been lost in the scanning process. Ideally, you should see some faint brush-marks or structure even in the darkest parts. Edit: Look at the histogram in Photoshop, Gimp or some other editor, it is clipped at the dark end! --Janke | Talk09:19, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose. The lump of land in front hides the base of the fall and distracts attention. Also, I would prefer a realistic view of the waters, instead of the artificial smooth cotton-wool effect. Obvious EV though. Rwxrwxrwx (talk) 20:35, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose I agree with Rwxrwxrwx about the loss of the bottom of the fall - taking the picture from the green grass in the foreground would allow a much fuller view of the falls. gazhiley15:19, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment – That green grass in the foreground might be quite slippery, and anyone standing on it might end up in the river below. It is possible that there is no better, and safe, vantage point from which to take the photo. This image has the benefit of showing both the upper and lower sections of the falls. The upper section is unusual. CorinneSD (talk) 17:25, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - Iceland is not like the rest of the world. I was hiking on Iceland, that's not regular terrain, that's just a lot of lavablocks thrown out on the site. Plus it is raining five days a week. Impossible to leave the regular path. Hafspajen (talk) 12:12, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Having been there myself I can tell you "impossible" is a strong word... With heavy duty hiking boots and spikes for tricky terrain, it is possible... gazhiley13:33, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well, almost inpossible, than. Nobody walks out in that terrain like the above depicted like you could do in other parts of the world, in those parts where it looks like in this picture. It's not flat. With the exception of the plains and where there is sediments most land looks like this and worse. File:Cordonblocs grindavik.JPG. These here are very very small boulders, looks very comfortable here, almost pebbles, compared how it looks in many places. Hafspajen (talk) 14:44, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 23 Jan 2015 at 20:37:50 (UTC)
Original – The Miracle at the Grave of Elisha by Jan Nagel
Reason
A gorgeous work; illustrates the relevant section of Elisha extremely well. Can't confirm the source, but I'm assuming good faith - probably a past exhibition.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 24 Jan 2015 at 00:15:42 (UTC)
Original – Luncheon Still Life
Reason
Big enough, clear enough, used. John F. Francis (1808 – 1886) was a skilled American still life painter, from Philadelphia. In 2013 a pair of his still lifes was appraised at $100,000. The painting is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Comment — Just out of curiosity, what's with the insects obscuring subjects' genitals? Is that somehow symbolic – or just another variation of the fig-leaf tradition? Sca (talk) 13:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I hadn't even seen this nomination. Oops! The reason why some of the images look brownish and some are blueish is the relationship between the different kinds of light in the image. When photographing interiors (or any other subject), one has to choose a white balance that is suitable for the scene. Often this is done automatically by the camera and the photographer has no idea that it has occurred. The additional difficulty with interiors compared to outdoor photography is that there are usually different and competing light sources. Incandescent light is usually quite warm compared to overcast sunlight. If I select a white balance that is neutral to the cool sunlight, the incandescent light looks too yellow. If I select a white balance that is neutral to the incandescent light, the sunlight looks too blue. All I can do in each situation is try to find a white balance setting that is sympathetic to both light sources, and this sometimes varies from image to image. Sometimes an image has both blue and yellow/brown areas because both light sources are shining on different parts of the same image. I don't think the images are too blueish personally, but some people seem to prefer a warmer colour cast, even if it isn't truly 'neutral'. Ðiliff«»(Talk)13:30, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Weak support I'm not sufficiently familiar with this artist to be able to say whether among the many available choices for an FP, this is a particularly good one. I will say though that this seems less flat in colour and details than the later copy. Samsara18:11, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Iconic. A Finnish cartoon based on this painting created an international hubbub in 1958: [5]; Nikita Khrushchev, on the barge pulled by Eastern bloc countries, is shouting "Imperialists!" to the US and UK... --Janke | Talk10:30, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - Now that you point it out, it does look a bit warm(ish) - but, if you take an average of all these: [6], I don't think it is too far off... ;-) There's another, slightly larger version on Commons (obviously from the same transparency photo, but most of the dust and hairs is unretouched), which has somewhat better looking color: [7] However, if the little strip at the bottom is supposed to be a grayscale, then that version has been color corrected