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 1Juvenile Forster's tern calling for its parent in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 2Black-capped chickadee at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 3Close-up of a white-throated sparrow in Central Park
Image 4Northern waterthrush in Central Park
Image 5Rehabilitated eastern screech owl
Image 6Ring-billed gull in a rainbow over Niagara Falls
Image 7Immature cooper's hawk in Prospect Park
Image 8House wren doing its best eel impression guarding its nestbox.
Image 9Gray catbird with a chokeberry in Prospect Park
Image 10Veery in the Central Park Ramble
Image 11Northern mockingbird on a fence in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Image 12Mandarin duck drake in eclipse plumage in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 13House finch with a sunflower seed at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 14Gray catbird watching a hawk fly overhead in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 15White-throated sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 16Great egret stabbing the water in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 17Tropical kingbird in the rain by Lake Arenal
Image 18Northern shoveler pair "shoveling" together in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 19Cedar waxwing in pokeweed in Prospect Park
Image 20Male black-throated green warbler in Prospect Park
Image 21Baltimore oriole (immature/female) in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 22Purple martin in flight in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 23Western gull sitting on a boat in San Francisco Bay
Image 24Wood duck drake vocalizing in Central Park
Image 25Ring-billed gull in flight over Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 26Brown thrasher (snow-nosed variety) in Central Park
Image 27Tufted titmouse floofed up in Central Park
Image 28Male yellow-rumped warbler singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 29Mourning dove perched in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Image 30Female wood duck
Image 31Eastern wood pewee in Central Park
Image 32American coot in Prospect Park
Image 33Ovenbird in Prospect Park
Image 34Black-capped chickadee eating seeds in Central Park
Image 35Lesser yellowlegs at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 36Northern mockingbird in a "tail up" display in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 37Common grackle showing off its iridescence in Central Park
Image 38Field sparrow in Central Park
Image 39Yellow-bellied sapsucker in Central Park
Image 40Green heron in Prospect Park
Image 41Three ring-billed gulls in Red Hook
Image 42Blue jay fledgling calling for its parent in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 43Juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker in Prospect Park
Image 44Northern flicker looking out from its nest in the Central Park North Woods
Image 45Great blue heron in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 46Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 47Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron at Plumb Beach
Image 48Ruby-crowned kinglet in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 49Immature mute swan in Prospect Park
Image 50Great black-backed gull in Quogue, NY
Image 51A rescued American kestrel that couldn't be released so is now serving as an "ambassador" bird
Image 52Ospreys in a nest on Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Image 53Redhead in Central Park
Image 54White-breasted nuthatch on a suet feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 55Female northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 56Piping plover in Queens
Image 57Mute swan and cygnets on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 58Bay-breasted warbler in Central Park
Image 59Gray catbird in Prospect Park
Image 60Fish crow cawing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 61Great blue heron on frozen pond in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 62Dark-eyed junco at Bush Terminal Park
Image 63Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 64Mute swan cygnet pontoon on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 65Blue jay in Prospect Park
Image 66Immature herring gull manipulating a clam in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 67Red-tailed hawk rescue
Image 68Female hooded merganser resting on the Central Park Reservoir
Image 69Male northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 70Ring-billed gull in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 71Killdeer at the South Cape May Meadows
Image 72Anna's hummingbird in Pacifica, California
Image 73American oystercatcher family portrait on Fort Tilden beach
Image 74Piping plover chick in Queens
Image 75Northern cardinal female in Central Park
Image 76Canada goose gosling in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 77Downy woodpecker foraging in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 78Western tanager which popped up in NYC, far from its usual range
Image 79American avocet
Image 80European starlings on a birdhouse on Staten Island
Image 81Apricot Mandarin duckling in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 82Blackpoll warbler in a flowering dogwood tree in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 83Male northern shoveler in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 84Winter wren in Prospect Park
Image 85American tree sparrow in Central Park
Image 86American robin
Image 87Gray catbird in Central Park
Image 88Red-tailed hawk yearbook photo, class of 2022, Central Park
Image 89Ring-billed gull preening/bathing in Marine Park
Image 90European starling in Central Park
Image 91Tufted titmouse with a seed in Prospect Park
Image 92Snowy egret
Image 93Male house sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 94Palm warbler in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 95Downy woodpecker with a leaf on its nose in Prospect Park
Image 96Female brown-headed cowbird chattering in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 97Lesser yellowlegs wading at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 98A rescued Eurasian eagle-owl
Image 99Red-necked phalarope at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 100Western kingbird at Bush Terminal Park
Image 101Broad-billed motmot at the Arenal Observatory
Image 102White-breasted nuthatch doing its nuthatchy pose in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 103Scarlet tanager eating a berry in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 104Black-and-white warbler in Prospect Park
Image 105Great kiskadee in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 106First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
Image 107Northern rough-winged swallows in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 108Tree swallow on a nest box in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 109American robin making a dog whistle-like alarm call in Prospect Park
Image 110Pine siskin in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 111Brown creeper about to be released at a bird banding station in the United States
Image 112Golden-crowned kinglet
Image 113Semipalmated sandpiper at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 114Short-billed dowitcher in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 115Huge flock of gulls just after they were spooked by something during a horseshoe crab feeding frenzy in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 116Cape May warbler in Prospect Park
Image 117White ibis in Ocean City, New Jersey (I kind of prefer the uncropped version)
Image 118Blue-gray tanager in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 119Chipping sparrow on a grave in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 120Great blue heron lurching its head back to swallow a brown watersnake in Green Cay Wetlands
Image 121Snowy egret in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 122Cedar waxwing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 123Red-tailed hawk, fearsome predator
Image 124House sparrows in Central Park
Image 125Song sparrow on Lookout Hill in Prospect Park
Image 126Juvenile American robin
 
Featured Pictures - everything else
Image 1Crocuses in early spring.
