Come mushroom season you can find me toiling on the forest floor for microscapes. Luckily I don’t have to go far sometimes. I took this one in my front yard on an old stump currently being used as a nursery by green metallic sweat bees. You can see sawdust at the bottom that is made by them digging holes in which to lay eggs. Unfortunately I disturbed them and had to shoot a little quicker than usual. Not that they would sting me (I think this is a species without singers), but that I was disrupting their routine. Anyway, this is entirely natural light and it was very subtle and I tried to keep it that way in processing.
Oh and it’s a hydrocybe cantharellus I believe. It could also be an orange mycena, but since it was alone and not in a huge bunch I think that’s not likely. The cap is also too matte, but who knows; mushroom ID is tricky.
Specific Feedback Requested
In composition and processing I tried to feature the little shroom, but not lose its environment too much. By now I’ve looked at it so much I’ve lost all perspective. Thoughts?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Lumix G9
Leica 45mm f/2.8 macro
ƒ/7.1 | 45.0 mm | 1/13 | ISO 320
Tripod
Entirely processed in Lr with an eye to color balance, sharpness and texture.
Thanks much - actually the Wisconsin river valley is very green and we get a lot of rainfall annually. My yard is a bit of a mushroom paradise considering it was harvested for timber prior to the lots being sold for development.
I’m glad you saw that. Talk about race against the sun!!
Kristen, what a great find in your own backyard. It does look like you must have been deep into the forest. I’m not familiar with this mushroom, but I agree with others that it looks like a lamp. Is the spots on it dust bunnies from your sensor, or is that some flaw in the mushroom? If it was mine, I might would clone them out and maybe even try to crop a tad off the top and off the right, just to help off center the subject. I do love this image. A very nice find.
Kristen, this is one of my favorite scenes and you have done a wonderful job highlighting the mushroom. I like the scene as you portray it and how your mushroom allows that one bright spot to shine through for us. Great photo.
Wayne
Thanks Shirley - the spots are on the mushroom itself.
Thanks, Wayne. It’s one of my favorites. The light was so fleeting that it was pure timing that I even saw it to begin with. The yard is a good one for mushrooms.
Beautiful capture…love this so much! Only distraction to my eye is probably not easily managed and that is the prominent brown ?stick mimicking the flow and direction of the mushroom. Alternatively, it could be dodged to take away the contrast from the lighter background. Regardless, love it! Tremendous capture!
Yeah, I was wondering when someone would bring up the stick. I’ve tried to deal with it in post, but it’s a stubborn one. I should have removed it at the time, but between the light race and the bees, I just didn’t ‘see’ it if you know what i mean. I’ll have a crack at some dodging and see what that does.
In my limited experience with macro work, I’ve found those are often stems of living plants and have tugged gently on them, only to find they’re attached to the living dormant plant. And I won’t cut them for my purposes…so like you, would do my best in Ps.
Kris, this is a fine look at this little mushroom. It’s glow is really nice. I also like the visual balance between the shroom and the green background, upper left. The surroundings add well to the “story”. I think a vertical version of this scene would work well.
