Quality lead image. Bernina Express is a four-hour train journey (and tourist attraction) in the Alps connecting Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy. The tracks were laid around 1910 and are the fifth highest in Europe at 2253 meters. The trip crosses 196 bridges and 55 tunnels. The route is designated a World Heritage Site. In this photo the train is headed southbound passing by Lago Bianco reservoir. Depicted are two Rhaetian RailwayABe 4/4 III locomotives (each with a 28 passenger capacity), six passenger cars, and overhead electric lines. Bernina Pass is to the right and behind the foreground hill. FP on Commons.
I made the second image an Alternate. It is an older photo from 2010. The two photos share the same locomotive #51 so I think red is the more recent color scheme. The original has more pixels and more detail when enlarged to the same magnification. Bammesk (talk) 06:18, 24 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I also lean to the alt, but unfortunately it's not current. If neither promoted here, do nominate at Portal:Trains! --Janke | Talk10:45, 24 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Support, prefer original - either gives a good impression of the line, but I think the original has more natural colours, better resolution and is a more recent shot. TSP (talk) 12:50, 29 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 5 Feb 2021 at 03:56:32 (UTC)
Original – The Iron Horse is a 1924 American Western silent film directed by John Ford and produced by Fox Film.
Reason
Found this as Featured Media at Commons. Another film part of the National Film Registry, the registry said that The Iron Horse "introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns." Seems to be a very important film in its genre.
Support in principle, but those 2007 music credits at the end should really be removed, since the music is not included in the file, and would be copyvio if it were... --Janke | Talk12:25, 26 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Support – Interesting (self-) portrait of an artist not widely known in the West. Good detail. (Could it be lightened a bit without upsetting the cognoscenti?) – Sca (talk) 15:11, 29 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I would rather not unless there are other opinions. Especially minding the fact that it was featured on commons as it is (I know that wiki and commons are different, but it might upset 18 people there). --Andrei (talk) 19:26, 29 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 9 Feb 2021 at 19:23:39 (UTC)
Original – Per file description [1]: An adult male northern pintail (Anas acuta) at the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge near Chico in Butte County, California, November 2020.
Reason
High quality image of an adult male, FP on Commons
Comment. I have no concerns about image quality but it's used in its article in the middle of what is effectively a large image gallery, rather than being the lead image or being called out in the text as illustrating an important aspect of the subject. Is there enough EV? —David Eppstein (talk) 20:33, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The physical attributes of the male are in the description section, near the image on my display (black striped feathers, brown head, white-striped neck, black tail, blue bill, white breast, yellow vent). Ref 12 (at the end of the paragraph) describes the forward swimming posture, so I added a sentence on that. About lead position or placement: being a lead image isn't a requirement, or always best or possible (juvenile, breeding, etc). Repositioning images in established articles can be controversial. This is a featured article, so I think some thought has gone into the depictions and article watchers would take care of repositioning and improvements if/when necessaey. On a sidenote, I think this image meets the "eye-catching" part of the instructions on top of this page, which IMO is a bonus. Bammesk (talk) 02:09, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
High-quality portrait of esports competitor MKLeo. His expression, outfit, and other facial features gives an insight into the intensity of this subculture that cannot be conveyed through text.
