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