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 1Pine warbler in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 2Gray catbird in Prospect Park
Image 3A rescued Eurasian eagle-owl
Image 4Ring-billed gull in flight over Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 5Dark-eyed junco in Brooklyn
Image 6Palm warbler in a meadow in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 7Blue jay in Prospect Park
Image 8Semipalmated sandpiper vocalizing in Queens, NYC
Image 9House sparrows in Central Park
Image 10Northern waterthrush in Central Park
Image 11Female hooded merganser resting on the Central Park Reservoir
Image 12Great blue heron in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 13Mute swan cygnet pontoon on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 14Baltimore oriole (immature/female) in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 15Great black-backed gull in Quogue, NY
Image 16American avocet
Image 17Male northern flicker in Manhattan, NYC
Image 18Western kingbird at Bush Terminal Park
Image 19Downy woodpecker foraging in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 20Western kingbird at Bush Terminal Piers Park
Image 21Red-tailed hawk yearbook photo, class of 2022, Central Park
Image 22Semipalmated sandpiper at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 23Black-crowned night heron in Prospect Park
Image 24Semipalmated plover in Queens, NYC
Image 25American goldfinch in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 26Close-up of a white-throated sparrow in Central Park
Image 27Great blue heron lurching its head back to swallow a brown watersnake in Green Cay Wetlands
Image 28Broad-billed motmot at the Arenal Observatory
Image 29Palm warbler in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 30Gray catbird in Central Park
Image 31A rescued American kestrel that couldn't be released so is now serving as an "ambassador" bird
Image 32Blue-gray tanager in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 33American woodcock in Bryant Park
Image 34Canada goose gosling in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 35Lincoln's sparrow in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 36Hermit thrush at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Image 37Northern cardinal female in Central Park
Image 38Fish crow cawing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 39Snowy egret in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 40Anna's hummingbird in Pacifica, California
Image 41Downy woodpecker with a leaf on its nose in Prospect Park
Image 42Juvenile American robin
Image 43Male black-throated green warbler in Prospect Park
Image 44Dark-eyed junco at Bush Terminal Park
Image 45Mandarin duck drake in eclipse plumage in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 46Juvenile eastern kingbird
Image 47Bay-breasted warbler in Central Park
Image 48Song sparrow on Lookout Hill in Prospect Park
Image 49Least sandpiper in breeding plumage in Queens, NYC
Image 50Rufous motmot, Costa Rica
Image 51Male house sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 52Red-tailed hawk rescue
Image 53Three ring-billed gulls in Red Hook
Image 54Female brown-headed cowbird chattering in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 55American tree sparrow in Central Park
Image 56Male northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 57Wood duck drake vocalizing in Central Park
Image 58Yellow warbler in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 59Male northern shoveler in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 60Chipping sparrow on a grave in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 61Common grackle in Prospect Park
Image 62White-breasted nuthatch on a suet feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 63Tropical kingbird in the rain by Lake Arenal
Image 64European starling in Central Park
Image 65Snowy egret
Image 66Rehabilitated eastern screech owl
Image 67Black-and-white warbler in Prospect Park
Image 68Veery in the Central Park Ramble
Image 69White-breasted nuthatch doing its nuthatchy pose in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 70Ring-billed gull in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 71Northern rough-winged swallows in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 72Western gull sitting on a boat in San Francisco Bay
Image 73Ring-billed gull preening/bathing in Marine Park
Image 74Warbling vireo singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 75Northern flicker looking out from its nest in the Central Park North Woods
Image 76Golden-crowned kinglet
Image 77Glossy ibis in Queens, NYC
Image 78Great kiskadee in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Image 79Male brown-headed cowbird in Prospect Park
Image 80Ring-billed gull coming in for an unwelcome landing
Image 81Juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker in Prospect Park
Image 82Blue jay fledgling calling for its parent in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 83Great blue heron on frozen pond in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 84Winter wren in Prospect Park
Image 85Eastern wood pewee in Prospect Park
Image 86Pine siskin in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 87Mute swan and cygnets on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 88Ospreys in a nest on Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Image 89Female wood duck
Image 90Scarlet tanager eating a berry in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 91Piping plover in Queens
Image 92Northern mockingbird on a fence in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Image 93Female American redstart in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 94Lesser yellowlegs wading at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 95Mourning dove perched in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Image 96Tufted titmouse with a seed in Prospect Park
Image 97Brown thrasher (snow-nosed variety) in Central Park
Image 98Western tanager which popped up in NYC, far from its usual range
Image 99Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 100American oystercatcher family portrait on Fort Tilden beach
Image 101Black-capped chickadee eating seeds in Central Park
Image 102Cape May warbler in Prospect Park
Image 103Lesser yellowlegs at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 104Huge flock of gulls just after they were spooked by something during a horseshoe crab feeding frenzy in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 105Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron at Plumb Beach
Image 106First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
Image 107European starlings on a birdhouse on Staten Island
Image 108First-winter American herring gull, Brooklyn
Image 109Palm warbler perched in Prospect Park
Image 110Piping plover chick in Queens
Image 111American robin making a dog whistle-like alarm call in Prospect Park
Image 112Juvenile Forster's tern calling for its parent in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 113Apricot Mandarin duckling in Royal Lazienki Park
Image 114Lesser yellowlegs in Queens, NYC
Image 115Tufted titmouse floofed up in Central Park
Image 116Common grackle showing off its iridescence in Central Park
Image 117Green heron in Prospect Park
Image 118Cedar waxwing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 119Field sparrow in Central Park
Image 120Red-tailed hawk, fearsome predator
Image 121Great egret stabbing the water in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 122Immature herring gull manipulating a clam in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 123Gray catbird with a chokeberry in Prospect Park
Image 124Ovenbird in Prospect Park
Image 125Northern shoveler pair "shoveling" together in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 126Brown creeper about to be released at a bird banding station in the United States
Image 127Eastern wood pewee in Central Park
Image 128Yellow-bellied sapsucker in Central Park
Image 129House wren doing its best eel impression guarding its nestbox.
