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