55mm, f7.1, 1/25, ISO 800
It’s a grey, drizzling day here, the sort of weather that people imagine when they think of England. A day for editing images rather than shooting them.
55mm, f8, 1/40, ISO 800
I hope you can forgive yet another mushroom-related post. There were so many toadstools and other fungi in the woods near Friday Street yesterday. I snapped a few of the nicest, or strangest, depending on your point of view.
55mm, f4, 1/150, ISO 800
The last couple of days have been bad back days so I only had my little Fuji along. But it coped well with pretending, using the 18-55mm kit lens, to be a macro shooter.
55mm, f 4.5, 1/80, ISO 800
One or two of the mushrooms were kind enough to pose above ground level.
55mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 800
Using a wider lens than I would normally gave me the chance to try something a little different from my usual shallow depth of field, isolated subject, loads of bokeh style. In the shot below I wanted to make more of an environmental shot, using the log to lead the eye into the frame.
18mm, f5, 1/40, ISO 1600
It was while I was taking that shot that I noticed the cute little toadstool posing on top of the log featured in my post yesterday. Here it is a bit closer. Well, I couldn’t keep the bokeh at bay for long.
55mm, f7.1, 1/12, ISO 800
Despite having now edited all of the images from the shoot, the image I posted yesterday remains my favourite of the day. But I have made a better edit of it, muting some of the brightest highlights in the background.
18mm, f.5, 1/50, ISO 1600
Tomorrow, one more secret of the forest, but not a mushroom in sight.
Focused Moments 
They’re a beautiful collection Rachael, so nice to view them en masse like this. In the second to last shot, I love that tiny one encased in moss, next to it’s big sister!
On tenterhooks for tomorrow’s secret.
Thanks, Jen. I think you might know what it is! Would it be all right if I mention you in tomorrow’s post and link to your website?
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Of course, and I would like to reciprocate.
Fine by me 🙂
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Fascinating little bits of life. 🙂
Thanks. They are indeed!
Amazing how the rain brings these fruiting bodies out of the soil. I don’t know whether we just don’t have as much moisture or I just don’t notice them, but I hardly ever see mushrooms, even on rotten logs in the forest. I’m probably just too focused on the birds to look down.
We are having a particularly bumper crop this Autumn. Not sure why exactly; something to do with temperature and humidity I suppose.
The final shot is beautiful. Definitely like the wider angle photos – seeing the wider surroundings really place the little toadstools nicely! Great work. And really appreciate you sharing how you took the shots 😀
Thanks. Glad you like them! Might see if I can find some more tomorrow 😉
Love the pictures. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
They are quite cute! Fantastic photography.
Thank you. I am glad it’s not just me! 😉
Have to admit to a preference for ‘shrooms over bugs. 😉
I will get you to see the beauty in bugs, if it’s the last thing I do! 😉
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I suspect you’ve already taken that as far as it’s apt to go… at least I think I’ve come a long way in that respect. 😉
You need to start photographing them. Worked for me. Except with the spiders. A lost cause there.
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Just beautiful!!!!!
Thank you!
Such lovely mushroom pics, Rachael. I especially love the first one. You haven’t got any like the giant ones I’m roasting for dinner tonight. 🙂
Thanks! There were some bigger ones, but not in such pretty settings. Mind you, I wouldn’t
risk trying to eat any of them. I don’t know enough about them to avoid the bad ‘uns.
Me too. 🙂
That’s what kids are for . . . I hear it’s easy to make more.
Sadly they’re useless; they won’t touch anything even vaguely mushroom like.
Mix some in with something they like . . . or hold them down and force-feed them.
However, I’m with you . . . much rather eat healthy processed food bearing little resemblance to the original gross stuff coming out of the ground. And, yuck, sometimes stuff is from underground, where all the worms, bugs, and decaying things are.
You are a very bad person. 😉 Never change.
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Secrets are meant to be shared . . . very nice shots. Not enough moisture here to get anything like these, so thanks for sharing.
Thanks! My pleasure.
No secret my favourite is the “environmental” shot! Were you resting the camera on something solid for those ones with the slow shutter speeds?
I’m sure you’ll enjoy these:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24534109
My favourite is the raven, but there are some other gems. The seagull one is a little disturbing – that spider looks very closely related to one of ours back home.
For the really slow shutter speeds, I dumped the poor camera on the ground. I have a small beanbag that helps to keep the lens level. Yes, those pictures are amazing. My personal favourite is the one with the baboons.
I love your composition. It is something I am trying to work on but finding very difficult.
Thank you! The best way to learn composition is to look at lots of images every day. Eventually it sinks in. Not that I am saying you need to learn it. One good place to see good images where they change every day is 500px. Just look at the first page of the ‘popular’ category.
Rachael, what a lovely stroll through the forest. The opening shot somehow reminds me of fluffy parasols. I’m quite amazed by the diversity of the flora! Wishing your back a speedy recovery too. 🙂
Thank you, Tricia. There has been such a bumper crop of fungi here this Autumn. One of my friends who specialises in fungi photography has found some truly spectacular specimens.
Lovely collection of mushrooms! I’m working backwards as have some catching up to do but really enjoying your posts! 🙂