far too much toward the blue! --Janke | Talk21:21, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that it does look like something meant to help with colors. That means this is too warm and the other is a touch too cool... (I wouldn't say far too much...) — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:22, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This painting appears on quite a few non-English WPs. I looked at several of them and, for what it's worth, the colors appear the same, including on Russian Wiki. Sca (talk) 15:15, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I looked at the next-to last version, before the "border remove", and there, the grayscale strip really looked like a true greyscale. Thus, I fully support the colors of the current version. --Janke | Talk17:20, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The Google file is from the same color film transparency as the version on Commons, the same dust specks, and the same greyscale strip on the bottom... --Janke | Talk06:53, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I recently finished copy editing One World Trade Center, and I noticed that its lead image is of very good quality. The picture is very clear, I can't detect any obvious signs of artificial processing, and the building itself is a fine piece of architecture.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 24 Jan 2015 at 10:29:05 (UTC)
Enclosed Field with Ploughman
Wheatfield
Harvest in Provence
Ploughed fields ('The furrows')
The harvest
Wheatfield with a reaper
Peasant woman binding sheaves (after Millet)
Green Field
Wheat Field in Rain
Landscape from Saint-Rémy
Wheatfield With Cornflowers
Enclosed Wheat Field with Peasant / Landscape at Saint-Rémy
Wheatfield with crows
Wheatfield under thunderclouds
“
To my mind that strange wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world’s greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived.
Paintings of series of wheat-fields and related topics from in the article in -Wheat Fields (Van Gogh series). All paintings are figuring in the article. A series of 16 paintings from the renowned Dutch painter, van Gogh. Van Gogh's brushstrokes in staccato are especially suited to depict the straws of the wheat field, giving them a special look and life....
Comment - I have a question. Does the fact that these are being nominated as a group mean that the images can never be used separately? Just curious. CorinneSD (talk) 17:28, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - With it having three nominators, that makes it 3/5th of the way towards promotion. I don't think that's all that fair. GamerPro6421:41, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Why isn't that fair? It was a collaboration, working together to achieve a shared goal. We are sharing it, we would all have supported it anyway. The only difference is that we get credited all. It probably will not be a standard, but it was a lot of messing around to get this nomination together. Hafspajen (talk) 21:56, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose. This nomination seemingly isn't so much a set as a smattering of pictures from a set. I'm struggling to get my head around the nomination, and the fact we have people supporting some of the pictures and opposing others just adds to the complication. We also have to ask if people are really going to spend the time assessing the EV and quality of each individual image. (I also share some worries about the many nominators.) J Milburn (talk) 14:00, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
3) Even Godot use to nominate even bigger sets, by the way, like this one that had 42 pictures and nobody complained, eh? Here at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1789–1902 (set), so it that one could be a set, so what's the point opposing it? And here ALL PICTURES are a set because they ALL figure in the same article, - namely Wheat Fields (Van Gogh series), all share the SAME theme and ALL made by the same artist, namely van Gogh. Also our idea and the work with these images had ameliorated the article and updated the images in it- so it became a much better one. Isn't wikipedia about collaboration, sharing ideas, developing together and developing the encyclopedia? Hafspajen (talk) 15:43, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
CommentHafspajen - You are publicly pulling me into a discussion I was trying to avoid. This is not about the size of the set, though the organizing principle is a bit loose. Does this set represent an image of every single Van Gosh painting involving a wheatfield? If not, that is how it differs from my sets, which were absolutely complete. That is my understand of a set. Not that you select images that are all relevant, rather you select all the images and make them relevant. If this works, you have a FP set, if it doesn't, you don't have a sucessful set. The nominating process that occurred (open invitations to anyone who wants to pick up a bunch of stars) makes a mockery of the FP system.