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