Fungi Photo's

[gregj1763]

Hi all,
Here is my first effort of photographing fungi during a recent Adult Ed photo course at a place called Hollybank near Launceston Tasmania.
The first shot is with a Canon ixus 80 is and I took quite a few with it as it was impossible to get my DSLR low enough in many situations.
The rest was with my Sony A100 using a Tamron 90mm macro, tripod and a Metz ring flash.














The second and third shots are of fungi that was growing on a fallen tree and were between 5 - 10 mm in height.
Would appreciate any comments on how I could have improved these shots.
Thanks, Greg

[FrankMi]

Hi Greg, very interesting variety. I particularly like the color coming through the cap on the first one. Just goes to prove that there's "Fungus Amoungus".

[jambin]

Aaah Autumn is on the way - lovely fungus. Beautiful light in #1

[Seriche]

Hi Greg,

I think you've done extremely well for your first go at photographing fungi. I agree with Frank about that first one - it's a lovely effect.

For those low shots you might want to try a right-angled viewfinder like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-2882A0...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

I haven't tried one yet, but it's on my wish list. Without one you can get really strange looks from passers-by as you lie face down in the grass

Oh, and since fungi don't move about much you might want to experiment with natural light and longer exposures.

What kind of fungi season do you have in Tasmania? Ours lasts for about four or five months. Like Jim, I can't wait for ours to begin. I love to eat many kinds as well as photographing them. I look forward to seeing more of the species you get over there

Seri

[Wirefox]

Greg, there seems to be something really odd with the depth of field, it seems to be running diagonally in the second and third images. In the second image for instance it runs from lower left corner to centre right frame. This has the effect of rendering some detail out of focus in odd places. The DoF is very shallow. The only time I have seen the effect as pronounced as this is when shooting reversed lens and the camera is not quite square to the subject. Interesting effect but I think the DoF needs to be a touch deeper and some thought given to what you want in focus. You could at least double the DoF and still blur the background. I know you are using a ring flash which is quite a surgical instrument and it may be worth getting the flash off the camera to get some really stunning lighting on the subject.

[gregj1763]

Thanks for your comments Steve.
Still have my learners plates on as far as photography goes and it take someone with more experience to point these things to me.
I can see what you mean with the Dof and i will see if I can improve next time.
Again thanks for your input. Greg

[gregj1763]

Thanks Frank,
The colours of some of them on the day were amazing. Will try to get back out there and get some more.
Greg

[gregj1763]

Hi Seri,
The view finder looks interesting, will look into it.
Will try the longer exposures next time. To be honest I didn't really think of it at the time as I was too keen on using my new ring flash and see what it would do.
Our fungi season would be probably be a bit shorter than yours, though there are places nearby where I have seen them all year apart from summer.
Will try to get back there this weekend if I am not being the kids taxi

[gregj1763]

Hi Jim,
Winter here now. Cold and wet when it wants to be but some glorious days as well.
Today, not a cloud in the sky. If it wasn't for work I'd be out with the camera.
Greg

[Seriche]

Hi Seri,
The view finder looks interesting, will look into it.
Will try the longer exposures next time. To be honest I didn't really think of it at the time as I was too keen on using my new ring flash and see what it would do.
Our fungi season would be probably be a bit shorter than yours, though there are places nearby where I have seen them all year apart from summer.
Will try to get back there this weekend if I am not being the kids taxi

I'll look forward to the results . If you get to try out the right-angled viewfinder do tell me what you think. The only thing that concerns me is whether I can see clearly enough to focus on the really small things.

What Steve said about the ring flash is very good advice. It can give a flattening effect used full on, and taken off to the side would give much more depth to the image. There's always the MT-24 if you're feeling flash, but that still has to be diffused to get the best effect, apart from the price! The best close-up and macro images I've seen are done using flashes supported on brackets off to the side, and muted using home-made diffusers. If you're interested, I can give you some links for instructions, but it all depends on how serious you want to get with the small stuff

Good luck on getting some time alone with your camera this weekend. Sounds like you're really getting the bug

Seri

[ktuli]

Greg,

This thread is canon focused, but there is some good info about flash equipment and techniques here: Flash for Macro - What to buy?

- Bill