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 1Female hooded merganser resting on the Central Park Reservoir
Image 2Golden-crowned kinglet
Image 3Cedar waxwing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 4Veery in the Central Park Ramble
Image 5Mourning dove perched in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Image 6American coot in Prospect Park
Image 7American avocet fishing in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 8Immature cooper's hawk in Prospect Park
Image 9Male northern shoveler in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 10Tree swallow on a nest box in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 11American tree sparrow in Central Park
Image 12Northern mockingbird in a "tail up" display in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 13American oystercatcher family portrait on Fort Tilden beach
Image 14Apricot Mandarin duckling in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 15Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron at Plumb Beach
Image 16Northern rough-winged swallows in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 17Ring-billed gull preening/bathing in Marine Park
Image 18Great egret stabbing the water in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 19Golden-crowned kinglet at a banding station
Image 20House wren doing its best eel impression guarding its nestbox.
Image 21American robin
Image 22Tufted titmouse with a seed in Prospect Park
Image 23Male yellow-rumped warbler singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 24First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
Image 25A rescued American kestrel that couldn't be released so is now serving as an "ambassador" bird
Image 26Male northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 27Semipalmated sandpiper at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 28A rescued Eurasian eagle-owl
Image 29Gray catbird watching a hawk fly overhead in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 30Male black-throated green warbler in Prospect Park
Image 31Northern waterthrush in Central Park
Image 32Anna's hummingbird in Pacifica, California
Image 33Red-tailed hawk rescue
Image 34Snowy egret
Image 35Brown creeper about to be released at a bird banding station in the United States
Image 36Ospreys in a nest on Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Image 37Northern flicker looking out from its nest in the Central Park North Woods
Image 38Ring-billed gull coming in for an unwelcome landing
Image 39Killdeer at the South Cape May Meadows
Image 40Cedar waxwing in pokeweed in Prospect Park
Image 41Mute swan cygnet pontoon on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 42Great black-backed gull in Quogue, NY
Image 43White ibis in Ocean City, New Jersey (I kind of prefer the uncropped version)
Image 44Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 45White-throated sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 46Female brown-headed cowbird chattering in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 47Tropical kingbird in the rain by Lake Arenal
Image 48Downy woodpecker with a leaf on its nose in Prospect Park
Image 49Bay-breasted warbler in Central Park
Image 50Scarlet tanager eating a berry in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 51Western tanager which popped up in NYC, far from its usual range
Image 52Dark-eyed junco at Bush Terminal Park
Image 53European starling in Central Park
Image 54Rufous motmot, Costa Rica
Image 55Black-capped chickadee at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 56Tufted titmouse floofed up in Central Park
Image 57Huge flock of gulls just after they were spooked by something during a horseshoe crab feeding frenzy in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 58Eastern wood pewee in Central Park
Image 59Female wood duck
Image 60Black-and-white warbler in Prospect Park
Image 61Female northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 62Red-tailed hawk yearbook photo, class of 2022, Central Park
Image 63Purple martin in flight in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 64White-breasted nuthatch on a suet feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 65Ring-billed gull in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 66Male brown-headed cowbird in Prospect Park
Image 67Lesser yellowlegs wading at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 68Ruby-crowned kinglet in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 69Common grackle showing off its iridescence in Central Park
Image 70Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 71Gray catbird with a chokeberry in Prospect Park
Image 72Blackpoll warbler in a flowering dogwood tree in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 73Palm warbler perched in Prospect Park
Image 74Northern shoveler pair "shoveling" together in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 75Northern mockingbird on a fence in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Image 76Brown thrasher (snow-nosed variety) in Central Park
Image 77Gray catbird in Prospect Park
Image 78Ovenbird in Prospect Park
Image 79Baltimore oriole (immature/female) in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 80Blue-gray tanager in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 81Western gull sitting on a boat in San Francisco Bay
