Photos Of Prospect Park Can Win Prizes In This Wikipedia Contest

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — That photo of a Prospect Park squirrel you took last week could be worth $150 — and a spot on Wikipedia — thanks to a new contest.

Wikimedia Commons, the media arm of Wikipedia, is holding a nature photography contest in Brooklyn's Backyard to feed its archive of images, the largest free-to-use repository in the world. The contest is set to end this week.

Both photographers and everyday New Yorkers are invited to upload their snapshots of birds, plants, trees, squirrels, the lake or other Prospect Park nature to the database with the possibility of winning a series of cash prizes.

"Without photographers uploading their work to Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia would just be text! If you take a high quality photo during this contest, in addition to possibly winning a prize, it might wind up being seen by millions of people through Wikipedia," the organization writes.

Here's a look at the rules and prizes:

Rules

• Photos must be your own work.
• Photos must be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons during the contest period, September 18 - October 31, 2021
  • Photos must be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by October 31 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Uploads after that time will not be considered, so please allow some extra time to be safe. See below for how to get help.
  • Note: Photos taken before the contest period are allowed. If you have an excellent nature picture of Prospect Park taken in the past, you're welcome to upload that, too. If you've previously published the photo (for example, posting to social media), you may be contacted to complete an additional step to make sure you're the same person who published it elsewhere.
• Photos must be taken inside Prospect Park. For the purposes of this contest, that does not include Brooklyn Botanic Garden (although we love BBG and would love to run an event with them in the future!).
• Photos must depict nature in some form. This will mostly include wildlife and plants, but we have an open mind! The only animals which cannot win prizes are pets and captive animals inside the zoo. Also, please don't feed the wildlife!

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded in several categories. One photographer may be eligible to win two prizes, but one photo cannot win more than one prize. Because of the time of year, prizes are focused on birds and plants/trees, but all photos of nature are welcome!

• Best overall
  • First place - $150
  • Second place - $100
• Birds
  • First place - $100
  • Second place - $50
• Trees and plants
  • First place - $100
  • Second place - $50
• Other wildlife
  • Best insect - $50
  • Best animal other than birds (squirrels, rabbits, fish, chipmunks, turtles, etc.) - $50
• Best photo taken with a phone camera - $25
• Creativity prize - $25