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