Very cool, Diane. It gives us a view we don’t usually get a chance at without plucking one and I hate to do that to a poor innocent mushroom that I’m not going to eat. The detail is superb.
A very nice view of the side of mushrooms we rarely see in situ. Focus and BG look good, but I would be tempted to darken the BG slightly to provide some separation for the subject from the BG. Well done…Jim
Thanks, @Dennis_Plank and @Jim_Zablotny! And good idea, Jim – I did lower the saturation of the leaves a little. Darkening was easy – how does it look? I like it, but the adjustment is infinitely malleable.
Yay! Shroomie goodness. I don’t see many curved over like this so great you saw it and ran back for the rig. The darker bg definitely works better to highlight the fantastic shapes and textures in the gills and stipe. Fun study in monochrome (all tans and beige).
Diane: I had a lot of fun switching back and forth between the two versions. Visual perception is something that I find fascinating. On both images it looks like the exposure on the mushroom is exactly the same but the different BGs change how I see the subject. With the greater contrast there is the illusion of greater detail. The lighter BG has a softer feel. Regardless, this is a great find and a marvelous capture. Mot excellent. >=))>
Thanks, @Bill_Fach! Interesting illusion! Yes, the only difference was an added adjustment layer that affected the BG, using the same selection around the mushroom that I used to slightly reduce saturation on the leaves.
Diane, such a fun image. A great image of a rare mushroom in a rare position as you said.
I cycled through these three and prefer the middle one the best. The original was a touch too bright in the background, the last one feels too dark and there seems to be a sharp edge around the mushroom, probably from the masking. The middle one feel just right to me.
This is a fun image, Diane. I am coming in a bit late but would like to say that I like the middle one best. Really nice details in the underside of the mushroom, which we don’t always get to enjoy. Amazing that it is growing rock! Nature is amazing.
Thanks, @David_Bostock and @Shirley_Freeman – looks like the middle one wins! What intrigued me was how well the gills matched the color and tonalities of the moldy midwinter leaves. David, now I see some masking errors in a few places, but some of the halo is just a hint of the smooth top at the edge of the gills and some is a result of stacking. I’ll be fixing it for sure – thanks for catching it!
Diane … What a great find. Beautiful photo !!! Mushrooms have so much Tone and Textures. You really captured everything. Did you make a black and white version. Nice work lady.!!!
Thanks, @Gill_Vanderlip! I hadn’t, as I had been intrigued by the sameness of the color between the mushroom and the leaves. But it sounded like a great suggestion so I just sat down with the morning coffee and played – dark roast today, which feels just right for a B/W mushroom! (And fresh ground, of course!)
I just added a B/W adj layer over the middle image and the only sliders that gave any response were reds and yellows. They were able to give a lot of separation – reds darker and yellows lighter, almost all the way. I had to do a quick mask of the stem as it got too bright, and darken it with a curves. I had been on the verge of doing that with the color version, but with the B/W it screamed at me. Then the added abstraction gave me all the permission I needed (usually not much) to soften the edges of some of the leaves and especially the edge at the base of the stipe.
So now I have a more artistic version – added above. Thanks for the nudge, Gill! What do you think?
WOW. Yes it is screaming. As you know I’m a huge fan of black and white photography. This photo shows me soul and simplicity and a real interesting beauty. In saying that both photos work. Tone is so important. You have it all.
Very very cool.