Image 130White-throated sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 131Red-necked phalarope at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 132Tree swallow on a nest box in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 133Eastern kingbird
Image 134Immature mute swan in Prospect Park
Image 135White ibis in Ocean City, New Jersey (I kind of prefer the uncropped version)
Image 136Blackpoll warbler in a flowering dogwood tree in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 137American avocet fishing in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 138Pine warbler perched in Prospect Park
Image 139Immature cooper's hawk in Prospect Park
Image 140Black-capped chickadee at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 141Ruby-crowned kinglet in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 142House sparrow mother with chicks
Image 143Short-billed dowitcher in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 144Redhead in Central Park
Image 145Ring-billed gull in a rainbow over Niagara Falls
Image 146Purple martin in flight in Cape May, New Jersey
Image 147Killdeer at the South Cape May Meadows
Image 148Male yellow-rumped warbler singing in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 149Golden-crowned kinglet at a banding station
Image 150Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 151Female northern cardinal in Central Park
Image 152House finch with a sunflower seed at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 153Northern mockingbird in a "tail up" display in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 154Female Blackburnian warbler in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 155Tufted titmouse perched in Central Park
Image 156American robin
Image 157Gray catbird watching a hawk fly overhead in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 158American coot in Prospect Park
Image 159Cedar waxwing in pokeweed in Prospect Park
 
Featured Pictures - everything else
Image 1Black Lives Matter mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Image 2Blue dasher with Arrenurus water mites in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 3Juvenile Nubian ibex on a wall at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 4Arenal volcano
Image 5Raccoon in Central Park
Image 6Male elephant seal resting between fights in Ano Nuevo
Image 7Redbeckia occidentalis
Image 8Nine-banded armadillo in Costa Rica
Image 9Eastern gray squirrel in Central Park
Image 10Bow Bridge in Central Park (panorama)
Image 11Northern elephant seals in Ano Nuevo, California
Image 12Maroon Bells. Easily one of the most awe-inspiring natural scenes I've experienced.
Image 13Abandoned car in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 14Condenser at the defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station
Image 15Crook 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 16A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 17Pipevine swallowtail
Image 18Optical illusion on the floor of the Florence Cathedral
Image 19Red-legged grasshopper feeding on a flower in Tennessee
Image 20Algal mat in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 21Quogue Village Wetlands Preserve
Image 22Ash tree behind a columbarium in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Image 23Waldemarsviken in Stockholm
Image 24Panorama of the once-active waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Image 25Male familiar bluet
Image 26Quarry in Makhtesh Ramon
Image 27Chinese mantis ootheca in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 28Duomo Firenze terrace
Image 29Bigfin reef squid at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 30American lady butterfly on a purple coneflower
Image 31Fork-tailed bush katydid close-up in Walland, Tennessee
Image 32Hell Gate Bridge, with a scow being towed along the Hell Gate section of the East River
Image 33Sasheer Zamata at a Time's Up event during the Tribeca Film Festival
Image 34Baird's tapir mother with baby in Costa Rica
Image 35Monarch butterfly
Image 36Eldridge Street Synagogue
Image 37A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 38Orchard orbweaver
Image 39Lincoln Center during Pride at dusk
Image 40Clouded sulphur in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 41Male zabulon skipper in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 42Male eastern amberwing dragonfly in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 43Ship 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 44Bluebells in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 45Red squirrel in Lazienki Park
Image 46Pond sliders (red and yellow) and a river cooter fighting for basking space
Image 47Makhtesh Ramon
Image 48Triq San Patrizju facing the Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, Malta
Image 49Small milkweed bug in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 50Maroon Bells
Image 51Tiger bee fly
Image 52Monarch butterfly caterpillar on butterfly weed
Image 53Two juvenile Nubian ibex
Image 54Immature male blue dasher
Image 55Eastern amberwing
Image 56City Hall Station in Manhattan, abandoned since 1945 because it looked cool but didn't
Image 57Sunset sky over Governors Island, NYC (panorama)
