The contest starts on September 1, 2014, and will run for the entire month of September 2014.
If you like having fun taking photos of historical places and buildings, you're in the right place! Photographers new to WP:NRHP are especially encouraged to participate. Challenge yourself and share your passion!
Different editors or Wikipedia projects can sponsor their own photo challenges below. Each challenge will have rules specific to it, in addition to the general rules in this section.
The contest period is from 1 September 2014 00:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) to 1 October 2014 00:00 HST (UTC−10:00).
Photos must be uploaded to Commons during the contest period. It is encouraged but not required that photos be uploaded as part of the WLM or SoM contests.
Only freely-licensed photos within the scope and other criteria of the Wikimedia Commons will be accepted.
Evidence of damage to a historic site or illegal trespassing will result in disqualification of a photo.
All registered users on Wikipedia may participate. If you are not registered, please click here.
Participants in the contest must report their own results on this page in the form of photo links, thumbnails, or diffs, which should show they they've met the conditions of the challenge.
The sponsoring editor or project makes their own challenge, sets their own rules, and judges the results.
Judges must announce their decisions on this page before October 15, 2014. Note that judges may not need to check all the self-reported results on this page, but in some cases only the top 2 or 3 self-reported results.
The decisions of the judges are final.
Only non-monetary prizes (e.g. barnstars) may be offered.
The "best photo" prizes are not decided here, but rather by WLM and SoM.
NHLs.National Historic Landmarks are almost all also listed as National Register sites. Lists of NHLs can be accessed via List of National Historic Landmarks. In the extremely unlikely event that an NHL photo is submitted that doesn't fit neatly with a specific National Register listing, it will be accepted.
Non-illustrated and previously illustrated sites. If the county list did not have a photo or other illustration of a site before the start of the contest period, that site is considered to be "non-illustrated" for this contest. Otherwise it is "illustrated". If a site is already illustrated on a county list, and the challenge does not specify "non-illustrated site", then a photo of the site is eligible.
Address-restricted sites. The National Register lists some sites as "Address restricted," in order to protect archeological and other sensitive features from damage.[2] While photos of or about (e.g. recovered artifacts in museums) are accepted for this contest, contest contributors are encouraged to be responsible documentarians. Individual judges may choose to disregard entries that reveal the locations of protected locations.
Photo links and galleries. Format details for submissions will be specified by sponsors in the individual challenges. In many cases, all you need to do to self report is to include a link to your photo in the following format [[:File:Filename.jpg|short label]] which will look something like "Underwear factory". Remember the colon in front of ":File". If there are "gallery" tags below a challenge, the judge wants to see your photos on this page. Just place the filename of your photo within the <gallery></gallery> tags below the challenge.
Diffs. In some cases the judge may want to see a specific edit. To self-report that you've met the conditions of this type of challenge, go to your "My contributions" tab and click on "diff" next to the edit where you added photos to an article. Then copy the entire url and place it beneath the challenge you want to self-report on in single square brackets, e.g. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_South_Philadelphia&diff=prev&oldid=454315954] then add a very brief description and sign with ~~~~ and your self-report is done. See Help:diffs for more help on diffs.
Subjective judging. For some of the challenges, by their very nature, judging must be subjective and you may disagree with the result. Kudos to the judges for taking on this potentially controversial responsibility. Of course, if you really disagree with the result, you may award a barnstar to whomever you consider the winner, all by yourself!
Entering multiple challenges. Participants are encouraged to enter as many challenges as they like! One photo may be used to satisfy the conditions of multiple challenges.
A barnstar will be awarded to the photographer who adds the most photos to previously non-illustrated sites on any county lists. Please put your self-reports below in the form of photo links and/or diffs, total the number of individual sites, and sign with ~~~~:
A barnstar will be awarded to the photographer who adds the most photos to previously non-illustrated sites on any county lists within any one state. An honorable mention barnstar will be awarded to everyone with at least 50 additions to a single state. Please put your self-reports below in the form of photo links and/or diffs, total the number of individual sites, identify the state, and sign with ~~~~:
These include photos of the sites of a building and a bridge that are no longer extant; and of a roadside monument incorporating a replica of a historic survey marker, 16 miles from the site of the actual marker, which is on inaccessible private land. I'll leave it to the judge to decide whether to count these three; if they don't count, reduce my total accordingly. — Ammodramus (talk) 16:39, 28 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
First National Bank, Mankato, Kansas, by AmmodramusYow-wow! 93 in one state is a lot, especially with consistently good quality. The lack of other entries does not take away from this achievement. Good work, Ammodramus! — Ipoellet (talk) 21:25, 21 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
In order to recognize NRHP photographic road trips, a barnstar will be awarded for the two photos, uploaded by the same photographer during the contest period, that are the greatest distance apart. An honorable mention barnstar will be awarded to everyone with two photographs at least 1000 miles apart. On the North American mainland where both NRHP sites are reasonably close to roads (including between Alaska and the lower 48), distances will be calculated using road mileage from Google Maps. Otherwise, great circle mileage from Google Earth will be used. Address restricted sites will not be accepted. Note that Google Maps can give inconsistent results, and the judge's calculation of distance will be final.
A special Barnstar of Eternal Worship (which I'll have to make up) to anyone who scores both the American Legation, Tangier and the Poloa Defensive Fortifications, which I believe are the two most distant National Register listings.
