Over the past two years, members of the Commons Photographers User Group shared their shot of the year with others. Now it's been another year and I'm curious to hear what you all consider the most memorable shot you've taken in 2020. I'll start:
2020 was a year like none before. For me personally, that meant that I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the small university town of Chico in the Northern part of the California Central Valley. I arrived in Chico in early March, just at the time the coronavirus pandemic hit the Bay Area. The image above captures my mood at that point in time. At the first glance, it simply shows the edge of the lawn in front of our house in Chico. If you look closer, you might see the desperate mood I was in when I took the image. We were in lockdown, the situation was dire, and I felt quite anxious about the future. --Frank Schulenburg (talk) 17:21, 24 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The picture was a premonition of the year. In the course of the year the #stayathome series was expanded. It is representative of a completely different selection of images, a completely different year. But it is also colorful like life and thus also shows hope. --Dietmar Rabich💬08:36, 25 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I took this picture about a year ago, almost pre-Covid. Photographically, the past year was a rather sad affair for me. I just didn't have many opportunities to take interesting pictures. So in a way, the one-eyed pic is king in the land of the blind. Well, that's a bit too harsh, I do like the facades on Handelskade, Willemstad, Curaçao, and remember the island fondly. --Martin Falbisoner (talk) 17:08, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This video is by no means great in technical or artistic aspect, but it was shot in April just as the restrictions were getting harder. In the park I usually went for a run, this giant sign was suddenly placed at the entrance. Ainali (talk) 21:03, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This gentleman, Mr. de Knegt, calls himself a 'theatre photographer'. He gives workshops and takes pictures in a traditional photo atelier in the Dutch Open-Air Museum of Arnhem. We had a nice talk, and he allowed me to upload the picture. Usually, in a normal year, I would have had more occasions like this. The picture was taken in October 2020 when the park was still (or: again) open. Ziko (talk) 21:03, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
While sitting down doing nothing in the street during Covid-19 pendemic, Durba people come across my hood in the evening, making celebration; a typical Hausa rider dressing in Hausa traditional cloths.--Anass-kokoTalk21:22, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Emma Hinze (23 years) from Germany became triple World Champion in track cycling (I like the red spot above her fingers, looks like a fire coming out). The WC took place in Berlin end of February/beginning of March: Thousands of people in one hall for one week, from all the parts of the world - and we all were somehow unsuspecting what was going to happen after. It seems that nobody got infected with Corona - it is a miracle for me. --Nicola (talk) 21:32, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
To be honest, I don't have a favourite photo from 2020. There wasn't much to celebrate. So I spent my time instead producing some magzines (see my user page) using old photos.
For me, this was a year of social movements, exploring less populated parts of New York City, and birds. While it was tempting to remember "the before-time", this little guy is representative of what became my primary outdoor-away-from-people activity during 2020. I finally, at long last, invested in a somewhat longer lens that makes it possible to take decent pictures of a wider variety of birds (I still wish for a bigger one, but it's a start) and this golden-crowned kinglet stands out as the first time I felt like I was able to get exactly the shot I wanted with a relatively difficult to photograph bird (after spending a good 30 minutes with it).
Last football match I photographed before COVID-19 restrictions. My first national cup final. Managed to capture the winning goal. -- KTC (talk) 23:02, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
When the mask requirement was introduced at the end of April, everyone assumed that it would be over in a month. I had lain in wait at the railway station in my home town with my long telephoto to document the event for posterity. At home on the monitor, I first noticed the note on the wall, which was probably left there by a pupil on or from the way to school. Sometimes you just get lucky. But I could have taken my time documenting it. We still wear masks, and much better ones. Anyone caught wearing a mask like that gentleman now risks heavy fines. As long as it is not forbidden to move the finger on the trigger, I will do it. But I'm sure it will never come to that.... --Reinhold Möller--Ermell (talk) 23:21, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
It was a painful year in the United States even without the pandemic. First, Ahmaud Arbery in February. Then Breonna Taylor in March. Then George Floyd in May. This isn't really a great photo technically, but it sticks in my mind for some reason. Maybe it captures a little bit of the feeling of the time, which I suppose is what a good photo should do. Kaldari (talk) 00:13, 31 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I was photographing Cape May in the morning with completely clear skies, and as I drove up the Garden State Parkway the clouds started creeping in, as you can see in this photo of the Sea Girt Light taken an hour earlier. When I first arrived in Sandy Hook, the sun was hidden, but my patience paid off and the sun came out of the clouds for just a few minutes, enough for me to fire off a series of exposures at 18-24mm. I then tried to set up my 35mm prime for a vertical panorama on my Nodal Ninja, but the light had disappeared by the time I was done. It would be more than half an hour before the sun shone again, but I prefer the sky in the current one even though I was able to capture the later one in higher resolution. Later, as I was driving back, I saw the most beautiful pink sunset around Edison, but unfortunately I wasn't able to capture it. King of ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠05:14, 31 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The last photo shoot I did before contracting Covid-19 (and hence my last of 2020; I got back to shooting on New Years Day) was a series of pictures of Seattle's Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, which I've photographed many times before. This picture in a mostly (but not exclusively) Southwest Asian Muslim area of the cemetery might be my best from this time out.
