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Featured picture candidates


Featured picture candidates are images that the community will vote on, to determine whether or not they will be highlighted as some of the finest on Commons. This page lists the candidates to become featured pictures. The picture of the day images are selected from featured pictures.

Old candidates for featured pictures are listed here. There are also chronological lists of featured pictures: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and current month.

For another overview of our finest pictures, take a look at our annual picture of the year election.

Formal things

Nominating

Guidelines for nominators

Please read the complete guidelines before nominating.

This is a summary of what to look for when submitting and reviewing FP candidates:

  • Licensing – Images licensed with solely "GFDL" or "GFDL and an NC-only license" are not acceptable due the restrictions placed on re-use by these licenses.
  • Resolution – Raster images of lower resolution than 2 million pixels (pixels, not bytes) are typically rejected unless there are strong mitigating reasons. This does not apply to vector graphics (SVGs).
    • Graphics on Commons are not only viewed on conventional computer screens. They may be used in high-resolution print versions, and the images may be cropped to focus on portions of the image. See Commons:Why we need high resolution media for more information.
  • Scans – While not official policy, Help:Scanning provides advice on the preparation of various types of images that may be useful.
  • General quality – pictures being nominated should be of high technical quality.
  • Digital manipulations must not deceive the viewer. Digital manipulation for the purpose of correcting flaws in an image is generally acceptable, provided it is limited, well-done, and not intended to deceive.
    • For photographs, typical acceptable manipulations include cropping, perspective correction, sharpening/blurring, and color/exposure correction. More extensive manipulations, such as removal of distracting background elements, should be clearly described in the image text, by means of the {{Retouched picture}} template. Undescribed or mis-described manipulations which cause the main subject to be misrepresented are never acceptable. For images made from more than one photo, you can use the {{Panorama}} or {{Focus stacked image}} templates.
    • For historic images, acceptable manipulations might include digitally fixing rips, removal of stains, cleanup of dirt, and, for mass-produced artworks such as engravings, removal of flaws inherent to the particular reproduction, such as over-inking. Careful color adjustments may be used to bring out the original work from the signs of ageing, though care should be taken to restore a natural appearance. The original artistic intent should be considered when deciding whether it is appropriate to make a change. Edits to historic material should be documented in detail within the file description, and an unedited version should be uploaded and cross linked for comparison.
  • Valueour main goal is to feature most valuable pictures from all others. Pictures should be in some way special, so please be aware that:
    • almost all sunsets are aesthetically pleasing, and most such pictures are not in essence different from others,
    • night-shots are pretty but normally more details can be shown on pictures taken at daytime,
    • beautiful does not always mean valuable.
Artworks, illustrations, and historical documents

There are many different types of non-photographic media, including engravings, watercolors, paintings, etchings, and various others. Hence, it is difficult to set hard-and-fast guidelines. However, generally speaking, works can be divided into three types: Those that can be scanned, those that must be photographed, and those specifically created to illustrate a subject.

Works that must be photographed include most paintings, sculptures, works too delicate or too unique to allow them to be put on a scanner, and so on. For these, the requirements for photography, below, may be mostly followed; however, it should be noted that photographs which cut off part of the original painting are generally not considered featurable.

Works that may be scanned include most works created by processes that allow for mass distribution − for instance, illustrations published with novels. For these, it is generally accepted that a certain amount of extra manipulation is permissible to remove flaws inherent to one copy of the work, since the particular copy – of which hundreds, or even thousands of copies also exist – is not so important as the work itself.

Works created to serve a purpose include diagrams, scientific illustrations, and demonstrations of contemporary artistic styles. For these, the main requirement is that they serve their purpose well.

Provided the reproduction is of high quality, an artwork generally only needs one of the following four things to be featurable:

  • Notable in its own right: Works by major artists, or works that are otherwise notable, such as the subjects of a controversy.
  • Of high artistic merit: Works which, while not particularly well known, are nonetheless wonderful examples of their particular type or school of art.
  • Of high historic merit: The historical method values very early illustrations of scenes and events over later ones. Hence, a work of poor quality depicting a contemporaneous historical event can be nonetheless important, even if the artistic merit is relatively low. Likewise, scans or photographs of important documents – which may not be at all artistic – nonetheless may be highly valuable if the documents are historically significant. The reason for the image's historical importance should be briefly stated in the nomination, for those reviewers unfamiliar with the subject.
  • Of high illustrative merit: Works that illustrate or help explain notable subjects, for instance, illustrations of books, scientific subjects, or technical processes. The amount of artistic merit required for these will vary by subject, but, for instance, an illustration that makes the working of a complicated piece of machinery very clear need not be notable as a piece of artwork as well, whereas an illustration for a book might well be expected to reach much higher artistic standards.

