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