Breathtaking really is the word that springs to mind while describing the beauty and awe of natural scenes in Pakistan’s north. Capturing the beauty of mountains, lakes and gardens under clear blue skies or low hanging white clouds with a photo or video is a great reward of a visit to these valleys.
Pakistani photographer Zaeem Siddiq’s awesome photo of the Shangrila lake resort, near Skardu, and a glimpse into its mystique last year delighted lovers of Nature by winning Wiki Loves Earth competition, which attracted participation of works from 26 countries.
Shangri-la is a Tibetan word, which means heaven on earth. English novelist James Hilton made word Shangri-la famous through his novel Lost Horizon, which introduces Shangri-la as a fascinating valley, situated somewhere in the region.
The photo contest in 2015 featured photographs of protected natural areas and are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
The idea of Wiki Loves Earth originated in Ukraine in 2013. In 2014, it expanded 15 other countries from four different continents—Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
According to the Wiki Loves Earth, during 2015, over 100,000 pictures were submitted by the participants.
The competition was a result of numerous national contests, coordinated by local volunteers. The juries from different countries then submitted up to 10 pictures to the international stage of the contest. In the end, the international jury considered a total of 259 candidate pictures, selected and ranked the photos in several stages by means of a dedicated web tool.
Shangrila Resort Skardu
The international jury was composed of 9 photographers from different countries, all experienced in nature photography: Dmytro Balkhovitin (Ukraine), Matthew Buck (Great Britain), Dietmar Bartz (Germany), Walaa Abdel Manaem (Egypt), Alex Wang (USA), Katerina Zareva-Simeonova (Bulgaria), Zeynel Cebeci (Turkey), Susanne Plank (Austria) and Yathin Krishnappa (India).
Although Pakistan’s northern areas are famous all over the world for their unbelievable natural charms, the Wiki Love Earth contest news splash of the result in the mainstream and social media is likely to boost Pakistani tourism, as the country recovers from years of security problems due mainly to Afghan war and militancy.
Another takeaway is the tremendous attention the competition is likely to draw to the importance of environmental protection and preservation of natural landscapes.
“The goal of Wiki Loves Earth is two-fold. First, we aim to photograph as many natural monuments and protected areas as possible and release the imagery under a free license. Second, we contribute to environmental protection by raising public awareness,” the Wiki Love Earth claimed rightly.
All those who took part in realization of the contest deserve kudos for their contribution to celebration and protection of the planet.