To self-report your two most distant photos, just include both photos and their geographical coordinates below, and give your calculation of the distance, in this format:
*'''State1 to State2''' - {{convert|xxx|mi}} ~~~~
<gallery>
Filename1.jpg|[[Listingname1]]<br>{{Coord|xx.xxxxxx|-xxx.xxxxxx}}
Filename2.jpg|[[Listingname2]]<br>{{Coord|xx.xxxxxx|-xxx.xxxxxx}}
</gallery>
This probably violates the rules (because I didn't actually take one of the pictures myself), but I had to submit it anyway. I leave the determination of validity to the judge. I didn't find a picture of the Poloa Defensive Fortifications, but I came "close", relatively speaking, and Rose Atoll is probably even harder to reach than they are. Magic♪piano21:01, 30 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, Magicpiano, but I can't give you this one. The instruction was, I admit, unclear, but to me "uploaded by the same photographer" ultimately means that the same photographer had to take both as well. Nevertheless, really good work digging that Rose Atoll pic out of the depths of a dense government document. I doubt anyone else would ever have found it. — Ipoellet (talk) 21:49, 21 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I got 2,671 miles between Kalispell and Portland Head, but it hardly matters. You really get around! Congratulations, Royalbroil! — Ipoellet (talk) 21:49, 21 October 2014 (UTC) (UTC)[reply]
In order to recognize NRHP photographic road trips, a barnstar will be awarded for the two photos, uploaded by the same photographer during the contest period, that are the greatest distance apart but within the same state. An honorable mention barnstar will be awarded to everyone with two photographs at least 250 miles apart. Where both NRHP sites are reasonably close to roads, distances will be calculated using road mileage from Google Maps. Otherwise, great circle mileage from Google Earth will be used (e.g. between islands). Address restricted sites will not be accepted. Note that Google Maps can give inconsistent results, and the judge's calculation of distance will be final.
To self-report your two most distant photos, just include both photos and their geographical coordinates below, and give your calculation of the distance, in this format:
Wisconsin - 292 miles (470 km) That's nearly the entire height of Wisconsin! Royalbroil 02:38, 13 September 2014 (UTC) Improved to two images each within 2 miles of the border. Royalbroil02:19, 29 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
To me this category is more interesting than the "Interstate Traveller" challenge, because for interstate you can just get on a plane to rack up high mileage between pics. The distance between Alcatraz and the Statue of Liberty would have easily won this year, but... <yawn>. For State Traveller, you actually need to seek out specific listings that take some hunting, often in remote or obscure locations well away from large cities. That results in some pretty cool submissions – like all three of these. Well done, Royalbroil, our winner!However, both Ammodramus and Zeete are awarded honorable mentions: Ammodramus for exceeding the 250 mile threshold stated in the instructions, and Zeete for reaching out to the very most extreme points of New Jersey, proving that working in a small state doesn't limit the road trip possibilities! — Ipoellet (talk) 22:24, 21 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
A barnstar will be awarded to the photographer, who for any state, territory, etc, posts one photo in each of the following categories or types of NRHP sites:
1. transportation related site - e.g. railway rolling stock, boats, or planes, or a bridge, tunnel, canal, or RR station
2. a historic district
3. a site that includes a barn star, hex sign, star-shaped anchor plates, or a building with a sculpture incorporated into the building. Note: not a photo that you've received a barn star award for, or a stand alone sculpture.
4. a health related building, e.g. a hospital, sanitarium, or nursing home
5. a building built before the state was admitted to the U.S. (Any building if its not located in a US state)
6. A cemetery, mausoleum, crematorium or other burial ground, e.g. a church-yard with graves
7. a library or college or university building
8. a site related to civil rights, the women's movement, LGBT history, African-American or Latino history, or the underground railroad
9. a park or garden, including national and state parks
10. sanitary facilities, e.g. an outhouse, lavatory, waste treatment facility, water purification or pumping facility, garbage dump, or sewer tunnel.
While a photo may fit into many categories, e.g. a photo of a library next to a bridge in a National Park historic district, only one photo per historic site or historic district may be used for this challenge, and it counts for only one category.
Please self-report by including one photo link per category (10 total photos maximum) in the following format
[[:File:Photo of a plane.jpg|1]], [[:File:Photo of a HD.jpg|2]], .... Name of State, Total number of categories filled ~~~~
Barnstars will be awarded to any photographer with photos in all 10 categories, or if no photographer fills all 10 categories for a state or territory, the one who has the most categories filled in that state or territory.
A barnstar will be awarded to the photographer who adds a photo for the National Register of Historic Places type of site that is the oddest or most unusual.
On a Register filled with buildings and structures, natural listings are pretty rare, especially when they aren't part of a protected area. Even then, flowers are delicate and often short-lived, so it's certainly unusual to see them on the National Register. Congratulations to Royalbroil for finding those! TheCatalyst31Reaction•Creation01:19, 22 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
A barnstar will be awarded to the photographer who adds a photo for the National Register of Historic Places building that is the oddest or most unusual.
A barnstar will be awarded to three photographers who adds at least one photo to the highest percentage of counties (or its equivalent parishes in Louisiana) in a state. The state must have a minimum of 35 counties to be eligible. For the purposes of this particular challenge, photographs for listings in a city list count toward the county list that the NRHP listing is located within. Please mention if there is a county in the state with no listings and it will be factored out.