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