Comment. I disagree with the comments suggesting that technical illustrations are ineligible for FPC, but I agree with the comment that this is "not very captivating visually". And although the visual part of the illustration does a fine job of illustrating the general concept of an exact sequence, the textual part is more or less illegible at normal image viewing sizes. —David Eppstein (talk) 20:27, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
"Ineligible" - who said that? (Sca said "intelligible", you say "illegible"... Dang this discombobulating English language! ;-) --Janke | Talk08:10, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
You. You said "too esoteric for non-experts (and so is the article... ;-)" in a way that made those attributes sound like reasons not to feature this image. Are esoteric subjects not allowed here? (Also, to mathematicians, exact sequences are a very basic and important topic.) —David Eppstein (talk) 08:26, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I stand by what I said, but that does not make esoteric images generally ineligible. In fact, they may be very interesting, drawing the viewer to the article. Not in this case though, IMHO. --Janke | Talk15:23, 8 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
If you're looking for more candidates, I have many many mathematics illustrations at Commons:User:David_Eppstein/Gallery. Most are very simple line art that I do not think would pass muster at FPC (the simplicity is intentional, as busier images tend to be less clear at illustrating the mathematics they are intended to illustrate) but a few go beyond that and might be worth trying. Part of the charm of the nomination here is that it provides a memorable and intuition-building 3d picture of an abstract construction that is not particularly geometric or 3-dimensional. But that charm is going to be lost on people who aren't already familiar with the subject, without the text it would again be probably too simple and diagrammatic as an image to pass, and with the text it's illegible. —David Eppstein (talk) 08:42, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I've nothing against esoteric pictures becoming Featured, in principle, and an image can be visually striking even if the mathematics behind it is advanced material. However, I'm not sold on this particular instance. Particularly within the inner ovals, the text is both small and crowded. XOR'easter (talk) 22:12, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose - Maybe it's just me, but I am hurt by the white stuff above... The grayscale intention is spot-on, but the result is over...contrasted. I don't see any EV. GeraldWL10:47, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Janke, I don't understand... don't snapshots have the opportunity to show some pizzazz, and to be valid FPCs? I think that this picture represents aviation broadly: a silent, calming field of open skies to explore. Sure it's something everyone can take, but... isn't that what all pics have in common? GeraldWL01:57, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Well, criterion #3/2 asks for a photo to be "compelling, making the viewer want to know more" - I see none of that in this photo, sorry. --Janke | Talk10:11, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment – I want to support, it is well done, sharp etc. But looking at google images, I am not sure this is a good/typical representation of this mushroom? Bammesk (talk) 18:03, 7 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Note: If you are unsure about the color. The mushroom has passed its peak. This can be seen in the discolored edges and the weathered appearance. The fungus was in the shade under pine trees. Where sheep walk in the summer.--Famberhorst (talk) 17:38, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Eye-catching. I think this has enough EV despite not being the lead image, because for this type of subject we need images of all the major stages and it's the main image for its stage. —David Eppstein (talk) 19:36, 13 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Good illustration of skew lines. As described in the article, this depiction illustrates the formation of hyperboloids via the revolution of skew lines. I think a good rule of thumb for math related FPs is "being eye-catching to the point where users will want to read its accompanying article", as suggested on top of this page. This is a good example of it.
Support as image creator. A note re image resolution: as a synthetic image, this could in principle be re-rendered to any higher resolution using the original source, linked from the image page. —David Eppstein (talk) 21:12, 6 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Given your other two comments (fear that the police look like "bad guys" and subsequent defense of the police warning that "criminals will eat us alive,"), along with your deceptive reformatting of comments [2], I'm not willing to assume that this is a good-faith criticism of the photograph itself, as I am with Sca (who you copied word-for-word). AllegedlyHuman (talk) 20:42, 7 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment – Since they're all in riot gear that conceals their faces, this snap lacks illustrative human interest. – Sca (talk) 13:57, 7 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Weak oppose. Given what happened to Gnosis, I will not have my oppose on the basis of "it makes the police look bad", although I have that same opinion. I just don't think it represents the police well, and it is not a broad portrayal of the protests. It makes it as if the entire impact of the protests were caused by police (seeing how the guards raid the entire frame), when it obv isn't the case. It does look good tho IMO. GeraldWL16:28, 8 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Seems high-q enough, for a historical image. EV, as it depicts where it crashed; kinda makes the viewer guess how it crashed. The color and angle accurately depicts how depressing a crash can be.
Oppose Just looks like a trash heap, since there are no clearly identifiable plane parts in the photo. Thus fails criterion #3/2. --Janke | Talk10:08, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 19 Feb 2021 at 10:34:59 (UTC)
Original – Prototype of the Boeing 737 MAX, showing the unique scimitar wingtip device, and the iconic nose of the 737 family.
