User: `Rhododendrites`

Long-time Wikimedian who decided, a few years ago, to try to take better pictures to contribute to Commons. I feel like I've learned a lot from this community, and continue to do so. Always welcome photography tips/constructive criticism.

Though I take pictures of lots of things, a few areas of concentration are the New York City area in general, protests, conventions (not so much in 2020), and birds (much more so in 2020). If you're in NYC (or coming to NYC) and want tips or to plan a photography outing, let me know. There are several Wikimedian photographers here.

My main camera is an Olympus OM-D E-M5 mark ii (micro four-thirds format). I like it, but don't know if I can recommend the format any longer. Olympus announced in 2020 that they plan to get out of the camera game. The future of its camera business seems unclear at the moment, possibly being transferred to another company, and Panasonic is the only other company making the gear (with some compatibility issues around the way they do their image stabilization). I hope it'll look up, but we'll see.

This is my main account for contributing to Wikimedia projects. From March-July 2021, I contracted with the Wikimedia Foundation, researching the impact of Suggested Edits on Commons. My WMF account is User:Rhododendrites (WMF), which is now inactive. Edits I make through this account are strictly as a volunteer.

Rhododendrites

rhododendrites AT gmail DOT com

(FP-VI-QI)

 
Featured Pictures - the birds
Image 1Fish crow cawing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 2Great blue heron in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 3Ring-billed gull preening/bathing in Marine Park
Image 4Wood duck drake vocalizing in Central Park
Image 5Green heron in Prospect Park
Image 6Huge flock of gulls just after they were spooked by something during a horseshoe crab feeding frenzy in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 7Eastern wood pewee in Central Park
Image 8Chipping sparrow on a grave in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 9Tree swallow on a nest box in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 10Three ring-billed gulls in Red Hook
Image 11American avocet
Image 12Juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker in Prospect Park
Image 13Lesser yellowlegs at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 14Red-necked phalarope at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 15Purple martin in flight in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 16Black-capped chickadee at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 17Blue jay in Prospect Park
Image 18Northern waterthrush in Central Park
Image 19Veery in the Central Park Ramble
Image 20White-throated sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 21Snowy egret
Image 22Piping plover chick in Queens
Image 23Female hooded merganser resting on the Central Park Reservoir
Image 24Great black-backed gull in Quogue, NY
Image 25American coot in Prospect Park
Image 26Gray catbird watching a hawk fly overhead in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 27Great egret stabbing the water in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 28Male house sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 29Piping plover in Queens
Image 30House sparrows in Central Park
Image 31Red-tailed hawk yearbook photo, class of 2022, Central Park
Image 32House finch with a sunflower seed at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 33Mute swan and cygnets on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 34First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
Image 35American robin making a dog whistle-like alarm call in Prospect Park
Image 36Black-capped chickadee eating seeds in Central Park
Image 37Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 38Red-tailed hawk rescue
Image 39Gray catbird with a chokeberry in Prospect Park
Image 40Field sparrow in Central Park
Image 41Northern shoveler pair "shoveling" together in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 42Winter wren in Prospect Park
Image 43Male northern shoveler in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 44Pine siskin in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 45Ring-billed gull in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 46Cape May warbler in Prospect Park
Image 47Mute swan cygnet pontoon on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 48Blue jay fledgling calling for its parent in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 49Blackpoll warbler in a flowering dogwood tree in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 50Tufted titmouse with a seed in Prospect Park
