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