Reason
Yeah yeah, I know, "Why are you still nominating stuff? You lost the other 2!" I had no idea of criterion 3#2: "It illustrates the subject in a compelling way, making the viewer want to know more." I think that this image meets that criteria well. It also has significant EV, and looks awesome technically. No JEPG or noise as far as I can zoom.
Sca, this does not have to convey the story of the groundings. It shows just how glorious the plane looks like to the world before the crash occurred. Striking wings and dynamic shape. Retrospectively, it conveys just how greedy Boeing is; seeing the image makes you cling between liking it or hating it. GeraldWL14:54, 9 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Sca, it has to? The criteria merely states "It illustrates the subject in a compelling way", and I think this does. Showing the whole picture, I think would make it dull, as the whole body is predictable, looking at the previous 737s. This image shows the dynamic side of the 737, making it original. GeraldWL15:19, 10 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. It is actually a pretty good illustration of the split-tip winglet, although I could quibble that the alignment of the winglet edge with the plane's nose makes it difficult to understand the image. But as the discussion above illustrates, its purpose as an illustration of this specific winglet rather than as a general illustration of the whole plane is not obvious from its current usage. We don't currently have a separate article on the split-tip winglet; it is just a paragraph in the more general winglet article. Is there enough EV for this subtopic? —David Eppstein (talk) 19:32, 13 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
David Epstein, one could argue that it serves little EV, but I think it has a significant amount. In the wingtip device article, it illustrates the split-tip type, and in the MAX article, it gives a closer look at the device. It also shows how cool this aircraft was with the split-tip to everyone when it first launched: amazing, striking. GeraldWL02:01, 14 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose - Only Wingtip highlighted in the picture. The engine & fuselage is cropped off. A different color detail on wingtip bringing its design to focus might clear voting. --Kalyan (talk) 03:54, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 23 Feb 2021 at 17:46:59 (UTC)
Original – A two-dimensional cyclic cellular automaton with 16 states, simulated for 1300 steps, starting from a random initial configuration.
Reason
This 25 second animation enhances the article, it helps readers understand the concept by adding an interesting visualization of the textual descriptions. It also meets: "being eye-catching to the point where users will want to read its accompanying article", as stated on top of this page.
Support. Exhibits the main qualitative features of its topic (the changes in phase from randomness, to patches of color, to spirals, to the fastest spirals winning out over the slower ones). It's not the lead image of its article (a static image of a 1d cca) but still features prominently and provides significant information different from what's in the lead. And, importantly for FP on a technical topic, it's eye-catching. This tends to lead to FPs that are more focused around visual topics like fractals and cellular automata and less around important mathematics (much like our FPs in biology are focused on charismatic fauna and less on important theoretical aspects of biology), but I think cyclic CAs are still significant enough to bring the necessary EV. —David Eppstein (talk) 19:23, 13 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
It doesn't really stabilize into a cycle (it's somewhat similar to a moiré pattern). It's necessary to show the ongoing variations, for example new vertical ridges develop at the bottom-right and then at the bottom-left over the last 10 seconds. Bammesk (talk) 16:40, 14 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
This horrified reaction to even the most eye-catching and visually appealing and not-very-technical of mathematics images, and the reaction below that we must compromise the mathematical meaning of the image to make it even more eye-catching, is not making me optimistic about the ability of FPC to cover anything more than cute fuzzy animals and Kodak-spot tourist viewpoints. Is that really what we want when we clamor that en-FPC is different than commons-FPC because encyclopedic value? —David Eppstein (talk) 20:00, 21 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I agree. We are here to pick the best images, meaning the best in the context of enhancing an article. We aren't here to pick eye-pleasing images. FP criteria says: "A featured picture is not always required to be aesthetically pleasing". In evaluating noms like the one here, a large measure of what is (or isn't) best has to do with the consensus of article editors (i.e. the choices they have made and article stability). The second half of this animation relates to the article text, which says: "The third stage ... The demons with shorter cycles consume demons with longer cycles". Looking at other FPs in the math category, this image may pass on renomination. Bammesk (talk) 03:22, 23 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Comment Fine as a thumbnail but not an animation on an article proper (saturated colours are very distracting). Also agree that the final cycle is too long (developing ridges not obvious unless pointed out). cmɢʟee⎆τaʟκ01:45, 16 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
It's more important for the topic that we show the full process of changes, including the last part that looks slower, than that we avoid boring viewers with attention spans of a few seconds. —David Eppstein (talk) 18:41, 16 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The more obvious development is the slow disappearance of the very first vortex (at middle-left). There is a shorter version of this animation: here. I agree with the article editors that the longer version (the nom version) is the more appropriate one to use. The simulation starts with noise, and the longer term instability (albeit not obvious, but a consequence of the initial noise) is a relevant part of the animation. Bammesk (talk) 02:33, 17 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 23 Feb 2021 at 23:00:58 (UTC)
Original – Karst peaks with colorful clouds above and sea of clouds below, covering the rice fields, at sunrise, South view from the top of Mount Nam Xay, during the monsoon, in Vang Vieng, Vientiane Province, Laos.
