My Photos Are on Wikipedia in 35 Languages — My Brother's the Real Photographer

My brother is the real photographer in the family — the kit, the long lenses, the knack of planting himself square in your eyeline at a gig to get the shot, and the eye to notice the band haven't plugged half their cables in. Me, I just point and hope. So it's a happy surprise that a pile of my casual snaps have quietly ended up scattered across Wikipedia.

I only ever stuck them on Flickr without much thought. But somewhere along the way sixty-five of them were carried onto Wikimedia Commons, and thirty-three are now in active use — spread across thirty-eight different wikis, in thirty-five languages.

My most-travelled shot is a frame of Federer and Safin at the 2007 Wimbledon final, which turns up in over 150 places once Spanish Wikipedia's templates and userboxes are counted. After that it's a parade of cyclists and rugby players — Frank Schleck, Bradley Wiggins, Jonny Wilkinson, the Stoop — most illustrating articles in a dozen languages apiece.

Finding them was the satisfying part. A search by Commons uploader would have missed every one — photos transferred from Flickr are credited to me as the author, but the upload itself is usually done by a bot or another editor. So I searched the file text for my Flickr address instead, which catches them all regardless of who pressed the button.

Here they all are to scroll through — and below, every place each one is used, grouped by language. My brother's got the eye and the gear; I've just got the Flickr account Wikipedia took a liking to.

↔ Scroll sideways through all 33 photos — tap any one for the full picture and where it is used

33 photos in total →

Pinned to Their Own Pages

The nicest compliment isn't an article needing a picture — it's an editor choosing one of my photos for their own Wikipedia profile because they liked that one. The Federer–Safin shot went furthest: it became a tennis-fan userbox that scores of Spanish editors added to their pages.

📌 Federer vs. Safin — adopted as a personal userbox by 138 Spanish Wikipedia editors; kept by User:Bluedogtn/Roger Federer in 2007.

📌 Jonny Wilkinson Twickenham cropped — kept by User:Matchu01/sandbox.

📌 Stoop Quins vs Wigan — kept by User:YokoIrl.

📌 Defra, Nobel House, Smith Square — kept by User:Robin S. Taylor/Government Departments.

📌 Bradley Wiggins, 2007 Tour de France presentation — kept by Benutzer:Wompratte/Tour (German).

Where each photo is used

A note on the Wikidata entries below: those aren't articles but structured-data records — the machine-readable hub that Wikipedia editions, infoboxes and outside apps (Google, Siri, and the like) pull images from. So when one of my photos is the image on a Wikidata item, it can quietly surface far beyond the page it's filed under.

📷 Federer vs. Safin — 155 use(s) across 12 wiki(s)
English: 2007 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final
Czech: Tenisová sezóna Rogera Federera 2007, Wimbledon 2007 – mužská dvouhra
Spanish: Final del individual masculino del Campeonato de Wimbledon 2007, Roger Federer
French: Marat Safin, Tournoi de Wimbledon
Chinese: 2007年溫布頓網球錦標賽男子單打決賽, 2007年羅傑·費德勒網球賽季
Arabic: روجر فيدرير
French Wikinews: Wimbledon 2009 : nouvelle finale pour Roger Federer
Dutch: US Open 2005 (tennis, mannen)
Simple English: 2010 ATP World Tour
Vietnamese: Roger Federer
West Flemish: Tennis
+140 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Jonny Wilkinson Twickenham cropped — 20 use(s) across 10 wiki(s)
English: Australia–England sports rivalries, Jonny Wilkinson
Italian: Coppa del Mondo di rugby, Coppa del Mondo di rugby 2003, Miglior giocatore World Rugby dell'anno, Premi World Rugby, Statistiche della Coppa del Mondo di rugby
French: Coupe du monde de rugby à XV 1999, Coupe du monde de rugby à XV 2003, Meilleur joueur du monde World Rugby, Tournoi des Six Nations 2010
Serbian: Куп шест нација 2008., Светско првенство у рагбију 2003.
Catalan: Torneig de les Sis Nacions
Basque: World Rugbyren urteko gizonezko jokalari onena
Japanese: ジョニー・ウィルキンソン
Polish: Jonny Wilkinson
Simple English: Jonny Wilkinson
+2 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Stoop Quins vs Wigan — 20 use(s) across 13 wiki(s)
English: Adrian Stoop, Harlequin F.C., London Broncos
French: Club sportif Bourgoin-Jallieu rugby, Harlequin Football Club, Tournoi des Six Nations des moins de 20 ans 2023, Twickenham Stoop
German: Frauen-Rugby-Union-Weltmeisterschaft 2010, Premiership Rugby, The Stoop
Afrikaans: Vrouerugbywêreldbeker 2010
Catalan: Twickenham Stoop
Italian: Harlequin Football Club
Japanese: トゥイッケナム・ストゥープ
Korean: 트위크넘 스툽
Latvian: Anglijas regbija Premjerlīga
Portuguese: Twickenham
Russian: Харлекуинс
Slovak: Majstrovstvá sveta v ragby žien 2010
+1 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Frank Schleck — 10 use(s) across 10 wiki(s)
Catalan: Fränk Schleck
Czech: Fränk Schleck
Finnish: Fränk Schleck
French: Fränk Schleck
Hungarian: Fränk Schleck
Latin: Franciscus Schleck
Dutch: Fränk Schleck
Portuguese: Fränk Schleck
Slovak: Fränk Schleck
Chinese: 弗兰克·施莱克