Image 82Ring-billed gull in flight over Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 83Song sparrow on Lookout Hill in Prospect Park
Image 84Great kiskadee in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 85First-winter American herring gull, Brooklyn
Image 86European starlings on a birdhouse on Staten Island
Image 87Close-up of a white-throated sparrow in Central Park
Image 88Yellow-bellied sapsucker in Central Park
Image 89Ring-billed gull in a rainbow over Niagara Falls
Image 90Male house sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 91Cape May warbler in Prospect Park
Image 92Immature herring gull manipulating a clam in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 93Warbling vireo singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 94Short-billed dowitcher in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 95Canada goose gosling in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 96Green heron in Prospect Park
Image 97Winter wren in Prospect Park
Image 98White-breasted nuthatch doing its nuthatchy pose in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 99Three ring-billed gulls in Red Hook
Image 100American robin making a dog whistle-like alarm call in Prospect Park
Image 101Field sparrow in Central Park
Image 102Piping plover chick in Queens
Image 103House finch with a sunflower seed at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 104Northern cardinal female in Central Park
Image 105Blue jay in Prospect Park
Image 106Fish crow cawing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 107Juvenile Forster's tern calling for its parent in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 108Lesser yellowlegs at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 109Redhead in Central Park
Image 110Western kingbird at Bush Terminal Piers Park
Image 111Red-tailed hawk, fearsome predator
Image 112Juvenile American robin
Image 113Mandarin duck drake in eclipse plumage in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 114Black-capped chickadee eating seeds in Central Park
Image 115Great blue heron lurching its head back to swallow a brown watersnake in Green Cay Wetlands
Image 116Downy woodpecker foraging in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 117Great blue heron on frozen pond in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 118Gray catbird in Central Park
Image 119Pine warbler perched in Prospect Park
Image 120Mute swan and cygnets on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 121Dark-eyed junco in Brooklyn
Image 122Juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker in Prospect Park
Image 123Wood duck drake vocalizing in Central Park
Image 124Common grackle in Prospect Park
Image 125Rehabilitated eastern screech owl
Image 126Palm warbler in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 127Western kingbird at Bush Terminal Park
Image 128Tufted titmouse perched in Central Park
Image 129Broad-billed motmot at the Arenal Observatory
Image 130House sparrows in Central Park
Image 131Snowy egret in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 132Piping plover in Queens
Image 133Red-necked phalarope at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 134Blue jay fledgling calling for its parent in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 135American woodcock in Bryant Park
Image 136American avocet
Image 137Immature mute swan in Prospect Park
Image 138Great blue heron in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 139Hermit thrush at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Image 140Chipping sparrow on a grave in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 141Pine siskin in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 142American goldfinch in Green-Wood Cemetery
 
Featured Pictures - everything else
Image 1Quogue Village Wetlands Preserve
Image 2Chinese mantis ootheca in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 3Lincoln Center during Pride at dusk
Image 4Triq San Patrizju facing the Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, Malta
Image 5Moschino fall 2014 ready-to-wear ensemble in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit at the Met
Image 6Sarracenia leucophylla
Image 7Proboscis bats in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica
Image 8Jun Takahashi dress for Undercover in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at the Met
Image 9City Hall Station in Manhattan, abandoned since 1945 because it looked cool but didn't
Image 10Toronto Reference Library interior from the top floor
Image 11Eastern gray squirrel in Central Park
Image 12Male tiger swallowtail butterfly in Central Park (missing its tails)
Image 13Baird's tapir mother with baby in Costa Rica
Image 14Burberry rainbow cape at the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition
Image 15Hudson Yards in New York, taken from the top of Hudson Commons (9-frame panorama)
Image 16White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel perched on a tree in Brooklyn
Image 17Moss-covered oak trees in the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Image 18Abandoned building in Floyd Bennett Field
Image 19Crocuses in early spring.
Image 20Condenser at the defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station
Image 21A cavapoo dog chasing a malipoo dog with a ball
Image 22Maroon Bells. Easily one of the most awe-inspiring natural scenes I've experienced.
