The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was taken at the Grey Lodge California Wildlife Refuge in Northern California. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to get out of your vehicle on the wildlife drive to examine mushrooms closely. I noticed this group of Coprinus comatus mushrooms while taking photos of waterfowl. I used my long lens to get close to them.
Specific Feedback
It was a nice bright day so I toned them down a bit in post processing.
Technical Details
Canon 7D MII, f32, 1/60 sec, iso 100, 420 mm (100-400/1.4 TC)
Ed: Really neat grouping. From what you describe I suspect you were some distance away from them and I think the f32 gave you too much DOF and brought the BG details into greater prominence. From your capture specs it looks like you had plenty of light so using the low ISO was good. Shot at f11 or so I would expect the mushrooms to still be sharp and the BG significantly softer. Another thing to consider in the field is to use a polarizer to take some of the sheen off the caps. Polarizers are underutilized in flora photography IMO but they do a nice job of stifling reflected glare off shiny leaves and such and saturating the colors a bit more. >=))>
Bill, thank you. Great thought on the polarizer, and I should have known better with the f32 to start with. I took several shots of this group. I probably have one or two at a larger aperture.
Ed, that is too bad that you were unable to get out of the car for this subject, but I appreciate that you still tried to get a shot of these neat mushrooms. @Bill_Fach has provided good advice on the f-stop selection as well as a polarizer to cut back the light glare coming off of the shiny mushrooms. I can’t think of anything to add to it. It is hard to think of everything in the moment, especially when we are setup for wildlife, or something else.
