Lepiota Americana
Found this hiding under a bush after a rainstorm.
Found this hiding under a bush after a rainstorm.
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Jul, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I wish I could say that I found this lovely macrofungus deep in a mysterious forest (for a lot of my other mushroom pictures this is true), but in fact this mushroom was under a tree next to a golf cart parking lot. Photography has taught me that interesting things often appear where you least expect them, and although people give me weird looks when I peek behind dumpsters or plant my face in the mud to see the underside of a sprout, the results are absolutely worth it. Sometimes.Time
I was walking back from a nearby lake in the afternoon when this Lepiota caught my eye. It was late August, and the days were still hot. When I returned the next day, the mushroom had shriveled into a burnt looking mess. Timing is everything.Lighting
Mushrooms like shady places, which means there may not much light. A useful trick is to increase the camera's sensitivity while decreasing the shutter speed. The downside is that you might get granier photos if you alter the iso and shutter too drastically. Sometimes it helps to carry a pen light or a mirror to redirect natural light.Equipment
I shot this on a Canon Rebel XTi, with an aperture of f/5.6, and a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second.Inspiration
I think I may have cheered when I first saw the mushroom. One of my goals as a photographer has been to find hidden pieces of nature to present from a new perspective, and mushrooms make the ideal subject. They're small, often unseen, and beautifully strange, and this one in particular was stunning in its complexity.Editing
With my photos I try to do as little processing as possible, unless I'm going for a more unrealistic effect. For this photo, I darkened the shadows a bit and deepened the greens, but otherwise left it unaltered.In my camera bag
The two consistent pieces of equipment I carry are my 80 mm camera and a set of screw on, Zeikos macro lenses. I'll use whatever I have in my bag at the time to construct makeshift tripods. The other day I tilted my camera using a pencil, and balanced it atop a box of cookies and a jar of sesame seed oil. One time I tied the camera strap to a low hanging branch to stabilize a ground shot. Your surroundings can be your greatest friend.Feedback
There are three main challenges with capturing good mushroom pictures. The first is finding the fungi; it helps to look in shady places a day or two after a rainstorm, especially where there is natural debris in the soil. The second challenge is placing the camera so that the mushroom is in focus and at an interesting angle. One of my favorite perspectives in looking up at the gills of capped mushrooms, but given how small these mushrooms are, these shots require some physically awkward finagling. Knee pads sometimes prove useful. Finally, the third challenge is ensuring there's enough light. Increasing exposure time is an effective strategy if you can brace your camera against something. If you need to hold your camera, try increasing the iso.
