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