Using animals to indicate edibility in mushrooms is a bad idea. This little beauty is part of a select family of fungi called the Destroying Angels or Death Angels, but obviously something finds it tasty. Actually most Amanita varieties are staples in the diets of many animals like squirrels whose digestive systems render the poison inert. If injected with the poison, squirrels die from it. Humans, however, just need a small taste to die from liver failure in short order.
This is probably either Amanita bisporigera or virosa, both fruit in late summer and in mixed forests, usually under oaks which is exactly where I found this one. It’s in the yard, they’re all over and very common and beautiful through their fruiting cycle. Repositioned the tripod several times because there is a bright root near and behind that was annoyingly distracting.
Specific Feedback Requested
Open to ideas for improvement. I didn’t get the whole stipe. Deal breaker?
Technical Details
Tripod for camera, Gorilla Pod for LED panel which was off to the right
Focus bracketing using 0/+ method and probably 4-step increments - 12 images
Lr for white balance adjustment, greens taken down in luminosity and saturation, a bit of a crop and the usual S-curve. Some texture, clarity and sharpening.
Zerene for a DMap base with PMax details added in retouching. Ran a couple DMaps before I got the right look to start with - basically a big Contrast Threshold number.
Photoshop to tone down some distractions using Add Color which I’m coming to realize is a powerful tool when Content Aware Fill or other Clone Stamp actions aren’t working well. I haven’t tried using it with a luminosity mask, but I bet that would help target things even more. Used a couple luminosity masks with dodge and burn layers to contour the light somewhat. Also ran a Clarity action and painted it just in that leading edge of the mushroom.
A classic toadstool – looks like something is living in it! Perfect light and focus stack, very cool environment. I love the tiny bug toward the LR! You might consider burning down the green Y exiting the top of the frame.
Thanks @Diane_Miller - yeah the little photobombing bugs are cool. There are two of them. I did bring down a lot of that bright moss back there, but maybe it needs more work.
This is a beautiful and detailed image and I like it quite a lot. Great job with the LED light too! If you hadn’t said anything I wouldn’t have even guessed that you added light but it really does help add some form and definition to the mushroom.
Thanks @Tom_Nevesely - one of my main uses for the LED is to add sidelight for contour and texture. Not a lot of macro shooters use a constant light source, but for bracketing it works very well and for this kind of soft, ambient light.
Really nice detail and I like the green colors of the moss as it really adds a sense of place. The photobombing bug is a fun addition as well. I would perhaps lighten the darks in the background just a tad (around the green colored areas) so that they don’t draw as much attention.
Yes, Kristen, the name of this one reminds me why I don’t pick mushrooms or toadstools, yellow, white, or any other colour Really nice photo though, and your use of an LED panel has me thinking. It certainly seems to add good definition when the overall lighting is quite diffuse. I do like this one, but am puzzled by the hole in the side. Is it a natural thing or did you shoot it first?
Thanks @DvirBarkay & @Phil_G - the bug is fun although I think it’s in there twice. Retouching with Zerene can allow that if you want. I have a few examples I can put up in the stacking thread that shows a bug moving all over in the unretouched stack and in one place with the retouched stack.
I’ve put a 2nd shot up with the moss darkened and I think it helps, so thanks for that peeps.
As far as mushroom collecting goes - absolutely don’t do it without a lot of study. Amanitas in general should be avoided, but they are easy to recognize as a group so there is that. Very few mushrooms will actually kill you, but they do exist so caution is advised with tasting. Handling poison mushrooms won’t do you any harm, though. I think the idea of the deadly ones paints the whole kingdom with suspicion and it’s really misplaced. Most are edible or at least inert and don’t taste very nice. Some are excellent eating and highly sought after. I’m going to study up on Hen of the Woods to see if I can find it anywhere. So delicious, but very well camouflaged by the color and shape and the fact that they grow at the base of trees in the undergrowth. Worth it though.
The hole is natural, I didn’t wing it first! Looks like something had a few bites and maybe it started with a tear in the skin on the cap. Lots of other critters can eat Amanitas without issue.
The LED panel is a really nice tool and whenever I’m out mushrooming I bring it. Stuck on my little Gorilla Pod I can put it wherever I need it.
Really nice photo though, and your use of an LED panel has me thinking. It certainly seems to add good definition when the overall lighting is quite diffuse. I do like this one, but am puzzled by the hole in the side. Is it a natural thing or did you shoot it first?
Looks like something had a few bites and maybe it started with a tear in the skin on the cap. Lots of other critters can eat Amanitas without issue.