Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Male whale shark at Georgia Aquarium

Male whale shark at Georgia Aquarium
Voting period ends on 25 Sep 2010 at 15:02:12 (UTC)
 * Reason:Good EV for illustrating the nature of sharks in captivity (a topic that may surprise some) and it's the sort of picture at which you look twice. A very nice composition. The quality's not sky-high, but I feel it'd still be a good FP. Already featured on Commons.
 * Articles in which this image appears:Sharks in captivity, whale shark, shark, Georgia Aquarium, Aquarium, Public aquarium, List of aquaria (lead image- looks damn cool, but no EV) Jeff Swanagan, Outline of sharks
 * FP category for this image:Fish
 * Creator:Zac Wolf


 * Support as nominator --J Milburn (talk) 15:02, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Info Failed nomination from 2007. Papa Lima Whiskey  (talk) 15:23, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Interesting, I hadn't seen that. I'm certainly not arguing we use this image to illustrate whale sharks, which is what some people in that nom seemed to be thinking, but rather illustrate whale sharks in captivity. J Milburn (talk) 15:28, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * People opposed for a variety of reasons. The glass seam running through the shark's head seemed to get mentioned more than once. And the picture was already included in two aquarium-related articles at the time. Papa Lima Whiskey  (talk) 15:39, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I know, I read through the debate. J Milburn (talk) 15:50, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Support I've seen this image around a couple of times and always thought it looked awesome. (Mah bad Cowtowner (talk) 17:39, 16 September 2010 (UTC)).
 * Hi- please note that votes from anonymous users at FPC are often disregarded- please consider creating an account or signing in if you already have one. J Milburn (talk) 17:15, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Whoops, that was me. Cowtowner (talk) 17:39, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Oppose It's a great picture, but sadly the quality isn't there. It's pretty blurry in my opinion. Needs to be crisper. Haljackey (talk) 00:14, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Comment I think this is a beautiful image and don't have much of a beef with it technically (the slight blurriness and the seam in the window don't bother me much). Compositionally it's beautiful, with the spectators in silhouette and the shadows coming out around the shark.  But I'm not quite sure I get the educational value of illustrating "sharks in captivity" vis a vis other photos of sharks, or photos of other marine life in captivity.  I'm not sure how I would feel about this as a featured picture. Tim Pierce (talk) 21:13, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I can understand that. I guess you could look at it like this. Imagine reading the line "whale sharks are kept in aquariums". You'd say "oh, cool". You see this picture, you go "holy SHIT, look at that thing!" I guess that's the difference. I'm not going to pretend the encyclopedic value is sky-high, but I do feel it's there. J Milburn (talk) 22:27, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
 * No question, and it's an outstanding image to illustrate sharks in captivity and public aquarium. But my gut says a featured picture should clearly be an illustration of something of a little more general interest, so in terms of subject matter this falls a little short for me.  I love the picture and yet it doesn't feel right as a FPC. Tim Pierce (talk) 23:43, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
 * That's not really based in our criteria; but, regardless, I'm a little suprised you're saying it- sharks are generally a pretty exciting, interesting topic! J Milburn (talk) 23:53, 17 September 2010
 * I completely agree with Milburn. The EV here is outstanding in those articles. As for general interest, look at the Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Sharks have fascinated and horrified humans for millenia. Cowtowner (talk) 04:02, 18 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Sharks are indeed an exciting and interesting topic! Sharks in captivity are a bit more of a niche interest.  That's the distinction I'm making.  Look, I'm not actually opposing the nomination -- just expressing why I feel conflicted over it. Tim Pierce (talk) 21:46, 18 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I can see your logic, however it doesn't really apply here. Look at all of the niche interests we represent in our FP galleries. Many of them are of unpopular or, more accurately, under-visited topics. Cowtowner (talk) 22:12, 18 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Strong oppose a boring aquarium shot.--Mbz1 (talk) 04:51, 25 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Of course it's an aquarium shot. It's being used to illustrate sharks in captivity. J Milburn (talk) 11:06, 25 September 2010 (UTC)
 * It is being used to illustrate Whale shark too, and it is a horrible illustration of a beautiful fish. I was lucky enough to swim next to a few of them in Indian Ocean, and I believe whale sharks should have been never put to aquariums. Aquariums are not for them.--Mbz1 (talk) 15:28, 25 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Your moral principles are not what we use to assess images here. Cowtowner (talk) 23:58, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

--Makeemlighter (talk) 01:10, 26 September 2010 (UTC)