Image 58Pond sliders in Prospect Park
Image 59Eastern cottontail portrait in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 60Abandoned building in Floyd Bennett Field
Image 61Familiar bluet in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 62California 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 63Comme des Garcons at the Met
Image 64Pier 66 and Hudson Yards
Image 65Memorial to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, taken just after Stonewall Inn was designated part of a National Monument
Image 66Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Image 67Twice-stabbed stink bug on meadow anemone
Image 68Fulton Center skylight
Image 69The Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for lots of elaborate Christmas lights, earning the nickname "Dyker Lights"
Image 70Male tiger swallowtail butterfly in Central Park (missing its tails)
Image 71Jun Takahashi dress for Undercover in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at the Met
Image 72Left by Gucci/Dapper Dan, 2018. Right by Louis Vuitton/Kim Jones, autumn/winter 2018-19, Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image 73Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Katowice
Image 74Hudson Yards in New York, taken from the top of Hudson Commons (9-frame panorama)
Image 75Meadow in the morning in the Great Smoky Mountains (with namesake smoke)
Image 76Abandoned van by Gerritsen Creek
Image 77White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel perched on a tree in Brooklyn
Image 78Toronto Reference Library interior from the top floor
Image 79Composite of a clementine with/without peel
Image 80Strawberry poison dart frog in Costa Rica
Image 81TWA Hotel
Image 82Male monarch butterfly on Tithonia
Image 83Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (18-frame panorama)
Image 84The Seaside Sanatorium in Connecticut
Image 85Boston Public Garden
Image 86Hell Gate Bridge walking path on Randall's Island
Image 87Coleus
Image 88Coney Island Mermaid Parade (no, this is not a picture of Rhododendrites)
Image 89Moss-covered oak trees in the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Image 90Group photo of four pears
Image 91Magnolia x veitchii bud
Image 92Florence seen from the Duomo terrace
Image 93An island (with ospreys) in Trustom Pond in the fog
Image 94White (leucistic) eastern gray squirrel with a peanut
Image 95Red admiral butterfly on purple coneflower in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Image 96Oculus
Image 97Burberry rainbow cape at the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition
Image 98Female Huron sachem in Brooklyn, NYC
Image 99One World Trade Center through the Oculus
Image 100Lower Manhattan panorama
Image 101Daubeny's water lily
Image 102Rice paper butterfly with light shining through in Butterfly World, Florida
Image 103Bee balm seedhead
Image 104Prospect Park Vale of Cashmere covered in lesser celandine, with a leucistic white squirrel in the distance
Image 105Hell Gate Bridge
Image 106Pearl crescent on purple coneflower
Image 107Female eastern amberwing
Image 108Eastern chipmunk with stuffed cheeks in Prospect Park
Image 109Camp: Notes on Fashion at the Met
Image 110California sea lion nap time at La Jolla Cove
Image 111Green iguana panorama in Palm Beach County
Image 112Rooftop farm on the Lower East Side
Image 113A [pretty dodgy] bridge along a cliff path at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 114Northern dog-day cicaca exuvia on a flower in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 115Saint Christopher Street in Valletta
Image 116Sukkah at Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Image 117Razor clamshell dress from spring/summer 2001, in the Sleeping Beauties exhibition at The Met
Image 118Frizzle sizzle
Image 119Open Ocean exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 120A cavapoo dog chasing a malipoo dog with a ball
Image 121Wonder Wheel sign on Coney Island
Image 122Monarch butterfly
Image 123Salix catkins
Image 124Sarracenia leucophylla
Image 125Defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station in Boston
Image 126Moschino fall 2014 ready-to-wear ensemble in the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit at the Met
Image 127Proboscis bats in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica
Image 128Stata Center at MIT
Image 129Castle Square, Warsaw
Image 130Northern flatid planthopper nymph
Image 131Crocuses in early spring.
Image 132Mantled howler monkey with baby in Costa Rica
Image 133Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade's Mandarin’ orchid
Image 134Large milkweed bug
Image 135Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond
Image 136Panorama of the Apennine Colossus in Tuscany
Image 137Staszic Palace, Warsaw
Image 138Common buckeye in Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis
Image 139Great golden digger wasp in Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 140Glass 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 141Eastern cicada killer perched on a black-eyed susan
Image 142Manhattan at night, looking north from Rockefeller Center
Image 143Window in a cafe in San Gimignano, Italy
Image 144Alexander 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?