--Godot13 (talk) 19:33, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I am sorry you perceive it this way. As I said already I don't mind sharing them. But since some people protested, it will probably not happen any more this kind of giant noms that often. But I think it is still fully valid if two or three people work together, one finds an image, the other one uploades it, they wrote an article on it and so on. As I said it will probably will not happen any more, but those who were invited they were invited - to work too. But it was great fun, Herald had the idea and I rather don't want to make those people sad that signed up. I almost never mind sharing my noms ... because it makes people engaged, involved, because they get engaged in the FP process, they became interested. Because it is a cooperative project. Feel free to suggest rules for the co-noms and I will be happy to follow. I guess it is kinda sad thing going on like this. Who do you want to remove? Poor Corinne who only had 5 nominations? She is of no threat for anyone. Or Atsme who only had one single star? You can't really remove me because I worked hard and Herald because it was his idea. Hafspajen (talk) 19:40, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't mind taking my name off as a nominator if that will help promote the images. I have a question: two images have been removed because of quality issues. If better quality images for those two paintings are found, couldn't they be re-added? Would that make it more of a set? CorinneSD (talk) 20:16, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
(EC) Also, I don't think it's quite fair that you make this about "sharing" or not sharing. Clearly, based on comments above, the idea was to present this nomination as a done deal with the five+ votes locked up as co-nominators. I don't want to remove anyone, but when you bring that up in the context of how few FP nominations that others have, I think you're missing the point. My background is in academia, where publishing papers with co-authors is a big part of the focus. That is probably why I have a strong reaction to handing out co-nom positions unless they've been earned. Please do not confuse that with not wanting to share. Unrelated to the nominator situation, I'm sorry to say that with all the crap I took last year about sets and what's required, this is not a complete set, so per J Milburn, I have to Oppose. This is based entirely on the set issue, nothing else. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Godot13 (talk • contribs) 20:32, 18 January 2015
YES; I think it is. I think it is being generous or not. I with that I am ready to WITHDRAW this nom from my part and I am out of this LOW_LEVEL discussion. Do whatever you want. I AM REALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH YOU GUYS OPPOSING IT for the reasons you brought up. And MY background is in academia as well. You don't seems to realize that we need good faith editors on the project, that we have rules agaist biting newbies (Atsme) , that the project is indeed collaborative, that we need editors wo participate and above all where would I have been today if I didn't got help from Crisco and all the other editors under my years on Wiki? Nowhere. It may be that some have this lone -wolf mentality but I DON*T MIND sharing and this is exactly what I still think. You everyone who are against this go ahead and close the nom and chuck it. Hafspajen (talk) 21:01, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
For the reasons we brought up? Sets which can be completed (e.g., the number of banknotes in a specified series, restored constellation star charts, the number of paintings by a famous artist on a given subject) and have an established total number (or scope) are incomplete unless all are represented. Perhaps smaller sets are possible with a modified scope. Exceptions might exist for objects that were known to have been produced, but are unknown to exist. Please remember, I am a proponent of well constructed image sets and want to see them flourish. But is has to be a real set, not handpicked example that represents part of a set. I think we all want more good faith editors on the FP project. Mentor them. What was learned here? Provide a signature as a co-nom and pick up lots of stars. Rules against biting newbies? First off, I don't think I've bitten anyone (if I am missing something, anyone please point it out to me), and I've never even referred to Atsme or contacted them. It is clear that you are upset about this, but please, stop and think about what you are saying.--Godot13 (talk) 22:10, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) I'd like to say a few things. First, it is clear that there were two different objections to this nomination. The first one that User:GamerPro64 raised was that if a group of five editors makes a group nomination, and five votes are needed to promote an image, the promotion is kind of a foregone conclusion. GamerPro64 said that was "not fair". There was a little discussion on that issue, and then the second main objection arose, namely, that this group of Van Gogh images is not a complete set. However, I believe that GamerPro64's statement that a nomination by a group of five is not fair began an emotional reaction that the second issue only fanned. I think it should be understood that the nominators did not have instant promotion in mind when we nominated this group of images. I'm not sure why User:Hafspajen and User:The Herald decided to do a co-nomination, inviting some of their fellow editors to join in, or why they decided to nominate a large group of images. I'm new to this, so I was just glad to join in. (I don't know much about photographic image quality, but I'm glad to learn. By participating in WP FP, I have been learning, and I'd like to learn more. I do, however, have a degree in Fine Arts, so I can say something about the images.)