Image 51Immature cooper's hawk in Prospect Park
Image 52Female wood duck
Image 53Female northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 54Male black-throated green warbler in Prospect Park
Image 55Red-tailed hawk, fearsome predator
Image 56White-breasted nuthatch doing its nuthatchy pose in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 57Immature herring gull manipulating a clam in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 58Northern mockingbird on a fence in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Image 59White-breasted nuthatch on a suet feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 60Semipalmated sandpiper at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 61Brown creeper about to be released at a bird banding station in the United States
Image 62Downy woodpecker with a leaf on its nose in Prospect Park
Image 63Lesser yellowlegs wading at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 64Ruby-crowned kinglet in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 65Mandarin duck drake in eclipse plumage in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 66Apricot Mandarin duckling in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 67Tufted titmouse floofed up in Central Park
Image 68Snowy egret in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 69Yellow-bellied sapsucker in Central Park
Image 70American tree sparrow in Central Park
Image 71Northern mockingbird in a "tail up" display in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 72Bay-breasted warbler in Central Park
Image 73American oystercatcher family portrait on Fort Tilden beach
Image 74Western tanager which popped up in NYC, far from its usual range
Image 75Ospreys in a nest on Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Image 76Ring-billed gull in flight over Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 77Immature mute swan in Prospect Park
Image 78Brown thrasher (snow-nosed variety) in Central Park
Image 79Western gull sitting on a boat in San Francisco Bay
Image 80Palm warbler in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 81Male yellow-rumped warbler singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 82Golden-crowned kinglet
Image 83Killdeer at the South Cape May Meadows
Image 84Juvenile Forster's tern calling for its parent in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 85European starling in Central Park
Image 86Cedar waxwing in pokeweed in Prospect Park
Image 87Northern rough-winged swallows in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 88Black-and-white warbler in Prospect Park
Image 89A rescued American kestrel that couldn't be released so is now serving as an "ambassador" bird
Image 90House wren doing its best eel impression guarding its nestbox.
Image 91Baltimore oriole (immature/female) in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 92Gray catbird in Central Park
Image 93Downy woodpecker foraging in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 94Common grackle showing off its iridescence in Central Park
Image 95Female brown-headed cowbird chattering in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 96A rescued Eurasian eagle-owl
Image 97Ovenbird in Prospect Park
Image 98Mourning dove perched in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Image 99Song sparrow on Lookout Hill in Prospect Park
Image 100Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 101Male northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 102Close-up of a white-throated sparrow in Central Park
Image 103White ibis in Ocean City, New Jersey (I kind of prefer the uncropped version)
Image 104Great blue heron lurching its head back to swallow a brown watersnake in Green Cay Wetlands
Image 105American robin
Image 106Redhead in Central Park
Image 107Great blue heron on frozen pond in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 108European starlings on a birdhouse on Staten Island
Image 109Scarlet tanager eating a berry in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 110Cedar waxwing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 111Ring-billed gull in a rainbow over Niagara Falls
Image 112Canada goose gosling in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 113Short-billed dowitcher in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 114Juvenile American robin
Image 115Anna's hummingbird in Pacifica, California
Image 116Rehabilitated eastern screech owl
Image 117Northern flicker looking out from its nest in the Central Park North Woods
Image 118Gray catbird in Prospect Park
Image 119Northern cardinal female in Central Park
 
