Mycena
Apr, 2018Views
180
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Marvellous Mushrooms Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I captured this little gem at one of Northern Tasmania's National Parks, Ferndene. Aptly named for its amazing entrance full of Man Ferns or rather Man trees! This micro fungi was amongst the forest floor and I would have passed it if it wasn't for the eagle eye's of my 7 yr old who loves coming on nature walks with me and helps point out these miniscule mushies hidden in the various lichen and mosses.Time
I took this at about late morning early afternoon which is about the brightest during the oncoming wintry months living in Tasmania. The amount of natural sunlight that can filter through during these months is far less than the warmer ones. So maximising the natural light during the middle of the day is best.Lighting
It's great when the natural light filters through to just the right spot of your subject matter, in this case these Mycena fungi. Especially when those natural rays can highlight just enough to not glare everything out.Equipment
I had packed my tripod but as usual couldn't be bothered carrying it on my walk so my Nikon D5500 with its fold out screen and no flash and me holding my breath while I held my camera at ground level worked best.Inspiration
I just love the micro world of fungi and lichen, and being able to incorporate capturing my favorite subject matter while taking the family on a nature walk during homeschooling of my boys is the ultimate experience. Oh and the fact my boys love hunting down the mushies as much as me, have even got my hubbie on board now so its become a family affair.Editing
I just have an older version of photoshop elements but it gives me enough processing power to subtly adjust saturation and strengthen contrast and of course add a watermark.In my camera bag
My equipment usually consists of my Nikon D5500, a dual lens kit including 50mm lens and a 55-200mm one, a fully charged battery and an empty sd card, a compact mirror to capture the underside or gills of a fungi and a pair of gators to stop my socks collecting bindi's and bringing them home. Sometimes I take a tripod, but often than not it is left in the car.Feedback
When fungi hunting, slow down and smell in the earthiness while looking for the miniscule and you might just start seeing them, my ultimate is to master some night time photography and capture the ghost fungi glow.
