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