Image 23Hell Gate Bridge
Image 24Eastern amberwing
Image 25Magnolia x veitchii bud
Image 26Abandoned car in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 27Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Katowice
Image 28Staszic Palace, Warsaw
Image 29Maroon Bells
Image 30Duomo Firenze terrace
Image 31Green iguana panorama in Palm Beach County
Image 32Monarch butterfly
Image 33Razor clamshell dress from spring/summer 2001, in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at The Met
Image 34Lower Manhattan panorama
Image 35Memorial to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, taken just after Stonewall Inn was designated part of a National Monument
Image 36Male eastern amberwing dragonfly in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 37Bluebells in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 38Window in a cafe in San Gimignano, Italy
Image 39Panorama of the Apennine Colossus in Tuscany
Image 40Stata Center at MIT
Image 41Coleus
Image 42Panorama of the once-active waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Image 43Coney Island Mermaid Parade (no, this is not a picture of Rhododendrites)
Image 44Great golden digger wasp in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 45Two juvenile Nubian ibex
Image 46Sasheer Zamata at a Time's Up event during the Tribeca Film Festival
Image 47One World Trade Center through the Oculus
Image 48TWA Hotel
Image 49The Seaside Sanatorium in Connecticut
Image 50Redbeckia occidentalis
Image 51Oculus
Image 52Arenal volcano
Image 53Open Ocean exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 54Fulton Center skylight
Image 55Raccoon in Central Park
Image 56Wonder Wheel sign on Coney Island
Image 57Florence seen from the Duomo terrace
Image 58Juvenile Nubian ibex on a wall at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 59American lady butterfly on a purple coneflower
Image 60Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 61Nine-banded armadillo in Costa Rica
Image 62Monarch butterfly caterpillar on butterfly weed
Image 63Alexander 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 64Eastern cicada killer perched on a black-eyed susan
Image 65Ship 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 66Red squirrel in Lazienki Park
Image 67California 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 68Manhattan at night, looking north from Rockefeller Center
Image 69A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 70Bow Bridge in Central Park (panorama)
Image 71Saint Christopher Street in Valletta
Image 72Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Image 73California sea lion nap time at La Jolla Cove
Image 74Frizzle sizzle
Image 75Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade's Mandarin’ orchid
Image 76Rooftop farm on the Lower East Side
Image 77Ash tree behind a columbarium in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Image 78A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 79Large milkweed bug
Image 80Hell Gate Bridge walking path on Randall's Island
Image 81A [pretty dodgy] bridge along a cliff path at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 82Rice paper butterfly with light shining through in Butterfly World, Florida
Image 83Black Lives Matter mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Image 84Familiar bluet in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 85Sukkah at Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Image 86Eastern chipmunk with stuffed cheeks in Prospect Park
Image 87Bee balm seedhead
Image 88Makhtesh Ramon
Image 89Immature male blue dasher
Image 90Algal mat in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 91Quarry in Makhtesh Ramon
Image 92Boston Public Garden
Image 93Pond sliders (red and yellow) and a river cooter fighting for basking space
Image 94Salix catkins
Image 95Pier 66 and Hudson Yards
Image 96Sunset sky over Governors Island, NYC (panorama)
Image 97Composite of a clementine with/without peel
Image 98Strawberry poison dart frog in Costa Rica
Image 99Optical illusion on the floor of the Florence Cathedral
Image 100Group photo of four pears
Image 101Camp: Notes on Fashion at the Met
Image 102Common buckeye in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis
Image 103Daubeny's water lily
Image 104Monarch butterfly
Image 105Castle Square, Warsaw
Image 106Crook 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 107Male elephant seal resting between fights in Ano Nuevo
Image 108Eldridge Street Synagogue
Image 109White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel with a peanut
Image 110Comme des Garcons at the Met
Image 111Prospect Park Vale of Cashmere covered in lesser celandine, with a leucistic white squirrel in the distance
Image 112Glass 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 113Defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station in Boston
Image 114An island (with ospreys) in Trustom Pond in the fog
Image 115Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (18-frame panorama)
Image 116Abandoned van by Gerritsen Creek
Image 117Hell Gate Bridge, with a scow being towed along the Hell Gate section of the East River
Image 118The Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for lots of elaborate Christmas lights, earning the nickname "Dyker Lights"
Image 119Waldemarsviken in Stockholm
Image 120Mantled howler monkey with baby in Costa Rica
Image 121Bigfin reef squid at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 122Northern elephant seals in Ano Nuevo, California
Image 123Pond sliders in Prospect Park