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