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