📷 Gloucester Rugby cardiff blues edf cup april 2009 3 — 9 use(s) across 4 wiki(s)
English: 2008–09 EDF Energy Cup, Cardiff Rugby, Sport in Cardiff
French: Cardiff Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, Martyn Williams
Serbian: Куп европских изазивача у рагбију 2015/16., Првенство Енглеске у рагбију 2006/07.
Russian Wikinews: Лента новостей 7 декабря 2015 года

📷 GB Rally December 2006 — 7 use(s) across 3 wiki(s)
English: Cardiff, Millennium Stadium, Sport in Cardiff, Wales Rally GB, World Rally Championship
French: Millennium Stadium
Korean: 밀레니엄 스타디움

📷 Wimbledon ballgirl 2007 — 7 use(s) across 5 wiki(s)
English: Wimbledon Championships
Hindi: विम्बलडन प्रतियोगिता
Malay: Kejohanan Wimbledon
Vietnamese: Giải Vô địch Wimbledon
+3 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Leif Hoste — 6 use(s) across 5 wiki(s)
Catalan: Campionat de Bèlgica de ciclisme en contrarellotge, Leif Hoste
German: Leif Hoste
Spanish: Campeonato de Bélgica de Ciclismo Contrarreloj
French: Leif Hoste
Portuguese: Campeonato da Bélgica de Ciclismo Contrarrelógio

📷 Bradley Wiggins — 5 use(s) across 5 wiki(s)
Alemannic: Bradley Wiggins
Catalan: Bradley Wiggins
German: Tour de France 2007/Prolog
Latin: Bradley Wiggins
Macedonian: Бредли Вигинс

📷 Defra, Nobel House, Smith Square — 5 use(s) across 5 wiki(s)
Spanish: Departamentos ministeriales del Reino Unido
Persian: وزارت محیط زیست، غذا و امور روستایی
Japanese: 環境・食糧・農村地域省
Vietnamese: Chính phủ Vương quốc Liên hiệp Anh
+1 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Geraint Thomas — 4 use(s) across 4 wiki(s)
English: 2007 Tour de France
Danish: Tour de France 2007
Russian: Тур де Франс 2007
Turkish: 2007 Fransa Bisiklet Turu

📷 Iglesia de Los Belones — 3 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
Spanish: Iglesia de San Isidro (Los Belones), Los Belones
Wikidata: Church of San Isidro (Q5910295 — church building in Cartagena, Spain)

📷 Bentalls Centre, Kingston-upon-Thames — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
English: Bentall Centre, Kingston upon Thames
Basque: Kingston upon Thames

📷 Bradley Wiggins, 2007 Tour de France presentation — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
German: Bradley Wiggins
+1 more in templates, galleries and other non-article pages.

📷 Filippo Pozzato — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
Catalan: Filippo Pozzato
Dutch: Filippo Pozzato

📷 Gloucester Rugby cardiff blues edf cup april 2009 4 — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
Basque: Cardiff Rugby
Polish: Cardiff Rugby

📷 Jonny Wilkinson 2009 08 12 3 Whitton twickenham england training — 2 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
French: Coupe d'Europe de rugby à XV 2013-2014, Jonny Wilkinson

📷 Kingston upon Thames town hall — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
Russian: Кингстон-апон-Темс (боро Лондона)
Tajik: Ноҳияи шоҳонаи Кингстон бар Темза

📷 Mark Cavendish Tour — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
German: Mark Cavendish
Simple English: Mark Cavendish

📷 Phil Vickery 2009 08 12 2 Whitton twickenham england training — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
Spanish: Phil Vickery
French: Phil Vickery

📷 Rising Sun, Carter Lane (112944225) — 2 use(s) across 2 wiki(s)
English: Carter Lane, London
Wikidata: Rising Sun (Q26486633 — pub in Carter Lane, City of London)

📷 Bentalls Centre (roof) — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Bentall Centre, Kingston upon Thames

📷 Bernhard Eisel — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2008/Startlijst

📷 Bradley Wiggins (cropped) — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
Wikidata: Bradley Wiggins (Q193876 — British former professional road and track racing cyclist)

📷 Brian Noble — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Brian Noble (rugby league)

📷 Etihad Stand (East Stand) The Stoop — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Twickenham Stoop

📷 Gloucester Rugby cardiff blues edf cup april 2009 — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
French: Leigh Halfpenny

📷 Khmer Kitchen Restaurant (24599886794) — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
Arabic: مطبخ كمبودي

📷 Mike Tindall 2009 08 12 2 Whitton twickenham england training — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
Spanish: Joe Worsley

📷 North Stand, The Stoop. — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Twickenham Stoop

📷 Phil Vickery 2009 08 12 3 Whitton twickenham england training — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
French: Phil Vickery

📷 St Anne's church - Kew — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Kew Green

📷 Unfinished bridge Cape Town — 1 use(s) across 1 wiki(s)
English: Foreshore Freeway Bridge