Digital restorations must also be well documented. An unedited version of the image should be uploaded locally, when possible, and cross-linked from the file description page. Edit notes should be specified in detail, such as "Rotated and cropped. Dirt, scratches, and stains removed. Histogram adjusted and colors balanced."

Photographs

On the technical side, we have focus, exposure, composition, movement control and depth of field.

  • Focus – every important object in the picture should normally be sharp.
  • Exposure refers to the shutter diaphragm combination that renders an image with a tonal curve that ideally is able to represent in acceptable detail shadows and highlights within the image. This is called latitude. Images can be on the low side of the tonal curve (low range), the middle (middle range) or high side (upper range). Lack of shadow detail is not necessarily a negative characteristic. In fact, it can be part of the desired effect. Burned highlights in large areas are a distracting element.
  • Composition refers to the arrangement of the elements within the image. The "Rule of thirds" is one useful guideline. Horizons should almost never be placed in the middle, where they "cut" the image in half. Often, a horizon creating a top or bottom third of the space works better. The main idea is to use space to create a dynamic image.
    • Foreground and background – foreground and background objects may be distracting. You should check that something in front of the subject doesn't hide important elements and that something in background doesn't spoil the composition (for example that the streetlight doesn't "stand" on someone's head).
  • Movement control refers to the manner in which motion is represented in the image. Motion can be frozen or blurred. Neither one is better than the other. It is the intention of representation. Movement is relative within the objects of the image. For example, photographing a race car that appears frozen in relation to the background does not give us a sense of speed or motion, so technique dictates to represent the car in a frozen manner but with a blurred background, thus creating the sense of motion, this is called "panning". On the other hand, representing a basketball player in a high jump frozen in relation to everything else, due to the "unnatural" nature of the pose would be a good photograph.
  • Depth of field (DOF) refers to the area in focus in front of and beyond main subject. Depth of field is chosen according to the specific needs of every picture. Large or small DOF can either way add or subtract to the quality of the image. Low depth of field can be used to bring attention to the main subject, separating it from the general environment. High depth of field can be used to emphasize space. Short focal length lenses (wide angles) yield large DOF, and vice versa, long focal lenses (telephotos) have shallow DOF. Small apertures yield large DOF and conversely, large apertures yield shallow DOF.

On the graphic elements we have shape, volume, color, texture, perspective, balance, proportion, noise, etc.

  • Shape refers to the contour of the main subjects.
  • Volume refers to the three dimensional quality of the object. This is accomplished using side light. Contrary to general belief, front lighting is not the best light. It tends to flatten subject. Best light of day is early morning or late afternoon.
  • Color is important. Oversaturated colors are not good.
  • Texture refers to the quality of the surface of the subject. It is enhanced by side lighting… it is the "feel" to the touch.
  • Perspective refers to the "angle" accompanied by lines that disappear into a vanishing point that may or may not be inside the image.
  • Balance refers to the arrangement of subjects within the image that can either give equal weight or appear to be heavier on one side.
  • Proportion refers to the relation of size of objects in picture. Generally, we tend to represent small objects small in relation to others, but a good technique is to represent small objects large contrary to natural size relationship. For example, a small flower is given preponderance over a large mountain…. This is called inversion of scales.
Not all elements must be present. Some photographs can be judged on individual characteristics, that is, an image can be about color or texture, or color AND texture, etc.
  • Noise refers to unwanted corruption of color brightness and quality and can be caused by underexposure. It is not a desirable quality and can be grounds for opposition.
  • Symbolic meaning or relevance … Opinion wars can begin here … A bad picture of a very difficult subject is better than a good picture of an ordinary subject. A good picture of a difficult subject is an extraordinary photograph.
Images can be culturally biased by the photographer and/or the observer. The meaning of the image should be judged according to the cultural context of the image, not by the cultural context of the observer. An image "speaks" to people, and it has the capacity to evoke emotion such as tenderness, rage, rejection, happiness, sadness, etc. Good photographs are not limited to evoking pleasant sensations …

You will maximise the chances of your nominations succeeding if you read the complete guidelines before nominating.

Video and audio

Please nominate videos, sounds, music, PDFs, etc. at Commons:Featured media candidates.

Set nominations

If a group of images are thematically connected in a direct and obvious way, they can be nominated together as a set. A set should fall under one of the following types:

  • Faithful digital reproductions of works notable in their own right, which the original author clearly intended to be viewed as a set. Examples: pages in a pamphlet, crops (puzzle pieces) of a prohibitively large scan, a pair of pendant paintings. Not acceptable: Arbitrary selection of sample works by an artist.
  • A sequence of images showing the passage of time. They could depict frames of a moving/changing object or a static object during different times of day or different seasons. Examples: diagrams illustrating a process, steps of a dance, metamorphosis of an insect, maps/drawings/photos of the same subject over the years (frame of view should be more or less the same).
  • A group of images depicting the same subject from different viewpoints, preferably taken under the same lighting conditions when possible. Examples: Exterior and interior of a building, different facades of a building, different interior views, obverse and inverse of a banknote/coin. Not acceptable: A selection of different rooms in a skyscraper, the facade of a church plus an organ, any images of fundamentally different scopes.
  • A group of images which show all possible variations of a particular class of object. Examples: Male and female versions of an animal (preferably in the same setting), all known species of a genus. Not acceptable: A few breeds of cats (unless they share a defining characteristic and represent all possible examples of that).


