Wikimore

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