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