At the time I took this, I presumably already had the virus, but was asymptomatic. Days later I had a "moderate" case of Covid: fever of 102°F, aching everywhere, but not quite enough to land me in the hospital. One night was pretty scary: I lost consciousness while typing at my computer, must have somehow barely made it to a couch because that is where I woke up. Glad I didn't end up here. Would have been very ironic if this had been my last photo shoot ever, my death photos.
How do you pick the best from over 5000 uploads? The best thing about being an antique is a free travel pass, so I am able to cover an area roughly the same as the Isle of Wight. The worst is that when you look back, you realise how little of that you have yet covered. I haven't included any of the COVID stuff around Liverpool- you could look at my Facebook page "Liverpool Dickheads" for that. But I spend a lot of time visiting cemeteries, the upside of which is that you get to photograph graves of notable people, and Commonwealth War Graves; the downside is that there are also graves of children and babies, which just tear me up. Poor kids never got a chance. I'm not as evil as I'm sometimes painted, really, just as human as anyone else, perhaps more so. In this photo of the chapel in Bebington Cemetery, I was lucky and it all came together. Rodhullandemu (talk) 10:19, 31 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This photo was taken a few days before the COVID-19 containment and restrictions. No doubt the gravity of the character in this relief had something premonitory about it, and did not suggest anything joyful for the future.--Pierre André (talk)11:39, 31 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
2020 started for me and my sports photography colleagues with a highlight, the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. Two and a half weeks full of work, unforgettable memories, outdoors in the cold, dancing to the Olympic song, and nice discussions with athletes and functionaries from around the world. I had the pleasure to take photos at the opening and closing ceremony, and this one in particular does not only stand for the beginning of the games for me but hopefully also sheds a light on a brighter future.
After that extensive event in January, I took some photos at diving, got a cold at my birthday which knocked me out at the German parliament project and ended up in discussions with my Iranian and Italian friends, foreshadowing the crisis. Since then, I post-processed the YOG photos, uploaded, categorized and brought them into use. When this was finished, I created an overview for all my sports photos: User:DerHexer/Sports.
That motivated me to dig deeper into most of my earlier events by creating categories for participants, connecting them with Wikidata item (for which I learned how to use SPARQL, QuickStatements and OpenRefine) and adding tons of structured data. The SDC tool got me to my most active month on Wikimedia Commons ever on January with >360'000 edits. But that's already 2021, and I sincerely hope that I can take more photos at sports events this year.
In 2020, I recorded multiple online church services when churches were closed or church visits very restricted. I always took the opportunity to take some photographs. This is a 15th-century winged altar in the church of a neighbor village with 14th-century Gothic murals in the background.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic year 2020 the city of Cologne invited the press to the opening of a COVID-19 test center. A firefighter volunteer as test model for the press photographers. This image is one of my most re-used images outside of the Wikimedia universum. Raymond08:26, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks to Frank for hosting another round of this event, and especially for the great idea to call it this time “your most memorable shot” instead of “your best shot”. In fact, I would have had trouble naming my “best” photo from 2020. I admire all those who turned the crisis into an opportunity and explored new photographic subject areas; for me 2020 has been the weakest year in terms of photography. Therefore I’ll just choose a typical shot from that year. It shows one of the more interesting spots in the rather boring landscape around where I live. The picture appears dark, but if you look closely you can see that the leaves of the oak tree shine and glow in the backlight before the dark background. So I hope there is some light in the shadows. --Aristeas (talk) 10:57, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This is the vehicle that carries us from village to village in order to take images of unphotographed places stuck in a mud. After five years of service and more than 5,000 images taken, this was the first serious problem that we faced and it took us more than two hours to get out with the aid of a tractor driver that we accidentally met in the mountainous region earlier that day. That was definitely something to remember.--Kiril Simeonovski (talk) 13:13, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Animation of the lightning sequence on a terrifying winter night; because of the sound of thunder, and also the fact that COVID-19 hits the region hardly! --Alaa :)..!15:44, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Young funny hedgehog. He posed for a long time and went about his business. I was able to take a whole series of shots. The photo was taken on the outskirts of Vinnytsia, where the city ends and the wild nature begins. My city is filled with wild fauna. It is home to a wide variety of birds including wild swans, owls, and hawks. Pond turtles and grass snakes are often found in urban waters. Squirrels and hedgehogs are common on lawns. -- George Chernilevskytalk16:52, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
