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