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. I have another, User:Ryan (Wiki Ed), which I used in my capacity as an employee of Wiki Education. It is inactive as of July 2020. 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 likewise 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 1Lesser yellowlegs at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 2Three ring-billed gulls in Red Hook
Image 3Red-tailed hawk rescue
Image 4Ring-billed gull in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 5Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 6Bay-breasted warbler in Central Park
Image 7Northern rough-winged swallows in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 8Great blue heron in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 9Northern shoveler pair "shoveling" together in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 10House sparrows in Central Park
Image 11House finch with a sunflower seed at a feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 12Mute swan cygnet pontoon on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 13Rehabilitated eastern screech owl
Image 14Juvenile American robin
Image 15Black-crowned night heron juvenile in an upright threat/alert position
Image 16Semipalmated sandpiper at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 17Immature cooper's hawk in Prospect Park
Image 18Common grackle showing off its iridescence in Central Park
Image 19Ospreys in a nest on Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Image 20Northern mockingbird on a fence in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Image 21Brown thrasher (snow-nosed variety) in Central Park
Image 22Tree swallow on a nest box in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 23Green heron in Prospect Park
Image 24Northern flicker looking out from its nest in the Central Park North Woods
Image 25Yellow-breasted sapsucker in Central Park
Image 26American oystercatcher family portrait on Fort Tilden beach
Image 27Blackpoll warbler in a flowering dogwood tree in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 28Mute swan and cygnets on a duckweed-covered pond
Image 29Great egret stabbing the water in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 30Marsh wren singing at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Image 31Female brown-headed cowbird chattering in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 32Veery in the Central Park Ramble
Image 33American tree sparrow in Central Park
Image 34Field sparrow in Central Park
Image 35A rescued American kestrel that couldn't be released so is now serving as an "ambassador" bird
Image 36European starling in Central Park
Image 37Golden-crowned kinglet
Image 38White-throated sparrow in Prospect Park
Image 39Blue jay fledgling calling for its parent in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 40Close-up of a white-throated sparrow in Central Park
Image 41Gray catbird in Central Park
Image 42White-breasted nuthatch on a suet feeder in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 43Red-necked phalarope at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Image 44Northern cardinal female in Central Park
Image 45Western tanager which popped up in NYC, far from its usual range
Image 46A rescued Eurasian eagle-owl
Image 47Canada goose gosling in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 48Anna's hummingbird in Pacifica, California
Image 49Scarlet tanager eating a berry in Green-Wood Cemetery
Image 50Fish crow cawing in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Image 51Blue jay in Prospect Park
Image 52House wren doing its best eel impression guarding its nestbox.
 
Featured Pictures - everything else
Image 1Crocuses in early spring.
Image 2Manhattan at night, looking north from Rockefeller Center
Image 3Waldemarsviken in Stockholm
Image 4Open Ocean exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 5Fulton Center skylight
Image 6Ship 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 7Salix catkins
Image 8Condenser at the defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station
Image 9Maroon Bells. Easily one of the most awe-inspiring natural scenes I've experienced.
Image 10Sunset sky over Governors Island, NYC (panorama)
Image 11Lincoln Center during Pride at dusk
Image 12A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 13Composite of a clementine with/without peel
Image 14Two juvenile Nubian ibex
Image 15Abandoned building in Floyd Bennett Field
Image 16A mural of patients in the long-defunct Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Image 17Quarry in Makhtesh Ramon
Image 18Bigfin reef squid at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Image 19Frizzle sizzle
Image 20Monarch butterfly
Image 21Burberry rainbow cape at the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibition
Image 22Coney Island Mermaid Parade
Image 23Glass 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 24One World Trade Center through the Oculus
Image 25Daubeny's water lily
Image 26Hudson Yards in New York, taken from the top of Hudson Commons (9-frame panorama)
Image 27Male eastern amberwing dragonfly in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Image 28Panorama of the once-active waterfront of Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Image 29The Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for lots of elaborate Christmas lights, earning the nickname "Dyker Lights"
Image 30An island (with ospreys) in Trustom Pond in the fog
Image 31Alexander 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 32Black Lives Matter mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Image 33Coleus
Image 34Cattlianthe Gold Digger ‘Orglade's Mandarin’ orchid
Image 35Sukkah at Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Image 36Lower Manhattan panorama
Image 37Magnolia x veitchii bud
Image 38Redbeckia occidentalis
Image 39Eldridge Street Synagogue
Image 40Juvenile Nubian ibex on a wall at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 41Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (18-frame panorama)
Image 42Abandoned car in Marine Park, Brooklyn
Image 43Monarch butterfly
Image 44Coney Island Mermaid Parade (no, this is not a picture of Rhododendrites)
Image 45Pier 66 and Hudson Yards
Image 46City Hall Station in Manhattan, abandoned since 1945 because it looked cool but didn't
Image 47Crook 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 48Eastern gray squirrel in Central Park
Image 49Makhtesh Ramon
Image 50Hell Gate Bridge
Image 51Stata Center at MIT
Image 52American lady butterfly on a purple coneflower
Image 53Defunct Chestnut Hill Pumping Station in Boston
Image 54Pond sliders (red and yellow) and a river cooter fighting for basking space
Image 55Maroon Bells
Image 56Oculus
Image 57TWA Hotel
Image 58Rooftop farm on the Lower East Side
Image 59Bee balm seedhead
Image 60Male tiger swallowtail butterfly in Central Park (missing its tails)
Image 61Comme des Garcons at the Met
Image 62Sarracenia leucophylla
Image 63Group photo of four pears
Image 64California 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 65A [pretty dodgy] bridge along a cliff path at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon
Image 66Boston Public Garden