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