You Do Shrooms Though? 🍄

 

I’m not sure why but lately I feel 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. After seeing WildMacro’s shot of Parrot Mushrooms and other specimens, I was infatuated. I ventured out to some local trails on the hunt. 

At first, I didn’t know where to look or what I was doing. After researching endlessly on fungi, it seemed like the recipe for mushrooms (the fruiting body of fungi) was the three D’s: dark, damp, and decay. It was the middle the rainy season so I just thought I had to explore some heavily wooded areas and see what was out there. 

My first find was a small cluster of Oyster Mushrooms in Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve. I remember spending at least 20 minutes taking photos of them, and that was just the tip of iceberg. For the next several weeks up until the last rain, I was visiting every state park with redwood trees around the Bay Area. 

It didn’t take me long to develop a sense for mushrooms, just like how I develop a sense for when the surf is good. You can feel when the ground is wet or by looking at the damp moss and redwood duff. Certain areas feel very “mushroomy”, just like how a beach would feel “fishy”. You start to learn more and more about them. Were they going to be there 24 hours after a decent rain? How much rain? 1-2 inches, more? What kind of trees does this species grow on? What kind of wood? How far can their spores spread?

Sometimes, you can walk miles and miles into the forest and find nothing. Sometimes, there are a plethora of mushrooms right next to the parking lot. It is like finding a needle in a haystack, only the needle is the same color as the hay. When you find an exotic or colorful species, you lose track of time as it takes quite a bit of effort to carefully clean and photographing. You can spend half a day in one spot just photographing and examining the microscopic details. At times I simply just stared at it and admired nature’s beauty. 

The surprising thing I noticed when photographing mushrooms was that most hikers passing by didn’t notice the mushrooms, let alone the tiniest of fungi that was no more than half an inch tall. It doesn’t stop there, as I peered through my lens, I noticed tinier bugs that were moving erratically around the mushroom caps.

Experimenting with a new genre of photography is invigorating, and all it involves is simply enjoying the outdoors in search of novelty. Now during the winter months, I’m crawling on the forest floor, kneeling, crouching, and bent over in awkward positions trying to get the right angle of the tiniest fungi.

I’m always fascinated by the intricacies of nature. As most of my photography captures the vast scenes such as mountainous landscapes and seascapes, l little do I know there is a whole other world right at my feet. I could peer endlessly into the miniature world and its flora and fauna, trying to identify all the different species that embody the tapestry of nature. I’m discovering new places not far from home and seeing mother nature with a new perspective. Now I get excited when I see mushrooms popping up in my backyard or even on my dinner plate.  

I remember sitting down next to a large cluster of brown-spored mushrooms at Portola Redwoods State Park and feeling a sense of exuberance. As I observed the Springtails crawling erratically on the 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.

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I remember tagging along with some foragers at Point Reyes and one of them asked me:

“Do you want a hit?”

“No, I’m cool, thanks” 

“Oh, why not?” 

“I don’t smoke weed, haha”

“You do shrooms though?”

“Actually, I don’t”

“Then what are you here for?”

“Just photos 😊”

 

January 3, 2021 | Photography & Art