One good thing that has come out of this is the discussion on the FP talk page about establishing rules for group nominations that would require more votes in relation to the number of co-nominators. I think one reason User:Hafspajen has become so upset is that there has been some implication that the co-nominators did not make this nomination in a good faith spirit, and were engineering a foregone promotion, which is definitely not the case. Also, it seems that there have been no established rules for sets of images. So we're dealing with two new issues, co-nominations by more than two editors, and what constitutes a set of images, both raised by this co-nomination.
Regarding User:Godot13's mention of his/her experience publishing papers with co-authors in a university setting, where each co-author is expected to earn the right to have his or her name on the publication by completing some research, I think there is a difference here at FP. While WP articles are written carefully so as to ensure that statements are based on reliable sources, this FP nominations process is both less rigorous than academic publishing and is open to editors who may be new to this process. Godot 13, you wrote, "That is probably why I have a strong reaction to handing out co-nom positions unless they've been earned." I don't understand how you think editors are supposed to earn a star. Perhaps you mean finding or uploading a quality image, and then nominating it. But if two editors work together to nominate an image, how can you evaluate what each editor did? And the same with three editors. WP is all about collaboration. Why would you discourage a group of editors who has worked together on something by objecting that "because there are so many of you, I can't figure out what work you have done, so you don't all deserve a star." You also wrote, "Provide a signature as a co-nom and pick up lots of stars." Earning another star is not important to me. What is important to me is just participating in the process of selecting quality images of great art or photographs. Would you ideally like to limit participation at FP to editors who have a background in photography or a degree in art history? Just as editors are not required to demonstrate their credentials before making edits to articles, editors with a variety of backgrounds and skill levels have been allowed to nominate and vote on FP images. Just as in general editing on WP, editors who participate here can learn. The more one participates, the more one learns. Hafspajen has actually been very generous in teaching me and others about images; I have learned a lot, and I hope to learn more. Hafspajen got me interested in participating on FP nominations.
Finally, I think that in response to this co-nomination, some editors did not acknowledge the good faith spirit in which Hafspajen and The Herald gathered the images and organized the co-nomination. No one can deny that this is a spectacular group of images. A little less criticism and a few gentler, more constructive suggestions might have avoided Hafs' taking the opposition personally and becoming upset. CorinneSD (talk) 23:36, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
GamerPro64- IMO, you did nothing wrong. You spoke your mind. @User:CorinneSD- I did acknowledge Hafs in the discussion on my talk page. My error was in not also acknowledging The Herald (but it was a conversation between Hafs and me). I am well aware of the difference between academia and Wikipedia. I was not attacking Hafs (as, I think, the discussion on my talk page shows) but rather was having some shots taken at me for being a voice of opposition. The two issues are rather separate. There will always be judgement call involved in what constitutes a set, but completeness within a given scope has (I believe) never been questioned. That is my issue with this set: it is incomplete. About the number of nominators- when a hypothetical question is posed about having five co-nominators, and such an FPC then being promoted on the spot, the response was "Oh yeh..We had that in our mind", it does raise an eyebrow (see the discussion linked to this quote) and mysteriously one of the co-nominator's signatures is dated before the nomination was made. I'm not assuming bad faith, just that the nom was not handled well. When I speak my mind (and keeping it on my talk page was my first choice), inferences to a lack of generosity are followed by references to the WikiCup, which end with comments about being a "lone-wolf" and some references to ego... and I was being critical?--Godot13 (talk) 00:40, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Also, you quoted me as saying "because there are so many of you, I can't figure out what work you have done, so you don't all deserve a star.", could you please refresh my memory as to when and where I said that?--Godot13 (talk) 00:40, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
