Armillaria fungi on beech
Known commonly as a variety of Honey mushroom. Grows on wood, and eventually kills the host that it is on.
Known commonly as a variety of Honey mushroom. Grows on wood, and eventually kills the host that it is on.
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Jun, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I have some favourite places that I go to, to take photos of fungi, and Pine valley on the Northern side of the Wairau River in Marlborough, NZ, is one such location. This specimen was found on a Black Birch log, alongside the walking track. It was on a stump standing about 8 feet high, and was at an 'easy-shooting' height, which makes life a lot easier when setting up the shot!Time
I have a friend(Dick) that accompanies me when we go out taking nature shots, and we usually get away fairly early in the morning to get to Pine valley, the reason being that searching for, and trying to find fungi to photograph, is very much a "touch & go" affair, as the appearance of fungi fruit bodies greatly depends on the climatic conditions of the day(and the night before!). This is an Armillaria species, which was found and photographed around mid-morning. It was found in the shadow of the forest canopy, so the lighting wasn't great.Lighting
I am not one for using flash on shots like this, so my main tool is the use of reflectors, and making use of what little bit of natural light that is available. The softer the light, the better the image is. The trick is to light the subject so that you see every little bit of detail in it's entirety, and so none of the highlights are blown out.Equipment
I use a Nikon D700 camera, (an older digital camera, but a goodie!) The lens used was a 105mm Macro. This combination has never let me down and has served me well. The lens-to-subject distance is about 150mm, and the focus is around the mid-range of the lens.Inspiration
When looking for fungi shots, I am always on the lookout for fungi groupings that have a really good flow and balance of the elements. Besides that, I am looking for shots that show good detail of the caps, shanks and gills, as well as having good colour. This shot ticked all the boxes!Editing
I try to do as much as I can to get the shot right "in-camera", so if there is anything to do in post-processing, it is minimal and confined to a few basic adjustments like colour saturation, and lifting the highlights slightly. This particular shot had very little alteration.In my camera bag
A Nikon D700 camera body, a 105mm Macro lens, a x2 Converter Lens, Reflectors, and that's it. When I have to do a lot of walking, I travel light, and just take the bare essentials. Additionally, I carry a sturdyTripod, as the other most necessary item.Feedback
Where we go for fungi, there are some very tall forest trees, so we make sure that we don't go in there, on very windy days, because tall trees have a habit of dropping the the odd branch or two! Sharp focus on the subject, is everything, when taking macro shots. Focus sharply on the nearest part of the subject, and get as much depth-of-field as you can. Try to keep the focus so that is not at the end of the focussing range of the lens - it's better to step the camera back slightly from the subject, and re-focus again. Darkish backgrounds are always a plus.
