Hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail in the Barker Pass Area, I noticed a big blaze of yellow and orange about 50 feet off the trail, down a slope covered with mature conifers. I walked down to find an enormous fungus covering the side of a dead tree. I would estimate it was 4 feet by 3 feet, with tendrils wrapping around the back of the stump. Have never seen one this big since.
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I confess I think I did everything right here, which wasn’t hard, as the natural bright shade was excellent and the subject right in front of me. I do have some versions shot wider, to better show size/context and place – they tell the story better, but this treatment takes you right into the psychedelic folds of an other-worldly organism.
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The year was 2011 and I was using a 10MP Olympus E-510 micro 4/3 camera. ISO 250. Available today on KEH for $97. One might say this is a testament to the quality of that camera and the Olympus lens, even considering today’s megapixel-mad camera scene.
Some of these old images can still stand up in today’s brave new world, and this one does! It sounds like an amazing specimen. You have a very nice capture here and there is probably no composition that would do justice to the size. My only nit is to wonder about darkening the bottom third.
Thanks Diane. Over the years I’ve tried to share my ultimate fungus photo with others, but for some reason, they don’t appreciate it like I do! A fungus that size, after all, can be downright unsettling. I think if I found it again I’d shoot it wider to show some context while still burying the viewer’s nose in those orange and yellow fins.
James: What a great subject and a fine comp and capture. On the large version the supporting cast of the pine needles really enhances the effect. My only criticism has to do with the yellows being a bit blown. Toning them down just a touch makes an already fine image even better IMO. Just goes to show it’s not so much the camera that makes an image good but rather the skill and vision of the photographer. >=))>