Adding a new nomination

If you believe that you have found or created an image that could be considered valuable, with appropriate name, quality, image description, categories and licensing, then do the following.

Step 1: copy the image name into this box, after the text already present in the box, for example, Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:Your image filename.jpg. Then click on the "create new nomination" button.

All single files:

For renominations, simply add /2 after the filename. For example, Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:Foo.jpg/2

All set nomination pages should begin "Commons:Featured picture candidates/Set/", e.g. "Commons:Featured picture candidates/Set/My Nomination".


Step 2: follow the instructions on the page that you are taken to, and save that page.

Step 3: manually insert a link to the created page at the top of Commons:Featured picture candidates/candidate list: Click here, and add the following line to the TOP of the nominations list:

{{Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:Your image filename.jpg}}

Nominations are time-sensitive and for one-time use only. An automatic clock starts as soon as they are created. Do not create them in advance, save them for later or re-activate them.

Galleries and FP categories: Please add a gallery page and section heading from the list at Commons FP galleries. Write the code as Page name#Section heading. For example: Commons:Featured pictures/Sports#Individual sports An image will only appear ONE time in the galleries. After a successful nomination, the image can be placed in several of the Featured pictures categories.

Optional: if you are not the creator of the image, please notify them using {{subst:FPC-notice|Your image filename.jpg}} -- ~~~~.

Note: Do not add an 'Alternative' image when you create a nomination. Selecting the best image is part of the nomination process. Alternatives are for a different crop or post-processing of the original image, or a closely related image from the same photo session (limited to 1 per nomination), if they are suggested by voters. They should be added by, or at the request of, the nominator.

An 'Alternative' is created by adding a sub-section to the nomination page: ====Alternative==== [[File:Foo.jpg|300px]] *{{info}} A short description.

Voting

Editors whose accounts have at least 10 days and 100 constructive, stable edits on Commons (excluding user and talk pages) can vote. Everybody can vote for their own nominations. Anonymous (IP) votes are not allowed.

You may use the following templates:

  • {{Support}} ( Support),
  • {{Oppose}} ( Oppose),
  • {{Neutral}} ( Neutral),
  • {{Comment}} ( Comment),
  • {{Info}} ( Info),
  • {{Question}} ( Question),
  • {{Request}} ( Request).

You may indicate that the image has no chance of success with the template {{FPX|reason - ~~~~}}, where reason explains why the image is clearly unacceptable as a FP. The template can only be used when there are no support votes other than the one from the nominator.

A well-written review helps participants (photographers, nominators and reviewers) improve their skills by providing insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a picture. Explain your reasoning, especially when opposing a candidate (which has been carefully selected by the author/nominator). English is the most widely understood language on Commons, but any language may be used in your review. A helpful review will often reference one or more of the criteria listed above.

Unhelpful reasons for opposing include:

  • No reason
  • "I don't like it" and other empty assessments
  • "You can do better" and other criticisms of the author/nominator rather than the image

Remember also to put your signature (~~~~).

Over time, featured picture standards change. It may be decided that for some pictures which were formerly "good enough", this is no longer the case. This is for listing an image which you believe no longer deserves to be a featured picture. For these, vote:

Text to use Displays as Meaning
{{Keep}}  Keep It deserves to remain a featured picture.
{{Delist}}  Delist It does not deserve to be a featured picture anymore.

This can also be used for cases in which a previous version of an image was promoted to FP, but a newer version of the image has been made and is believed to be superior to the old version, e.g. a newly edited version of a photo or a new scan of a historical image. In particular, it is not intended for replacing older photos of a particular subject with newer photos of the same subject, or in any other case where the current FP and the proposed replacement are essentially different images. For these nominations, vote:

Text to use Displays as Meaning
{{Keep}}  Keep Do not replace the old image with the new image as a FP.
{{Delistandreplace}}  Delist and replace Replace the current FP with the proposed replacement.

If you believe that some picture no longer meets the criteria for FP, you can nominate it for delisting, copying the image name into this box, after the text already present in the box:


In the new delisting nomination page just created you should include:

  • Information on the origin of the image (creator, uploader);
  • A link to the original FP nomination (it will appear under "Links" on the image description page);
  • Your reasons for nominating the image and your username.

After that, you have to manually insert a link to the created page at the top of Commons:Featured picture candidates/candidate list.

