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