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