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