O day untowardly turned! Well then. I TAKE ALL THE RESPONSIBILITY ON MY HEAD (BEING THE IDEA'S PROMOTER) AND REQUEST HAFS TO COME BACK, PLEASE J Milburn, I can't possibly find still why you are opposing the nomination. Is it just because you can't possibly find all the wheat-field pictures OR you hate to have credit of the noms to diverge and go to many? It was me and Hafs who were actually involved in it in the beginning and then we thought to include Atsme (whom I have adopted unofficially) and CorinneSD, a Van-goh fan. Thay accepted the nomination AFTER GOING THROUGH THE PAINTINGS and said a green signal. Does it mean that we should never think new ideas? Certainly not. Godot, Hafs only want to give an example to J Milburn that it is not the first time you have huge sets and nothing else. Hafs, just think over the issue by keeping calm. - The Herald (here I am) 09:22, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Herald, you appear to be confused. I don't give two shits about a large number of FP "credits" going to lots of people- I have never said that. (My concern with the multiple nominators - which, to clarify, was a small concern, and not the reason I opposed this nomination; I added it in brackets as an afterthought on my comment - is the possibility of people planning ahead and trying to push nominations through by getting together a lot of supporters before a nomination has even begun. I have no view on whether that happened here or not, and, indeed, it's not particularly important- it remains a worry nonetheless.) The reason I opposed this nomination was that this does not actually seem to be a full or coherent set, and there does seem to be the legitimate possibility that some images are worthy or promotion while others aren't; the fact that someone opposed some of the images reinforces that view, while the fact that these were subsequently removed from the "set" (with very little fanfare) reinforces the view that this is not really a coherent set, but just an assortment ("collection") of pictures relating to a particular topic. J Milburn (talk) 10:27, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I was NOT OVERREACTING. I am calm enough to know what I am doing. If I am not allowed to share this nomination with Herald, Atsme and CorinneSD I am not interested to have any of it myself. In that case I am withdrawing each and every nomination from this process and I quit from this process. I am not participating any more if this is the way you want it. In that case all this is just worthless and no point in participating in it further. I don't feel I did anything wrong either. You spoke your mind, I do so to. .Hafspajen (talk) 09:45, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Also, I don't think it's quite fair that you make this about "sharing" or not sharing. Clearly, based on comments above, the idea was to present this nomination as a done deal with the five+ votes locked up as co-nominators. I don't want to remove anyone, but when you bring that up in the context of how few FP nominations that others have, I think you're missing the point. My background is in academia, where publishing papers with co-authors is a big part of the focus. That is probably why I have a strong reaction to handing out co-nom positions unless they've been earned. Please do not confuse that with not wanting to share. Unrelated to the nominator situation, I'm sorry to say that with all the crap I took last year about sets and what's required, this is not a complete set, so per J Milburn, I have to Oppose. This is based entirely on the set issue, nothing else. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Godot13 (talk • contribs) 20:32, 18 January 2015
Comment: Quite nice looking! I presume the link to Google books is a link of convenience, right? Because these are far, far better than you ever get from Google books. I think we could stand to do a tiny amount of cleanup, especially on the borders, but otherwise, leaning strongly towards support. Adam Cuerden(talk)23:10, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 24 Jan 2015 at 17:06:36 (UTC)
Original – This map shows the routes to and locations of the concentration and extermination camps where the Holocaust was perpetrated in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
Reason
This is a comprehensively detailed map that puts the systematic logistics of the Holocaust, in which 2/3 of European Jews were killed, into perspective.
Comment — Looks very comprehensive, all right. As a WWII history buff, I'm impressed – but also slightly concerned that some of the locales marked as concentration camps may actually not have been Konzentrationslager per se: Horserød, Denmark, for example (which I'd never heard of). Our entry on Horserød camp states that "it had the same functions" as a concentration camp, but I question that; it seems to have been more a holding camp or transit camp. (I hadn't heard of the three in Norway either.) See also: Royallieu-Compiègne internment camp.
