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