Weak Support There are a couple of spots where the pic is completely overblown (above the mountain on the left; left edge of the center cloud). If it can be dialed back, will withdraw my adjective. Very interesting composition otherwise though it might not have a large EV. --Kalyan (talk) 03:59, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Look at the places (=spots) where the RGB values max out, they are "blown", i.e. overexposed. Unavoidable in this case, except by shooting HDRI. --Janke | Talk17:56, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Done@Vimalkalyan:, I shot this landscape at different exposures, so I could use an other frame without blown highlights to improve this corner. Thanks for your feedback, and thank you Janke too for the explanation. -- Basile Morin (talk) 00:21, 19 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 23 Feb 2021 at 15:32:12 (UTC)
Original – Tito Karnavian by Boy Rizky Tumanggor
Reason
A rare image of Indonesia's internal minister. Tito rarely uses this uniform as a minister, so it should also increase its value. The author of this image, admitted here that he is one of Tito's adjutant. I've also never seen this image being used anywhere except Wikipedia, so copyright also check out. I have added some notes for people who want to check the meaning of each badge.
@Janke and Sca: As Nepali Times puts it: Readers will be familiar with Durga Thapa because of the iconic picture of her taken by Min Ratna Bajracharya during the 1990 People's Movement. She is the student who leapt into the air with a double victory sign at a democracy rally at Asan. Sixteen years later, the same photographer snapped a photo of her during the April Uprising as she chanted pro-democracy slogans on the streets. At 39 and the mother of a young son, Durga has been a customs officer at the Tatopani Checkpoint on the Chinese border for the past year. Having been a social worker with charities like Sahara Group, activism comes easy to Durga.Source. ~~ CAPTAIN MEDUSAtalk12:05, 14 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose – Poor composition due to crowd clutter, lack of visual emphasis on subject person; lack of significance beyond "the local region." – Sca (talk) 14:40, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Sca: The photo was also published on the cover page of the book named "Dawn of Democracy" in 1991. IMO for this picture, we should look at the 'moment' which is also an important key of photography except for the clear, dynamic, and distinct picture. For a Nepalese photographer, it was rare to have a panoramic or high digital camera at that time in 90's. Thanks--Biplab Anand(Talk)03:54, 19 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose - definitely could do with a touch-up to remove all the weird lines everywhere. Doesn't meet FP? even if composition was disregarded. MER-C13:41, 22 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 26 Feb 2021 at 09:24:34 (UTC)
Original – Iconostasis in the church of the Cocoș Monastery, Romania. The monastery, located in a forest clearing 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Niculițel, was built between 1883 and 1913 and is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos.
Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 26 Feb 2021 at 09:34:02 (UTC)
Original – First stage of a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) Of Course I Still Love You. The stage landed successfully after launching the SpaceX CRS-8 resupply mission to the ISS. According to SpaceX, the photograph was taken from a NASA chase plane.