It's my impression that the "functions" of a typical WWII Nazi concentration camp usually included working, starving or mistreating (at least some of) the prisoners to death. (I've been to Mauthausenm, where an estimated 200,000 died; it was a grim experience indeed.) I raise this issue not because I oppose such a map as an FP – not at all – but because regarding such a huge, horrible topic we must absolutely accurate. If it is accurate (or if the consensus is I'm just splitting semantic hairs), fine. Sca (talk) 19:42, 14 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Updated comment: I now see the fine-print footnote in the legend that says, "includes labor, prison & transit camps." Sorry to have missed that. The footnote does help. (Perhaps it could be in larger type?) Nevertheless, I question whether labor, prison and transit camps usually are classified under the general heading of "concentration camp," with which I believe most people associate the lethal "functions" mentioned above. (I now notice also that the dotted borders identified in the legend as "present (2007) borders" are incomplete with respect to Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and most of Eastern Europe.) Sca (talk) 15:07, 15 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 25 Jan 2015 at 10:18:21 (UTC)
Original – Gainsborough painted several portraits of the talented Linley family; a successful teacher, musician and composer, Thomas senior's children were described by Charles Burney as a "Nest of Nightingales". The family had close ties with the Sheridan family (in fact, Elizabeth Ann Linley married Richard Brinsley Sheridan) and Linley senior had a share in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He appears to have been quite handsome and his children were said to be very attractive; Gainsborough never painted a portrait of Linley's wife though ...
I have removed Hafspajen's striking of their vote and instead scored through the other small comment. Let's give Hafs time to cool down and think about things ... SagaciousPhil - Chat12:19, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I do not own a "zoom" len's (well I do have a 100 to 400mm f2.8) but the point is, that I shoot prime for a few reasons. Aerial photography is tough enough. This was in a helicopter that was my first time flying and the motion is a lot different then the planes I normally fly. Vibration is always a consideration so less lens means less vibration. The skyline of Manhattan is a busy place so shooting anything other then the 50mm standard lens here would be a waste of time, as once I turn and head to Manhattan, you can see the complex nature of the area is unreal. Here is the video from the shoot: http://vimeo.com/114738373 Enjoy the ride - --talk→WPPilot15:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Its good to have pilot in our FP party. For that Support the nom. But I have concern that this image is not in lead for any related article, save the island. - The Herald (here I am) 15:29, 16 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose I've held off voting for this in case Crisco 1492 was able to produce the alt he offered - as this has not been forthcoming I will have to oppose sorry - too noisy leading to lack of clarity in the finer details. Image is a tad over exposed as well leading to blown highlights, most noticably in the sky and the midriff of Lady Liberty... gazhiley11:13, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Look at the upload history. I already uploaded it like a week ago. You may need to clear your cache if you're still getting a ton of noise. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:31, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oh - I'm used to them being placed as an alt, so was waiting for that... Looking at your upload then I will stick to my vote - still very noisy... Lady Liberty's face is virtually unrecognisable to me with the blur and pixalation of it... gazhiley15:43, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. Though I do not have the technical vocabulary to explain exactly why, there is something about the lighting, colours and/or exposure level of this picture that I find rather unsatisfactory. 217.44.208.182 (talk) 18:08, 24 January 2015 (UTC
Promoted File:Liberty Island photo Don Ramey Logan.jpgArmbrustTheHomunculus 17:34, 25 January 2015
Conditional Support Scale down the first (by NASA), because at 10Kx10K pixels, it is very unsharp (possibly upscaled? On the WISE page, it's sharpest at only a bit over 1Kx1K !) 3Kx3K should be more than enough, and won't lose any detail at all - the full-sized is that fuzzy! --Janke | Talk21:01, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Janke: But I am sure to lose some details by scaling down, specially when it comes to astro images. There is a reason why they have high-scaled version. Those stars are too minute to see even to telescopic eyes... - The Herald (here I am) 13:53, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 26 Jan 2015 at 14:00:44 (UTC)
Original – Northeaster by Winslow Homer depicting a big wave crasging onto the rocks while the Northeaster is causing the storm whipping up big waves on the coast.