Image 2A [pretty dodgy] bridge along a cliff path at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 3Abandoned car in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 4Maroon Bells. Easily one of the most awe-inspiring natural scenes I've experienced.
Image 5Rooftop farm on the Lower East Side
Image 6Abandoned building in Floyd Bennett Field
Image 7One World Trade Center through the Oculus
Image 8Chinese mantis ootheca in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 9Monarch butterfly
Image 10Sunset sky over Governors Island, NYC (panorama)
Image 11Rice paper butterfly with light shining through in Butterfly World, Florida
Image 12Hell Gate Bridge walking path on Randall's Island
Image 13Abandoned van by Gerritsen Creek
Image 14Familiar bluet in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 15Great golden digger wasp in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 16Northern elephant seals in Ano Nuevo, California
Image 17Saint Christopher Street in Valletta
Image 18Triq San Patrizju facing the Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, Malta
Image 19Bluebells in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 20Ash tree behind a columbarium in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Image 21Oculus
Image 22Sasheer Zamata at a Time's Up event during the Tribeca Film Festival
Image 23Strawberry poison dart frog in Costa Rica
Image 24Defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station in Boston
Image 25Memorial to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, taken just after Stonewall Inn was designated part of a National Monument
Image 26Immature male blue dasher
Image 27Juvenile Nubian ibex on a wall at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 28Large milkweed bug
Image 29Moschino fall 2014 ready-to-wear ensemble in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit at the Met
Image 30Ship 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 31Window in a cafe in San Gimignano, Italy
Image 32Bow Bridge in Central Park (panorama)
Image 33American lady butterfly on a purple coneflower
Image 34Hell Gate Bridge
Image 35Florence seen from the Duomo terrace
Image 36California sea lion nap time at La Jolla Cove
Image 37Makhtesh Ramon
Image 38Crook 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 39Moss-covered oak trees in the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Image 40Eldridge Street Synagogue
Image 41Coney Island Mermaid Parade (no, this is not a picture of Rhododendrites)
Image 42Green iguana panorama in Palm Beach County
Image 43Panorama of the once-active waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Image 44Composite of a clementine with/without peel
Image 45Eastern chipmunk with stuffed cheeks in Prospect Park
Image 46Frizzle sizzle
Image 47California 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 48Baird's tapir mother with baby in Costa Rica
Image 49Hell Gate Bridge, with a scow being towed along the Hell Gate section of the East River
Image 50Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade's Mandarin’ orchid
Image 51Alexander 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 52Pier 66 and Hudson Yards
Image 53Toronto Reference Library interior from the top floor
Image 54Boston Public Garden
Image 55White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel perched on a tree in Brooklyn
Image 56Duomo Firenze terrace
Image 57Quogue Village Wetlands Preserve
Image 58Black Lives Matter mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Image 59An island (with ospreys) in Trustom Pond in the fog
Image 60Pond sliders (red and yellow) and a river cooter fighting for basking space
Image 61Stata Center at MIT
Image 62Magnolia x veitchii bud
Image 63Sarracenia leucophylla
Image 64Eastern amberwing
Image 65City Hall Station in Manhattan, abandoned since 1945 because it looked cool but didn't
Image 66Jun Takahashi dress for Undercover in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at the Met
Image 67Comme des Garcons at the Met
Image 68Prospect Park Vale of Cashmere covered in lesser celandine, with a leucistic white squirrel in the distance
Image 69Male elephant seal resting between fights in Ano Nuevo
Image 70Optical illusion on the floor of the Florence Cathedral
Image 71Manhattan at night, looking north from Rockefeller Center
Image 72Monarch butterfly caterpillar on butterfly weed
Image 73Pond sliders in Prospect Park
Image 74Open Ocean exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 75White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel with a peanut
Image 76Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Katowice
Image 77Raccoon in Central Park
Image 78Lower Manhattan panorama
Image 79Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (18-frame panorama)
Image 80Red squirrel in Lazienki Park
Image 81Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 82TWA Hotel
Image 83Waldemarsviken in Stockholm
Image 84A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 85Razor clamshell dress from spring/summer 2001, in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at The Met
Image 86Eastern gray squirrel in Central Park
Image 87Maroon Bells
Image 88Two juvenile Nubian ibex
Image 89Bigfin reef squid at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 90Fulton Center skylight
Image 91Mantled howler monkey with baby in Costa Rica
Image 92Male tiger swallowtail butterfly in Central Park (missing its tails)
Image 93Common buckeye in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis
Image 94Male eastern amberwing dragonfly in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 95Wonder Wheel sign on Coney Island
Image 96Algal mat in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 97Monarch butterfly
Image 98Coleus
Image 99The Seaside Sanatorium in Connecticut
Image 100Lincoln Center during Pride at dusk
Image 101A cavapoo dog chasing a malipoo dog with a ball
Image 102Daubeny's water lily
Image 103Sukkah at Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Image 104Redbeckia occidentalis
Image 105Panorama of the Apennine Colossus in Tuscany
Image 106A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 107Glass 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 108Salix catkins
Image 109Burberry rainbow cape at the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition
Image 110Arenal volcano
Image 111Bee balm seedhead
Image 112Quarry in Makhtesh Ramon
Image 113The Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for lots of elaborate Christmas lights, earning the nickname "Dyker Lights"
Image 114Proboscis bats in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica
Image 115Condenser at the defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station
Image 116Hudson Yards in New York, taken from the top of Hudson Commons (9-frame panorama)
Image 117Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Image 118Eastern cicada killer perched on a black-eyed susan
Image 119Group photo of four pears
Image 120Nine-banded armadillo in Costa Rica