In 2015, a Pakistani photographer won the Wiki Loves Earth competition by taking a breathtaking picture of the Shangrila Lake in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The organization that runs Wikipedia, called Wikimedia, has arranged the competition again this year with over 7000 participants from 26 different countries sending in over 75,000 photos. Out of these 7000, 1200 are of Pakistani origin and have submitted over 8000 photographs, making it the third largest number of submissions from a single country.
The competition aims at promoting and documenting world’s natural heritage under the free license of Creative Commons and recently concluded in Pakistan. The best part of this license is that the photos can be used anywhere as long as the photographer is credited with the relevant photos.
The competition was announced for the first time in Ukraine in 2013 and is deemed as the sister competition of Wiki Loves Monuments which is recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest photography competition of the world. Last year, Pakistan stood first amongst 28 country. Can Pakistan win it again? Decide for yourself after seeing the shortlisted top 10 photos to represent Pakistan as decided by a Pakistani jury:
Duiker Peak, Hunza. — Photo by Mudassir Ahmed
Nanga Parbat, Diamer. — Photo by M. Awais
Phandar Valley, Ghizer. — Photo by Muzaffar H. Bukhari
Katpana Desert at Skardu. — Photo by RgyalChan Karim
Naran, Kaghan Valley. — Photo by Talha Hanif
Chitral National Park. — Photo by Tahsin A Shah
Rama Lake, Astore. — Photo by Faiza Lalwani
The Karakoram mountain range, Astore Valley. — Photo by Najeeb Mahmud
Paye Meadows, Shogran, Kaghan Valley. — Photo by Adeel ur Rehman Mughal
The Karakoram mountain range, Hunza Valley. — Photo by Irfan Tahir