Reason
Big enough, sharp enough, own article + spectacular seascape by the talented and famous American painter Winslow Homer
What do you mean it's not the case right now? That it isn't part of history yet? I'm undecided about how well it illustrates the articles, but as a standalone photo, it's undeniably historically valuable as documenting an event / location / point in time, no matter how recently it was taken. Ðiliff«»(Talk)13:13, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I mean as it's used right now it lacks that EV. There's nothing that shows why this place, exercise, unit etc. have the kind of EV that we look for usually; nor is there a broad non-specific EV that this image fulfills (e.g. as an example of combined ooperations). 24.222.214.125 (talk) 16:11, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
We don't solely judge EV by where an image is placed in an article. There are plenty of reasons we may be unconvinced that this is a particularly stellar illustration of the concept of a combined operation. J Milburn (talk) 17:22, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose I agree with those above, nice picture but I can't quite see the EV. Is it to illustrate combined operations? If that is the goal there is surely a better picture then the backs of two slightly different coloured uniforms. Mattximus (talk) 19:13, 23 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - To be of encyclopedic value, the photo does not have to illustrate combined operations. It could illustrate "a static loading exercise" during an important period in U.S. and Iraqi history. CorinneSD (talk) 19:01, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support Replete with quality and steeped with history and encyclopedia. I unmistakably prognosticate those notes are going to be featured pictures. Alborzagros (talk) 08:13, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 28 Jan 2015 at 02:22:03 (UTC)
Original – Illustration to the poem Jabberwocky by John Tenniel. First published in Through the Looking-Glass.Alternative – Original PNG version of above image.
Oppose Absolutely not up to par with current wildlife image standards. Fine details are completely absent, very mushy, possibly due to excessive NR (which should not be needed at this ISO). Samsara17:55, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 29 Jan 2015 at 13:49:01 (UTC)
Original – Elliðaey, one of the Westman Islands located south of Iceland. The island is uninhabited, but has a large hunting lodge, constructed in 1953.
Reason
Good quality image showing the entirety of the island. Note that this is a different Elliðaey than the Elliðaey recently featured.
Support Once again I'm afraid a very very slight halo, but as it's nowhere near as obvious as previous noms I am happy to provide full support this time... I would however dispute the claim on the article that the building is a "large" hunting lodge - looks rather small to me... But then I am hardly an officianado on the subject...... gazhiley14:48, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure - I don't have full internet access in work so searched wikipedia for Officianado, and it's used in multiple articles in the context I intended... So if it is Afocianado, then it's been wrongly typed on a fair few articles! gazhiley16:49, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 29 Jan 2015 at 23:25:20 (UTC)
The nave looking east
The nave looking west
The choir
The lady chapel
Reason
I nominated this set in August last year and it failed not because of any significant opposition (there was one oppose), but because of insufficient votes. I think this set is the equal of many of mine that have already passed, so I'm going to give it one more try. Please do vote, whether it be oppose or support. Original nomination reason is: All four images are interesting and very detailed views of Hereford Cathedral's nave, choir and lady chapel respectively. I think the view of the choir is particularly beautiful.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 29 Jan 2015 at 23:18:05 (UTC)
Original – The view over Whaler's Cove, Point Lobos National Park.
Reason
It's an interesting and aesthetic vantage point, looking across the cove, showing landscape, the flora and the human interaction of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.
