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