As a courtesy, leave an informative note on the talk page(s) of the original creator, uploader(s), and nominator with a link to the delisting candidate. {{subst:FPC-notice-removal}} can be used for this purpose.

General rules

  1. The voting period is 9 complete days counted from the nomination. After the end of this period the result will be determined. Votes added on day 10 and after are not counted.
  2. Nominations by anonymous contributors are welcome.
  3. Contributions to discussion by anonymous contributors are welcome.
  4. Only registered contributors whose Commons accounts have at least 10 days and 100 constructive, stable edits on Commons (excluding user and talk pages) can vote. Exception: registered users can always vote in their own nominations no matter the account age and number of edits.
  5. Nominations do not count as votes. Support must be explicitly stated.
  6. Nominators and authors can withdraw their nominated pictures at any time. This is done by adding the following template: {{Withdraw}} ~~~~. Also, remember that if more than one version is nominated, you should explicitly state which version you are withdrawing.
  7. Remember, the goal of the Wikimedia Commons project is to provide a central repository for free images to be used by all Wikimedia projects, including possible future projects. This is not simply a repository for Wikipedia images, so images should not be judged here on their suitability for that project.
  8. Rules of the 5th day based on vote counts on day number 5 (day of nomination + 5):
    1. Pictures are speedy declined if they have fewer than two support votes.
    2. Pictures are speedy promoted if they have 10 support votes or more and no oppose votes. (Note that if it takes more than five days to reach this threshold, the picture can be promoted as soon as it is reached.) This does not apply to nominations containing at least one ‘Alternative’ image – because it is possible that another image can overtake the one in the lead during the last days, such nominations are never closed early.
    3. Once either speedy criterion is reached, the voting period is considered closed, and no more votes may be added.
  9. Pictures tagged {{FPX}} may be removed from the list 24 hours after the tag was applied, provided there are no support votes other than that of the nominator.
  10. Pictures tagged {{FPD}} (FP-Denied) may be removed from the list 24 hours after the tag was applied.
  11. Only two active nominations by the same user (that is, nominations under review and not yet closed) are allowed. The main purpose of this measure is to contribute to a better average quality of nominations, by driving nominators/creators to choose carefully the pictures presented to the forum.

Featuring and delisting rules

A candidate will become a featured picture in compliance with following conditions:

  1. Appropriate license (of course)
  2. At least seven  Support votes (or 7  Delist votes for a delist) at the end of nine days
  3. Ratio of supporting/opposing votes at least 2/1 (a two-thirds majority); same for delist/keep votes
  4. Two different versions of the same picture cannot both be featured, but only the one with higher level of support, as determined by the closer. Whenever the closer is not sure which version has consensus to be featured, they should attempt to contact the voters to clarify their opinions if not clear from the nomination page.
  5. Only two active delisting nominations per user, which is in addition to the limit of two active regular nominations.

The delisting rules are the same as those for FPs, with voting taking place over the same time period. The rule of the 5th day is applied to delisting candidates that have received no votes to delist, other than that of the proposer, by day 5.

The FPCBot handles the vote counting and closing in most cases, current exceptions are candidates containing multiple versions of the image as well as FPXed and withdrawn nominations. Any experienced user may close the requests not handled by the bot. For instructions on how to close nominations, see Commons:Featured picture candidates/What to do after voting is finished. Also note that there is a manual review stage between when the bot has counted the votes and before the nomination is finally closed by the bot; this manual review can be done by any user familiar with the voting rules.

Above all, be polite

Please don't forget that the image you are judging is somebody's work. Avoid using phrases like "it looks terrible" and "I hate it". If you must oppose, please do so with consideration. Also remember that your command of English might not be the same as someone else's. Choose your words with care.

Happy judging… and remember… all rules can be broken.

See also

Table of contents

List may contain works considered Not Safe for Work (nudity).

Nominators are requested, out of courtesy, to include the {{Nsfw}} template with such images. Users may select the gadget in user preferences "Deferred display of images tagged with {{Nsfw}} on COM:FPC" to enable the template's effect of hiding the image until selected.

Refresh page for new nominations: purge this page's cache

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 22:40:25 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Open flower of a crocus

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 22:33:07 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Rock monoliths at Peak Molodezhnyy, Sayan Mountains.

