More Fungi

[Geoff F]

As fungi photos seem to be popular at the moment, here are a couple that I have just posted on a nature site for identification purposes.



Growing in thick moss on a tree. Not certain of the identification yet but at the moment Paxillus involutus seems to be the favourite. But they are usually found on well rotted wood. If that is correct, it is seriously poisonous!

But this one is definitely edible. About 12 inches across.

Grifola frondosa



And a closer shot



Also a close up of the underside is always important for identification.



These have been shot, and cropped closer, for identification purposes.

7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Long exposure on tripod; with mirror lockup used.

[Andybazyoung]

Hi Geoff,
I do see what Donald meant about aperture. My shots, which you commented on, were with a canon 60D, 100mm macro lens, at the lowest aperture. Your images are brighter & have more happening in them than mine, I really like them.
Andy

[Geoff F]

I tend to regard F11 as being 'wide open' when it comes to macro work. F14 is my preferred setting when possible. But shooting at a mere F11 gave me the opportunity to use Iso 400 instead of going higher and risking background noise.

A fairly close focusing good quality 'normal lens' often has better depth of focus than a 'proper' macro lens. But that is providing the subject is large enough. This lens is a waste of time for insects etc. That means using my 180 mm macro lens, but having to work around a shallower focus depth.

Another option for non moving subjects is to take a couple of shots with different focus depths and combine them with suitable software. Some people take quite a lot of shots for merging like this.

I always use manual focus for this sort of work. It is very easy to get false focus problems with auto focus.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful! Gorgeous light and detail. #3 and #4 are my favourites. very artistic!

[FlyingSquirrel]

Nice shots. Do you use any other techniques for your macros, e.g. reflectors, diffusers, etc?

[Geoff F]

My white balance card (Lastolite) has a white and grey side. The white side can be useful as a small reflector (about 12 ins square) and it certainly makes a handy shade when sunlight is causing problems.

Correct white balance is important in knowing that your colours are correct which does help in identification. Much like flower photography.

Fortunately, most fungi subjects don't move about too much so after manually focusing I can move one arm about to get the reflector/shade correctly positioned. Cable release or timer are options which can help here. Usually easier than insects or flowers which are blowing around in the wind!

These were all taken in natural light, or natural gloom, using a long exposure on a tripod and with mirror lockup. But sometimes it is necessary to use flash; in which case I manually set my camera to suit the scene and use a bit of flash output compensation to reduce flash problems.

Flash can cause hotspot problems though; particularly with the more reflective subjects.

I haven't yet tried bringing them home to be photographed under 'studio conditions' but that would probably be the best. I have used printed backgrounds for flower shots under these conditions and they can work OK.

When asking the experts for fungi identification, the first question is about the spore print colour. This means standing the specimen in water with suitable coloured paper underneath to catch any dropping spores. So I might have to do something like this on occasions.

The great problem for me is that when I am carrying a large backpack of camera equipment I don't really want to also lug around another box for the delicate specimens!

[FlyingSquirrel]

THANK YOU for all of the info here. There are some really great tips and ideas that I will be able to utilize and/or build off of!

My white balance card (Lastolite) has a white and grey side. The white side can be useful as a small reflector (about 12 ins square) and it certainly makes a handy shade when sunlight is causing problems.

Correct white balance is important in knowing that your colours are correct which does help in identification. Much like flower photography.

Fortunately, most fungi subjects don't move about too much so after manually focusing I can move one arm about to get the reflector/shade correctly positioned. Cable release or timer are options which can help here. Usually easier than insects or flowers which are blowing around in the wind!

These were all taken in natural light, or natural gloom, using a long exposure on a tripod and with mirror lockup. But sometimes it is necessary to use flash; in which case I manually set my camera to suit the scene and use a bit of flash output compensation to reduce flash problems.

Flash can cause hotspot problems though; particularly with the more reflective subjects.

I haven't yet tried bringing them home to be photographed under 'studio conditions' but that would probably be the best. I have used printed backgrounds for flower shots under these conditions and they can work OK.

When asking the experts for fungi identification, the first question is about the spore print colour. This means standing the specimen in water with suitable coloured paper underneath to catch any dropping spores. So I might have to do something like this on occasions.

The great problem for me is that when I am carrying a large backpack of camera equipment I don't really want to also lug around another box for the delicate specimens!