Featured Pictures - everything else
Image 1Maroon Bells. Easily one of the most awe-inspiring natural scenes I've experienced.
Image 2Burberry rainbow cape at the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition
Image 3Abandoned building in Floyd Bennett Field
Image 4Pond sliders in Prospect Park
Image 5Coleus
Image 6Immature male blue dasher
Image 7Boston Public Garden
Image 8Crocuses in early spring.
Image 9The Seaside Sanatorium in Connecticut
Image 10Panorama of the once-active waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Image 11Familiar bluet in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 12Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Image 13Abandoned car in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 14Fulton Center skylight
Image 15Saint Christopher Street in Valletta
Image 16Lower Manhattan panorama
Image 17Glass blower. This was moments before he accidentally dropped it. Heartbreaking (and vasebreaking). Talented folks here, though, and I actually went back a while later and took a class. Got a piece of lit up frozen spaghetti to prove it.
Image 18Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade's Mandarin’ orchid
Image 19Pier 66 and Hudson Yards
Image 20Hudson Yards in New York, taken from the top of Hudson Commons (9-frame panorama)
Image 21Maroon Bells
Image 22Red squirrel in Lazienki Park
Image 23Coney Island Mermaid Parade (no, this is not a picture of Rhododendrites)
Image 24Two juvenile Nubian ibex
Image 25Monarch butterfly caterpillar on butterfly weed
Image 26Common buckeye in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis
Image 27Optical illusion on the floor of the Florence Cathedral
Image 28Crook Point Bascule Bridge in Providence. It's been stuck in the open position for 50 years. A local landmark, but slated for destruction soon.
Image 29Black Lives Matter mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Image 30Lincoln Center during Pride at dusk
Image 31Quarry in Makhtesh Ramon
Image 32Eastern gray squirrel in Central Park
Image 33Redbeckia occidentalis
Image 34Composite of a clementine with/without peel
Image 35Ship in the San Francisco Bay fog. Got lucky with the dramatic fog on this one, which opened up just enough to frame the ship in light.
Image 36Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (18-frame panorama)
Image 37Moss-covered oak trees in the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Image 38Alexander Hamilton Custom House Collector's Room ceiling. Had to be a bit obnoxious to get this one, setting up a little tripod in the center of a crowded room and actually getting down on the floor to frame it. Who doesn't like a nice ornate ceiling with a nautical theme, though?
Image 39Memorial to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, taken just after Stonewall Inn was designated part of a National Monument
Image 40Condenser at the defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station
Image 41California sea lion nap time at La Jolla Cove
Image 42Hell Gate Bridge, with a scow being towed along the Hell Gate section of the East River
Image 43Manhattan at night, looking north from Rockefeller Center
Image 44Monarch butterfly
Image 45Daubeny's water lily
Image 46Magnolia x veitchii bud
Image 47Triq San Patrizju facing the Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, Malta
Image 48Comme des Garcons at the Met
Image 49Bluebells in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 50The Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for lots of elaborate Christmas lights, earning the nickname "Dyker Lights"
Image 51Toronto Reference Library interior from the top floor
Image 52Panorama of the Apennine Colossus in Tuscany
Image 53Window in a cafe in San Gimignano, Italy
Image 54Wonder Wheel sign on Coney Island
Image 55White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel perched on a tree in Brooklyn
Image 56Frizzle sizzle
Image 57Hell Gate Bridge
Image 58Male elephant seal resting between fights in Ano Nuevo
Image 59A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 60Makhtesh Ramon
Image 61Bee balm seedhead
Image 62Eastern cicada killer perched on a black-eyed susan
Image 63Rice paper butterfly with light shining through in Butterfly World, Florida
Image 64Green iguana panorama in Palm Beach County
Image 65Northern elephant seals in Ano Nuevo, California
Image 66Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 67Pond sliders (red and yellow) and a river cooter fighting for basking space
Image 68Open Ocean exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 69Raccoon in Central Park
Image 70An island (with ospreys) in Trustom Pond in the fog
Image 71Sarracenia leucophylla
Image 72Eastern chipmunk with stuffed cheeks in Prospect Park
Image 73Eldridge Street Synagogue
Image 74One World Trade Center through the Oculus
Image 75Male tiger swallowtail butterfly in Central Park (missing its tails)
Image 76A cavapoo dog chasing a malipoo dog with a ball
Image 77Jun Takahashi dress for Undercover in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at the Met
Image 78Bigfin reef squid at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 79Chinese mantis ootheca in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 80Male eastern amberwing dragonfly in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 81Florence seen from the Duomo terrace
Image 82A [pretty dodgy] bridge along a cliff path at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 83Defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station in Boston
Image 84Salix catkins
Image 85Monarch butterfly
Image 86Prospect Park Vale of Cashmere covered in lesser celandine, with a leucistic white squirrel in the distance
Image 87Sasheer Zamata at a Time's Up event during the Tribeca Film Festival
Image 88White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel with a peanut
Image 89Group photo of four pears
Image 90TWA Hotel
Image 91Stata Center at MIT
Image 92Bow Bridge in Central Park (panorama)
Image 93Oculus
Image 94Algal mat in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 95Rooftop farm on the Lower East Side
Image 96Waldemarsviken in Stockholm
Image 97Ash tree behind a columbarium in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Image 98Eastern amberwing
Image 99Great golden digger wasp in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 100California sea lion in La Jolla. My first experience seeing wild sea lions in person. It was ... loud. This one just looked downright majestic in the sun.
Image 101Quogue Village Wetlands Preserve
Image 102Juvenile Nubian ibex on a wall at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 103American lady butterfly on a purple coneflower
Image 104Razor clamshell dress from spring/summer 2001, in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at The Met
Image 105Sukkah at Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Image 106A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 107City Hall Station in Manhattan, abandoned since 1945 because it looked cool but didn't
Image 108Sunset sky over Governors Island, NYC (panorama)