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 19:51:18 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Castle of Numão, Portugal

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 19:05:22 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 16:38:45 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Life restoration of Barosaurus lentus defending itself from a pair of Allosaurus fragilis

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 14:30:24 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Inauguration of Tropospheric Communications Link between USSR and India

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 14:18:42 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Photomontage using images of the Milky Way and the Madain Salih/Hegra archaeological site

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 13:53:26 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Abandoned creepy old house

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 11:51:29 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Statue of Karl Malden (born as Mladen Sekulović) in Belgrade, Serbia

Voting period ends on 1 Apr 2026 at 11:36:30 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Downy woodpecker looking quizzically at something

Voting period ends on 31 Mar 2026 at 22:57:20 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

The film church in the village of Štavica featured in Milcho Manchevski's Dust

Voting period ends on 31 Mar 2026 at 17:04:06 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Voting period ends on 31 Mar 2026 at 10:47:46 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

SHORT DESCRIPTION
  • Gallery: Commons:Featured pictures/Objects/Vehicles/Land vehicles#Automobiles
  •  Info Peugeot 308 B (2013-2021), french car. Created, uploaded & nominated by A.BourgeoisP
  •  Support -- A.BourgeoisP (talk) 10:47, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Question Can you elaborate what is so special about this shot that it should become one of our finest. In terms of subject, compo, lighting and detail level I cannot see anything extraordinary here. Poco a poco (talk) 11:44, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
    Subject: Whether it’s a church, a knife, cut wood, or a car, any subject can be interesting and worthwhile.
    Composition: The subject is the car, and the framing is centered on it. A front three-quarter view was chosen because it is the most dynamic angle. This effect is amplified by the turned wheels, which showcase the rims.
    Lighting: The side angle relative to the sun helps properly bring out the details of the grille and the lines of the hood and bumpers. The low light gives real depth to the blue paint, whose reflections range from sky blue to violet through different shades of blue, giving strong intensity to the color rendering.
    Detail level: Very high. The image is already very sharp from the start, so I didn’t need to artificially and excessively increase the sharpness, unlike some others who destroy the details of their photos, making them look as if they were generated by AI. A.BourgeoisP (talk) 13:10, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • Ok, I see a boring composition (as you say, centered), unpleaseant background, a very commons car (at least in Europe), special cars have always better chances (lookt at the corresponding gallery). Detail is good but and DoF also fine, though. Overall to me a good QI but we expect more for FP, sorry. My opinion. Others are also welcome to give feedback. Poco a poco (talk) 20:03, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Poco a poco You're mocking me fiercely and violently; you just voted for four images whose subjects are perfectly centered : 1, 2, 3, 4. It's very strange that you weren't bothered by those 4 photos, but apparently, it bothers you about mine... This other image did not attract your attention because of its boredom : 5. You intervened on my proposal less than two hours after its publication, just for the pleasure of destroying me and using your notoriety here to influence others and rob other users of their free will. That's a high level of morality and intellect! Bravo! A.BourgeoisP (talk) 17:57, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 31 Mar 2026 at 02:00:45 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Voting period ends on 30 Mar 2026 at 09:56:12 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Slopes covered with live oak forests, Tazekka National Park, Taza Province, Morocco

Voting period ends on 30 Mar 2026 at 09:25:25 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Traditional square house juxtaposed to a modern multi-storey building. Ouirgane, Al Haouz, Morocco

Voting period ends on 30 Mar 2026 at 08:08:01 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Monstrance by Christian Schweling (1657/58), Exhibited in the Cologne Cathedral Treasury, destroyed 1975, rebuilt 1978-1987 by Peter Bolg.

Voting period ends on 30 Mar 2026 at 07:46:39 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

A solitary, leafless Walnut tree (Juglans regia) with the upper part of a modern wind turbine.

Alternative

A solitary, leafless Walnut tree (Juglans regia) in spring standing on a green field under a clear blue sky in the southern Palatinate.
I prefer the other version. This is too simple. Milseburg (talk) 16:23, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 23:35:36 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Pine log end faces on forest pile

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 22:50:07 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Girl in Mara village, Morena district, M.P., India
  •  Oppose A charming face, but unfortunately not sharp enough. The lighting isn't particularly exciting either. On the right side, it looks like someone was cut out along with the hair. --Ermell (talk) 08:44, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 22:49:08 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
Voters must check: File name · Quality · Image description · License · Categories (what, where, who, when)
Visit the nomination page to add or modify image notes.

Burj Khalifa (worlds tallest building) and the Dubai skyline

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 22:37:53 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Krishna Holds Up Mount Govardhan to Shelter the Villagers of Braj, ca.1590–95, The Met

