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