Portraits of WikiLovelies

Few things make me happier than making portraits of Wikimedians.
Wikipedia is what got me into photography. And Wikipedia meetups are what got me into portraits.
There are a lot of warm fuzzies in the world of Wikimedia when you see your work used and appreciated, but the one I like most comes when I see a portrait I made of another editor show up as their profile pic on a social network.
It's like, the person they are around other Wikimedians, that's them at their best, the version of them they want to share with the world.
I know that's the case for me. This photo by another editor, taken at the first New York Wiknic, is, well, it's just me.
For a lot of Wikimedians, deeply weird people that we are, meetups and wiki events are among those rare times when we feel at home, among our own people.
Over the last four years or so, I've met and photographed hundreds of Wikimedians. It never gets boring. Wikipedia meetups are among the densest gatherings of shining, beautiful souls.See a few of my favorites. And whenever you meet a Wikimedian, take a picture!

Wikimedia India hits the international blog scene

Ayesha Saldanha of global news service Global Voices talked to Tinu Cherian recently about the future of Wikipedia and India.  It's a nice interview, getting in a plug for the new Wikisource DVD and reminding me to subscribe to Tinu's delightful Twitter feed.

Asked about where he would like to see the new Wikimedia India office (covered recently in WikiPatrika), Tinu was diplomatic:

As a true Bangalorean, personally, I would love to see the Wikimedia office in Bangalore. Bangalore has a vibrant Wiki community contributing to different language Wikipedias... Bangalore is also the seat of the Wikimedia India chapter. But for the growth of the pan-India Wikimedia movement, it is advisable to be Mumbai or Delhi. But it is entirely up to the Wikimedia Foundation to decide where they find it feasible and suitable. The foundation is now actively considering it in Delhi or the National Capital Region (NCR).

I hope to hear more from the growing community in India. They make their first-class work and organization look easy, and inspire me to do more in my own part of the world.

Exploring Tourette's through Wikicompulsion

As noted in today's Signpost, Michaelas10, a former Wikipedia admin with mild Tourette's, shared a private and remarkable aspect of his life as a Wikipedian a few years ago, and what it helped him discover about himself.

It is a lovely vignette, one I will remember for some time to come.