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 22:35:31 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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A 135 mm Japanese kiritsuke-style petty knife made by blacksmith Masashi Yamamoto in Sanjo, Niigata, Japan
It was either caused by the grinder or by someone who used a light abrasive in the last production steps. You can see that the kurouchi finish (the dark area above your selection) has been touched slightly as well so that the lighter steel underneath peeks through. Most people who buy handforged knives like this don't mind irregularities; actually, I like them as a form of reminder that this is a handmade piece, not one of those industrial-production knives that are perfectly uniform. --Frank Schulenburg (talk) 17:17, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
 Support Thanks for the explanation. In that case the photo is very good. --Tuxyso (talk) 17:23, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Support --MZaplotnik(talk) 10:55, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Oppose I don't understand why everyone seems so captivated by this image. It's certainly sharp and deserves QI, but it's nothing extraordinary. Nothing justifies it being one of the best images here. It's just a knife lying flat on a rock, how boring! The knife is dark and dull while the background is striped and multicolored. It doesn't do it justice at all. There are much more interesting and legible photos that are rejected; the choices are absurd! — Preceding unsigned comment added by A.BourgeoisP (talk • contribs) 17:46, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Comment @A.BourgeoisP: Thank you very much for your review. I understand the concern, but I see the strength of this image precisely in its restraint. It is not about spectacle, but about clarity and craftsmanship. The controlled lighting reveals fine forging traces and subtle tonal transitions in the blade, while the textured stone background provides contrast without competing for attention. The composition keeps the focus exactly where it should be. This is not a generic object, but a handcrafted knife with individual character - and the photograph communicates that convincingly. For me, this combination of technical precision, material rendering, and understated aesthetics justifies its nomination. Best regards, -- Radomianin (talk) 18:30, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 22:08:08 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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The Gods Sing and Dance for Shiva and Parvati, Khushala, Pahari, late 18th century

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 20:50:24 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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The zodiacal light and gegenschein passing through 12 of the 13 zodiacal constellations.

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 20:47:33 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Jabiru taking off in Encontro das Águas State Park

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 20:44:29 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Capybara swimming in Encontro das Águas State Park

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 17:40:24 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Remains of a Mazda-based Ford-courier truck near Drymona, Euboea, Greece

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 16:30:38 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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SHORT DESCRIPTION

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 16:14:32 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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The bar "Teichwerk" (pondwork) in the pond on the Campus of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria

Voting period ends on 29 Mar 2026 at 12:57:11 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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A panoramic view of the skyline of Inverness, as seen from the top of Inverness Castle.

Voting period ends on 28 Mar 2026 at 19:55:30 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Melike Hatun Mosque, Ankara, Turkey

Voting period ends on 28 Mar 2026 at 06:59:59 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Mausoleum of Bibi Maryam (14th century, Oman)

Voting period ends on 27 Mar 2026 at 20:48:12 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy.
  • Thanks for the effort to improve the photo, but I still think the ladies on the far left are severely distorted. They probably don't want to be depicted like that in public. Sorry.--Famberhorst (talk) 16:46, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Question Can you elaborate what is so special about this shot that it should become one of our finest. In terms of subject, compo, lighting and detail level I cannot see anything extraordinary here. A.BourgeoisP (talk) 12:51, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd have liked to be asked in a more genuine/respecful way instead of just copy&pasting the question I asked in your candidate above (I wouldn't call this edit a best practice), but ok. I enjoy the wide view of this popular square that offers a nice compo from a big part of the square while the numerous tourists don't spoil it. The facade of that magnificient cathedral is also a nice eye-catcher that balances the closer column. The lighting is an addon that offers a contrast between left and side, the sky is interesting with some clouds and detail is pretty decent. Poco a poco (talk) 20:28, 22 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • From time to time, there are nominations on FPC where I fail to grasp the photographer's vision of why this should be an FP (which may very well also apply to other users looking at my nominations, I am convinced). However, I don't think that this is the case at all here. Pleasant composition (maybe a bit much sky, but that's a matter of taste, I guess), overall good framing of the quite wide (and not too easy to capture) square; faces are a bit overprocessed, yes, but all in all this is an image I can  Support. --Aciarium (talk) 22:36, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Support Nice perspective, lighting, and detail, but the women on the left appear over-processed and slightly distracting. A light touch with the blur/smoothing brush could even out the faces - perhaps you could apply this, Poco a poco? Thank you very much in advance. -- Radomianin (talk) 22:21, 23 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 27 Mar 2026 at 19:14:47 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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The Old Town of Lijiang in Yunnan, China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at night.

Voting period ends on 27 Mar 2026 at 15:06:05 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Arborea arboreus

Voting period ends on 26 Mar 2026 at 16:14:24 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Caux Palace Hotel with the Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS), Caux Campus, Caux, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland

Voting period ends on 26 Mar 2026 at 15:51:37 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Heliocypha biforata female damselfly
  •  Oppose I'm sorry but the overprocessing is too much IMHO. The eye doesn't look real and the jump from focused to unfocused is also disturbing in an area where I'd expect sharpness everywhere. Poco a poco (talk) 15:08, 19 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Oppose Agree with edits. Maybe fly moved so much to see some parts are not sharp, like that behind head, despite that laft end and head are sharp, so should be middle too. I see much pink shades in back (red back). Edits between legs also show problems noise/denoised part mixed. Dont know your edit procession, try to solve Topaz at end, but not with jpeg. --Mile (talk) 09:35, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Oppose per others, plus yet another categorizational bloomer with "new created" Category:Zygoptera of Laos. (Three things you can watch forever: the water flow, the fire burn, and... you know what.) --A.Savin 11:21, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Weak oppose Parts of the image are unsharp, but I don't think its hugely significant either, I can definitely see the wow factor in this. TheBritinator (talk) 12:42, 20 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Support I am breaking my self-imposed distancing from this section...I wonder to what extent editing an image has become a sin in this section, I left this section because of this very situation, edits that are completely valid to some are totally invalid to others, at times I ended up feeling like a criminal brought before the village council of elders for having used long exposure or for having used AI with Topaz to improve details and remove noise. Excessive purism stops things from evolving. BTW, beautiful photo, it could be the next Soviet flag. --Wilfredor (talk) 22:46, 21 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Voting period ends on 26 Mar 2026 at 15:05:17 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Morrison's fulvetta (Alcippe morrisonia) Xindian

Voting period ends on 26 Mar 2026 at 12:59:32 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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The first presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints

Alternative

Voting period ends on 26 Mar 2026 at 07:18:21 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus)

Voting period ends on 25 Mar 2026 at 21:59:34 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Alley in the Tianjin Old Town Museum

Voting period ends on 25 Mar 2026 at 10:17:33 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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A conductor leads his band in a spectacular orchestral performance shared between Malaysia and Sweden.

Voting period ends on 25 Mar 2026 at 08:50:09 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus)

Voting period ends on 25 Mar 2026 at 07:50:37 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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An aerial view of the village of Vešala

Voting period ends on 24 Mar 2026 at 14:56:52 (UTC) (unless closed by the 5th-day rule)
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Prayer in St Marko church, Belgrade, Serbia


Timetable (day 5 after nomination)

Thu 19 Mar → Tue 24 Mar
Fri 20 Mar → Wed 25 Mar
Sat 21 Mar → Thu 26 Mar
Sun 22 Mar → Fri 27 Mar
Mon 23 Mar → Sat 28 Mar
Tue 24 Mar → Sun 29 Mar

Timetable (day 9 after nomination, last day of voting)

Sun 15 Mar → Tue 24 Mar
Mon 16 Mar → Wed 25 Mar
Tue 17 Mar → Thu 26 Mar
Wed 18 Mar → Fri 27 Mar
Thu 19 Mar → Sat 28 Mar
Fri 20 Mar → Sun 29 Mar
Sat 21 Mar → Mon 30 Mar
Sun 22 Mar → Tue 31 Mar
Mon 23 Mar → Wed 01 Apr
Tue 24 Mar → Thu 02 Apr

Closing nominations manually

The following description explains how to close nominations manually. Normally this is not necessary, as FPCBot takes care of counting the votes, closing and archiving the nominations. When the Bot has counted the votes, a user needs to check and approve the result; everything else is done by the Bot. Therefore, the following instructions are normally only needed for delist-and-replace nominations that the Bot cannot (yet) process, and in case the Bot malfunctions. The closing can be done by any experienced user. If you need help, just ask on the FPC talk page.

