Crawling around on the dark, damp forest floor

[jambin]

#1

#2

#3

4#

[jprzybyla]

Nice fungi, Jim. Well done.

[jambin]

Thanks Joseph.

[Donald]

Jim

I think #3 and #4 are a bit busy.

But these are very nice images, particularly #1.

#1

#2

[waha]

Hey Jambin,

I'm impressed and slightly envious: I've been hunting mushrooms and fungi for some time now (but not with the same success as you).

There's a good reason why I pursue these plants, and it's a selfish one: Mushrooms move at approximately the same speed as I, thus giving me ample time to work on the composition, focus etc. At my age, I am unlikely to catch a stag in mid-leap or a heron in flight, but mushrooms give me at least a fair chance. (Would you believeI am so slow that a brilliantly colored sunstar got away on me once? It's sad but true.)
So I'm looking forward to the damp and moody mushroom season that is just beginning. In the meantime, congratulations to you for your spectacular shots!

[ucci]

Great shots.I like them all. Thanks for sharing. Three might be too busy but what wonderful red fungi! I happily put up with the busyness just to see them. But #1 is my vote. Well set up with an almost a 3D projection.
old ucci

[ucci]

Hey Jambin,



There's a good reason why I pursue these plants, and it's a selfish one: Mushrooms move at approximately the same speed as I, !

Know exactly what you are saying Wayne. Old age can be a bit of a bugger. Young plants have been known to grow to maturity and die of old age whilst I fiddle and fuss with camera bits and pieces and try to recall which goes with what, all the required formula for settings and how far it is to the nearest loo; the last being the most important!
K

[Bobobird]

All very nice shots. I too try to shoot them when possible.

The reds could be an awesome shots if you help the grounds keeper a bit.

[jambin]

Busy indeed Donald but these were the clearest shots I could get. There's a bit of a dilemna here, do I clear away all the undergrowth so that I can get a nice clean composition (studio style) or do I leave it as it is and illustrate the true woodland environment?

[jambin]

You and I have, in part, similar reasons for hunting mushrooms - they don't move so fast. I can tell you though that it does take its toll on the old joints - on hands and knees in soft soaking wet moss with a crick in your neck trying to get down to ground level can be a bit wearing. Surprised you can't fing fungi in Bc. I'd imagined that the environment would have been similar to Scandinavia.

[jambin]

Thanks for viewing. As regards "Ground keeper" see my reply to Donald

[jambin]

My experience exactly Ken. Not onlty trying to figure out what bits fit on to which but discovering that you lost a bit somewhere. A couple of weeks ago I had to wonder around for about an hour trying to find a cable releas I'd dropped. Got it though.

[Peter Ryan]

Very nice series Jim. It is often hard to reproduce reds and I think you have done a fine job here. #1 is my favourite composition for similar reasons to Donald. #2 is nice but seems a bit over-sharpened on my screen. It migh just be the stark B&W contrast of the mushrooms but well done.

[GeorgeM]

Busy indeed Donald but these were the clearest shots I could get. There's a bit of a dilemna here, do I clear away all the undergrowth so that I can get a nice clean composition (studio style) or do I leave it as it is and illustrate the true woodland environment?

That's been on my mind, as well. How much should one alter the setting to afford a clearer view? I've settled on moving leaves and twigs, etc, and bending grasses out of the way in cases where I can't get a clear view.
Very nice series!!

[FrankMi]

Busy indeed Donald but these were the clearest shots I could get. There's a bit of a dilemna here, do I clear away all the undergrowth so that I can get a nice clean composition (studio style) or do I leave it as it is and illustrate the true woodland environment?

Hi Jim, if your intention is to get a pleasing image, then you likely don't want an out of focus <whatever> blocking the view or competing with the subject.

I would have moved some of the grasses in #3 and shot more to the right (or cropped) to avoid the out of focus leaves on the left. I would also be tempted to move the bright leaf in the background or plan to tone it down in PP. That would give you #1, 2, & 3 with clearly defined subjects with #3 being defined by its bright red color.

Owing to the busy (high contrast and similar tones) background of #4, getting a clearer isolation of the subject would not be as easy. In that case I would hope to find another example of the same subject that was more clearly defined. If another copy of the subject or a clearer shooting position were not available, you might be able to get more separation using tone, brightness and focus in post processing.

To be pleasing, it doesn't need to a studio shot but it doesn't need to be messy either.

[MrB]

I like these very much, Jim. I am very interested to know - what lighting did you use for these shots?

Philip

[waha]

You and I have, in part, similar reasons for hunting mushrooms - they don't move so fast. I can tell you though that it does take its toll on the old joints - on hands and knees in soft soaking wet moss with a crick in your neck trying to get down to ground level can be a bit wearing. Surprised you can't fing fungi in Bc. I'd imagined that the environment would have been similar to Scandinavia.

Hey Jim,

Just to clear up a wrong impression I might have given: I did not mean to imply that we lack fungi ad mushrooms in BC, only that I haven't had much luck so far finding a photogenic cluster, but the season is young.

Especially on the west coast of BC, and of Vancouver Island, we have large areas of temperate rain forest, with beardlike mosses dangling from cedars and firs, and, yes, mushrooms embedded in pads of various ground mosses.

waha

[waha]

That's been on my mind, as well. How much should one alter the setting to afford a clearer view? I've settled on moving leaves and twigs, etc, and bending grasses out of the way in cases where I can't get a clear view.
Very nice series!!

The ethics of improving on nature, in order to achieve a more pleasing image, is something we could discuss for a long time, and in the end we would probably agree that our intervention has limits and must respect the natural order.

The well-known Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson--a hero of mine--, once gave a telling example of how not to do it: He showed us as beautiful shot of a few mushrooms against the backdrop of a waterfall, then confessed that he had staged the image by moving the mushrooms with their pad of moss so that the waterfall would make a stunning backdrop. The only problem: The mushrooms would never have grown within the spray radius of the waterfall. (Freeman Patterson would not normally have messed with the image. He had done so only for demonstration purposes.)

I don't believe Patterson meant to imply that we cannot bend a blade of grass out of the way or remove a leaf that is obscuring the main subject. His message, I think, was simply that we must avoid making changes that run counter to nature's order.

waha