Gills. January 2021

I’m always fascinated by the intricacies of nature. I’m not sure why but lately I have an urge to do some macro photography. Perhaps the first rains sparked a new interest in finding something to do when it’s overcast and gray outside. On Friday, I hiked one trail with low expectations; if I found one mushroom I would be happy. While I did find a few, and certainly had fun shooting, my intuition was pointing me to a spot where I had a feeling it was going to be good.

I was the second car in this morning and surprisingly it stayed pretty quiet the entire day. The moment I pulled in the parking area, I noticed a large collapsed log with an abundance of mushrooms sprouting from it. Jackpot! I spent the next 8 hours kneeling, crouching, bent over in awkward positions. I had a camera in one hand and flash light in other, running on just a banana and some beef jerky. Bringing the kneeling pad was a lifesaver. Most hikers passing by didn’t notice the mushrooms, let alone the tiniest of fungi that was no more than half an inch tall. As I peered through my lens, I noticed tinier bugs that were moving erratically around the mushroom caps.

For those interested, I am shooting with a $20 Canon 35-80mm with the front element taken off and a high power flashlight as a strobe. I think I figured it out, low ISO, reasonable shutter speed to stop any motion blur, F16 or smaller. I learned that I need lots, I mean lots, of light in order to get decent results at more than life size magnification. I also learned that the 3 D’s: dark, damp & decay is a recipe for mushroom heaven. I never had so much fun without any fancy gear or spending loads of money, or even traveling far. I was considering buying a dedicated macro lens, maybe some macro flashes and all sorts of other accessories that a professional macro photographer would have. After seeing my shots, the decision has been duly justified that it was completely unnecessary. Most of the fun is finding new visions and discovering something new. Just keep your eyes peeled, your mind open, and expose yourself to new places. 

As I sat next to a large cluster of brown-spored mushrooms, I imagined myself shrunken down and looking up a mighty tall stalk with the cap overhanging, and just being one of those little critters for a day.