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
@Antisomniac

[gallery] (FP-VI-QI)

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