My native town of Bruges (Belgium) during Covid-19 lockdown: closed shops, (almost) empty streets. Normally, on a sunny day like this, these streets are crowded with tourists. -- MJJR (talk) 21:17, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
A turtle swiming back to surface, kind of illustration of a resilliant world trying to breathe. It's memorable for me as the garden where it was taken are so peaceful and probably one of the underrated garden of the City of Toulouse. PierreSelim (talk) 10:21, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
2020 was terrible: my sister died in January, some of my best friends died from the virus, I had treatment for pancreatic cancer and had to give up my profession. This bust of a suffering Man, which was saved and gifted to me, along with other 80 little statues coming from my grandfathers atelier, makes me always think that there are people who are in dire need and who suffer more and that I am a lucky man--Wolfgang Moroder (talk) 15:50, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Abandoned mining near Geroldsgrün. Not really the best picture, but one special for the year. The pandemic meant that I was staying closer to home and took a closer look at what was left and right off the route. There already was a pile of stones ready to fill this hole, so it is most likely gone by now. But I am still trying to work out which mining operations the tunnel underneath belongs to, as there were more that one Careerfromhome (talk) 16:56, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
In the fall of 2019, one of my house neighbors sawed off a few branches of his tree on the property line with us. We hadn't complained at all about the branches overhanging a bit onto our property. After the cut, we saw some cuttings from the upper floor to our side, but that would grow back somehow. We were not thrilled, however. At the end of June 2020 my wife called me, who was sitting in the room in the upper floor to the side and there sat then in approx. 6 meters distance a long-eared owl and felt obviously well. By the branch cut you could sit somewhat protected and at the same time excellently observe the surrounding area. So to say a viewing platform. Quickly the camera was fetched and the first photos made; through the closed window pane, because the bird should not be driven away. In the end, the bird remained our daily visual contact for almost two weeks; always for a few hours a day. At night it went hunting. But it quickly became a habit to check on the new neighbor right after getting up in the morning and again in the evening after work. And we were always glad when the bird was there. Then it probably found a better place to sit and maybe to hunt, which I was glad for it. It was a nice time together. In the end, I can also thank my saw-friendly house neighbor for this experience.
Photo taken in the Jewish quarter (the Mellah) of Tetuan (Morocco) and shows a Muslim veiled women walking near a public fountain with Hebrew inscriptions. The photo shows in a way the religious diversity of the city where Muslims and Jews lives together in peace. The photo was taken for the project MedinaStories which aims to document the cultural and religious diversity of the UNESSCO World Heritage Medinas in the Maghreb region
The photo was taken in a poor neighborhood of Recife, Brazil and tells a typical day with a family and this photo is special to me because it tells a story that is sometimes ignored. --Wilfredor (talk) 14:08, 8 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Though certainly not my best photo, the south face makes it rarely fully lit when I'm out, and I don't feel fully comfortable carrying my dslr in this neighborhood! I lived by this building, and waited at a bus stop across from it every day. I got to appreciate it at all hours, all conditions of storm, sun, and snow. It's a beautiful old firehouse with a somber history. I ended up writing its enwiki entry, which has helped spur its hopeful renovation into a historical society's new home. Interestingly enough, they also used this photo to create a rendering for a look at what may be. I'm cautiously hopeful for its future. ɱ(talk)03:59, 12 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Due to the pandemic in 2020, as a citizen of North Macedonia, I did not have the freedom to travel in most countries, except the nearest neighbor, Albania. This was the place to escape on many summer weekends, camping on the Ionian Sea coast, from dawn to dusk, enjoying it. The photo is from the sunset on Livadhi beach, Himara, Albania.--Liridon (talk) 20:46, 13 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Very unlikely my best, but definetly one of my most interesting images of 2020. Taken at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. Shows Ice hockey player Luisa Wilson, the first mexican olympic Winter gold medailist. There are probably better images, but I'm by far not done yet with all the images. Will be my task for 2021. How ever, my best image would among these images, because of well known world wide "causes" I had not really the opportunity do go a lot out and take pictures.--Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:50, 15 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I took this image in the beginning of the year when we still lived in a different erra. It took a while thou when I started uploading images from that concert to Wikimedia Commons...
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