  1. On Commons:Featured picture candidates/candidate list click on the title/link of the nomination, then [edit].
    • Add the result of the voting at the bottom (on a new line):
      {{FPC-results-reviewed|support=x|oppose=x|neutral=x|featured=(“yes” or “no”)|gallery=xxx|sig=~~~~}}
      (You can leave the gallery parameter blank if the image was not featured. If the nomination contains alternatives, you must add the alternative=xxx parameter with the name of the selected image between the gallery and the sig parameter. See {{FPC-results-reviewed}} for examples and more explanations.)
    • Edit the title of the nomination and add featured or not featured after the link – for example:
      === [[:File:XXXXX.jpg]] ===
      becomes
      === [[:File:XXXXX.jpg]], featured ===
    • Save your edit.
  2. If it is featured:
    1. Add the picture to the list of the four most recently featured pictures of an appropriate gallery of Commons:Featured pictures, list as the first one and delete the last one, so that the number is four again.
    2. Add the picture to the appropriate featured picture gallery page and section. Click on the most appropriate link beneath where you just added it as one of the four images on Commons:Featured pictures, list to find the gallery page, and search for the correct section. (An image should only appear ONE time in the galleries. After a successful nomination, the image can be placed in several of the Featured pictures categories.)
    3. Add the template {{Assessments|featured=1}} to the image description page.
      • If it was an alternative image or part of a set nomination, use the com-nom parameter. For example, if File:Foo.jpg was promoted in the nomination Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:Bar.jpg, use {{Assessments|featured=1|com-nom=Bar.jpg}} You also need the com-nom parameter if the image gets renamed.
      • If the image is already featured on another Wikipedia, just add featured=1 to the {{Assessments}} template. For instance, {{Assessments|enwiki=1}} becomes {{Assessments|enwiki=1|featured=1}}
    4. Head over to the structured data for the image and add the “Commons quality assessment” claim (P6731) “Wikimedia Commons featured picture” (Q63348049).
    5. Add the picture to the chronological archives of featured pictures. Place it at the end of the gallery using this format:
      File:xxxxx.jpg|# '''Title'''<br>created by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]], uploaded by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]], nominated by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]]<br> {{s|xxx}}, {{o|xxx}}, {{n|xxx}}
      • The # should be replaced by 1 for the first image nominated that month, and counts up after that. Have a look at the other entries on that page for examples. (If you want to do everything perfectly, link that number to the nomination subpage, just like FPCBot does this. It allows users to jump directly to the nomination.)
      • The Title should be replaced by the bare name of the featured picture, without the ‘File:’ or the file extension (such as .jpg .tif .svg).
      • The x in {{s|x}}, {{o|x}}, {{n|x}} should be replaced by the count of support, oppose, and neutral votes respectively.
      • If the nomination was a set nomination, use this format:
        File:xxxxx.jpg|# '''Set: Title (Z files)'''<br>created by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]], uploaded by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]], nominated by [[User:xxxxx|xxxxx]]<br> {{s|x}}, {{o|x}}, {{n|x}}
        Replace the Z in (Z files) by the count of images in the set, and use the name of the first image from the set instead of File:xxxxx.jpg and for the title.
    6. Add == FP promotion ==
      {{FPpromotion|File:XXXXX.jpg}} to the talk page of the nominator. For set nominations, use:
      == Set Promoted to FP ==
      <gallery>
      File:XXXXXX.jpg
      File:XXXXXX.jpg
      </gallery>
      {{FPpromotionSet2|YYYYY}}
      , using the names of the set files instead of the XXXXXX and the title of the set instead of YYYYY.
    7. Add == FP promotion ==
      {{FPpromotedUploader|File:XXXXX.jpg}} to the talk page of the user who has uploaded the image, if that user is not the same as the nominator.
    8. Add == FP promotion ==
      {{FPpromotedCreator|File:XXXXX.jpg}} to the talk page of the creator, if the author is a different Commons user than nominator and uploader.
  3. As the last step (whether the image is featured or not; including {{FPX}}-d, {{FPD}}-d and {{Withdraw}}-n nominations), you have to move the transclusion (the {{ }} and the text within those) of the nomination to the current log page.
    • To find the current log page, visit the first page of the log for this month. If the header of that page contains a link with the text “Next part of this month”, the log for this month has been split into several parts because it contains too many entries. Click on the “Next part …” link and repeat this until you reach a page where the header does not offer a “Next part …” link; that’s the last and current log page.
    • Now open Commons:Featured picture candidates/candidate list, click on [edit], and find the transclusion of the nomination you are closing. It will be of the form: {{Commons:Featured picture candidates/File:XXXXX.jpg}} or: {{Commons:Featured picture candidates/Set/XXXXX}}.
    • Copy that line to the bottom of the current log page and save that page. Then remove the same line from the candidate list and save that page.

Closing a delisting nomination

  1. On Commons:Featured picture candidates/candidate list click on the title/link of the candidate image, then [edit].
    Add the result of the voting at the bottom (on a new line):
    {{FPC-delist-results-reviewed|delist=x|keep=x|neutral=x|delisted=yes/no|sig=~~~~}}
    (for example see Commons:Featured picture candidates/removal/File:Ensifera ensifera (22271195865).jpg)
  2. Edit the title of the delisting nomination and add delisted or not delisted after the image title; for example:
    === [[:File:XXXXX.jpg]] ===
    becomes
    === [[:File:XXXXX.jpg]], delisted ===
  3. Move the transclusion of the nomination to the current log page; please see above for an explanation how to find the current log page and how to move the nomination to it.
  4. If the outcome was not delisted, stop here. If it is delisted:
    1. Remove the picture from Commons:Featured pictures, list and any subpages.
    2. Edit the picture's description as follows:
    3. Add a delisting-comment to the original entry in the chronological archive of featured pictures in bold-face, e. g. delisted 2007-07-19 (1–6) with (1–6) meaning 1 keep and 6 delist votes (change as appropriate). The picture must not be removed from the chronological archives.
  5. If this is a Delist and Replace, the delisting and promotion must both be done manually. To do the promotion, follow the steps in the section above. Note that the assessment tag on the file page and the promotion tag on the nominator's talk page won't pick up the /replace subpage that these nominations use.

Archiving a withdrawn nomination

If a nomination has been withdrawn by the nominator by using {{Withdraw}} or is cancelled with {{FPX}} or {{FPD}}, wait 24 hours after the nomination was last edited. If there has been no objection to the cancellation within this time, the nomination can simply be archived. Just move the transclusion of the nomination to the current log page; please see above for an explanation how to find the current log page and how to move the nomination to it.