Mountains, Birds and Lakes: Wiki Loves Earth 2024 – Central Asia Edition 

This year for the first time the local round of “Wiki Loves Earth” photographic competition took place in Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. For the first time the competition included Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Mamatkazy, who provided Kyrgyz language support, shared: “Despite the fact that Kyrgyzstan took part in WLE for the first time, we were able to achieve significant results. 68% of the participants were new users, and around 2,000 photos were submitted from various locations. 

When it comes to improving for next year’s competition, Zolfeqar from the Tajik language community highlighted “the importance of actively promoting the initiative on social media, collaborating with bloggers and influencers to raise awareness and inspire more people to contribute to Wikimedia Commons.”  

This blog aims to highlight the collective effort of everyone involved, from organizers to participants, while spotlighting winning images from each community. The WLE 2024 was led by Красный who served as a coordinator: delegating tasks, connecting with people, and supporting local organizers. Special thanks to the jury members as well as local language supporters and organizers. 

Let’s have a look at the winning images from each country.

Kazakhstan

First place was awarded to Максат79 for capturing the view of Karynzharyk valley. Максат79 has been in love with drawing since childhood, studied to become an artist, and recently developed an interest in photography. “I have been traveling around the region since my student years, and recently became interested in photography. Every weekend, we head out to remote corners and capture everything on camera. I really love shooting landscapes, as well as night astrophotography. With each attempt, I try to improve in this field,” shared Maksat.

Kyrgyzstan  

First place was awarded to an image taken just before the rain began at the Teploklyuchenka Sanctuary by Czech Wikimedian and photographer Jiří Komárek.  

An image of traditional Kyrgyz yurts with the snowy mountains of Alai region in the background captured in the afternoon of May 2016 by Artur198686 earned second place.“I find peace and calmness when hiking on the mountains alone or with friends. Photography and hiking on the mountains is my hobby. I am happy to have contributed to WLE in Kyrgyzstan. I’d like to participate next year again,” shared Artur198686.

The third place goes to User:VilyaShoni and her image capturing a view of a river in Ala Archa National Park. VilyaShoni: “This photo was taken a few years ago. I usually prefer less popular gorges for hiking and photography, but in autumn, Ala Archa National Park has particularly beautiful colors. During this season, it looks very bright, vibrant, and rich. I wanted to capture the fact that the park isn’t just about glaciers and the high ridges of the gorge, but also a picturesque river surrounded by various trees.”

Tajikistan

First place is awarded to Мухаммадсолех Оев for capturing an image of the red-headed bunting in Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve. Мухаммадсолех’s image of an Indian Paradise Flycatcher at the tree branch in Shirkent park won the third place. Author of these beautiful images has been involved in birdwatching for five years and he leads Tajikistan Birders Club since its foundation in 2021.  

Мухаммадсолех Оев: “I am fond of studying morphology, ecology and ethology of birds. I believe that birdwatching is not only a fascinating hobby for nature and biodiversity lovers, but also an important tool for the conservation and understanding of bird populations.”   

Uzbekistan

The first place winner of WLE 2024 in Uzbekistan is an image of green hills of Galvasay located in the Ugam-Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve captured by Arina Pan. She was captivated by the patterns of plowed earth in the spring fields. It is important to note that Arina participated not only in WLE Uzbekistan but also shared her photos with WLE in Kyrgyzstan, winning the 5th place with her photo of the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve.

The second place winner is an image of the Maydantal Plateau in Ugom Chatkal National Park by Dilmurad91. Dilmurad91 grew up in Tashkent and shares his lifelong love of the mountains with the world. Dilmurad91:“Once, a friend of mine invited me to Chimgan for 3 days and it was my first overnight stay in the mountains. I was simply amazed by the stars, the sunset and the surrounding landscapes. I have walked and traveled almost all of Uzbekistan, including our 4000-meter peaks and remote mountains where there are no paths or people at all. For the first time I was at an altitude of over 5000 meters in Kyrgyzstan. All I want is to catch beautiful moments with my camera.”

The third place winner is a photo of the Lower Urungach lake taken by User:Marat Nadjibaev who is already known to many for his photo that made it to the WLE top 20 best images of 2023. Marat describes himself as an amateur photographer rather than a professional. Marat won not only in WLE in Uzbekistan but also won the 6th place in WLE in Kyrgyzstan for his photo of Kara-Kamysh lake in Sary-Chelek, 7th place for the photo of Chong Ak Suu gorge and 9th place for Madygen nature monument.    

“This photo was taken in April 2024 at the lower Urungach Lake. I wanted to capture this place from an unusual angle. I used a 50mm lens and a GoPro 12, allowing me to convey the moment both underwater and above the surface,” shared Marat.

Thoughts for next year’s WLE 

Красный: “Our plan is to continue organizing competitions annually. So far, ‘content generation’ has not happened even for WLE in Kazakhstan. It’s possible that in 2025 or 2026, we might skip Wiki Loves Monuments in Uzbekistan to allow participants to accumulate and sort through photos. Some gaps are already evident: we see five times fewer photos being uploaded for the ‘macro and individual species’ category compared to the ‘landscapes’ category in WLE. Additionally, a significant portion of these (macro) images are of low quality, often with focusing problems, blurriness, etc. There is an idea to introduce a special nomination for this topic in 2025, allocating 2 to 5 places in the winners’ list to encourage participants to take such photos.”