Question While this picture is clearly very high quality, what's the relevence of the title "Whaler's Cove"? There's no mention of this name in the Point Lobos article. Is this a local name for the cove? In the article that this is lead for, it isn't captioned which leads me to believe that this cove is actual Point Lobos not Whaler's Cove? However further down the article is a panorama of a cove called Headland Cove which is a different cove to this picture... Please clarify as the EV is potentially dubious if Point Lobos National Park is more than this cove, which the article doesn't clarify... gazhiley11:53, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Good question. Whaler's cove is simply the largest of many inlets in Point Lobos, which itself is a small peninsula on the Californian coast south of San Fransciso, known as an important habitat for many local marine and bird species. So I would say that Point Lobos is more than just this cove, but this is the largest and is a 'hub' for further exploration the park, and is notable as it is the original location of a whaling operation, prior to the formation of it as a protected area (unfortunately the building used by the whalers is obscured by the hill on the right side of the image). It's not possible for any one photo to really describe the park in its entirety (except an aerial photo, of course), but I think this view is about as good as it gets at ground level for showing the different aspects of the park. As I said, the landscape, the seascape, the flora and the human interaction. This map might also help you to understand Whaler's Cove's relationship to the park itself. Ðiliff«»(Talk)13:20, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Cheers Ðiliff - should the article be amended then to indicate that the lead image is just one small part of it? Or am I looking at it through overly sceptical eyes? gazhiley13:58, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps slightly skeptical. :-) But I see your point. If one knows nothing about Point Lobos, it might not be obvious what Point Lobos actually is or how the image relates to it. This is a common problem with a lot of Wikipedia articles, as they usually are written by people who know the subject and sometimes neglect to summarise what exactly it is. I'll add a caption. Ðiliff«»(Talk)14:19, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support Super image quality, as always from Diliff. I've actually driven past this location several times on HWY1, but alas, never got to see the shore... --Janke | Talk07:38, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If you have the chance again, it's definitely worth stopping for at least a half day. It's quite a compact little peninsula with a lot of wildlife calling it home. If you're feeling cheap like I was, don't pay the exorbitant entry/parking fees (around $10 from memory), park for free on the main road directly outside the park entrance and walk in (no charge for pedestrians). ;-) Ðiliff«»(Talk)14:40, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
To quote from the article "the shell color can range from black with white dots, to orange with white reticulations, so arranged as to expose the white in rounded triangular large spots. The aperture is white or light pink." The colour casts are magenta and green, neither of which appear to be naturally imprinted. Xanthomelanoussprog (talk) 21:17, 20 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 30 Jan 2015 at 06:30:00 (UTC)
Original – Almandine is a species of mineral belonging to the garnet group. The name is a corruption of alabandicus, which is the name applied by Pliny the Elder to a stone found or worked at Alabanda, a town in Caria in Asia Minor.
Comment I don't know the finer points of photography, but I don't understand why this was photographed with a black background. I think that if it were photographed on a white background it would give a better indication of the precise shade of brown of the matrix. Also, if the light were shining from one direction, there would be a slight shadow that would give a better idea of the overall shape and three-dimensionality of the mineral. CorinneSD (talk) 19:14, 25 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Comment Thanks! I had a closer look, and I'm pretty sure the black background was added in digital processing- there's a tiny area of white at the bottom, and the border of the black seems to have the characteristic smooth curves and lines generated by a selection process. The matrix might be schist, which would be silvery grey (I just searched for "almandine matrix" and that seems the best match). So I've struck my support. Xanthomelanoussprog (talk) 09:03, 26 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Encyclopedic value: what encyclopedic information the image imparts. Since this is a detail, and there is no discussion of the hands in particular in the article, that is rather low here. Oppose. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:15, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose - To be valuable educationally (EV), the image should include more of the body. To be valuable artistically, the image should have more of interest in it. CorinneSD (talk) 02:04, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Support - such detail gives one a sense of detail in the mummification process. Close-ups and macros can do what no full shot can do. Atsme☯Consult20:05, 28 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 30 Jan 2015 at 15:15:14 (UTC)
'Original – "Virgin and Child with Four Angels is a small oil-on-panel painting by the Early Netherlandish artist Gerard David. Likely completed between 1510 and 1515, it shows the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus, while she is anointed Queen of Heaven by two angels above her, accompanied by music provided by another two angels placed at either side of her. In its fine detail and lush use of colour the work is typical of both David and late period Flemish art." Adapted from the article
Reason
Good scan of an absolutely gorgeous early Netherlandish painting. Do we have any paintings by David featured yet?
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 31 Jan 2015 at 22:38:31 (UTC)
Original – The Old Musician is an 1862 oil painting on canvas by French painter Édouard Manet, produced during the period when the artist was influenced by Spanish art. Measuring 187.4 cm × 248.3 cm (73.8 in × 97.8 in), the work is now held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Reason
High quality scan of an interesting and attractive work by a highly notable artist.
Support – great scan of excellent artwork with good EV; DYK that Lagrène, the 'model' for the central figure of the Old Musician, was apparently "the most famous gypsy in Paris"? SagaciousPhil - Chat14:03, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]