Shelf fungus group

Gallery: FloraPosted March 7, 201139 views8 comments

Not the usual subject here, and certainly not beautiful, but I hope they are worth sharing. These shelf fungi were on horizontal fallen logs rather than on a standing dead tree. About a dozen are shown here, but the total was at least 50. The largest in the foreground was almost a foot in diameter.

It was really difficult to get in position for photos, so I could only handhold. I misted the area with a fine water spray to bring out the subtle colors and did my best with the sunlight from the side, but I could not avoid overexposure on the right.

These fungi often last a long time, so I am debating whether it is worth returning to try to do better.

Canon 40D 17-85mm lens at 76mm, f/16, 1/200, ISO 400

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Dave Thomas
Leesburg, Virginia

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 7, 2011 at 7:22 PM

David: Nice find and a solid capture. I especially like the play of light and shadow. Well done.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on March 7, 2011 at 8:23 PM

Love the composition David. The exposure looks fine to me. For my tastes this is a good looking image, although I might sharpen the main subject a little.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 7, 2011 at 8:44 PM

Dave, these are cool. Good job on getting dof most of the way to the back, but I do find the oof leading edge of the main mushroom to be a significant distraction. I think you've done well with the lighting and don't notice any overexposure.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 8, 2011 at 4:17 PM

This is very interesting and unique. A wonderful subject. If there are problems with your exposure, I'm not seeing them. I do wish the large mushroom was entirely in focus. Other than that, a fine image

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by David Thomas on March 8, 2011 at 10:26 PM

Thanks for the nice and constructive comments. Through your keen, experienced eyes I learn more each time about what to pay attention to in setting up images.

I would certainly like to get the leading edge of the big fungus sharp, so I'll take a tripod to the site and see if I can plant it somehow.

Dave

Registered on June 21, 2010, 30 Posts, 178 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on March 8, 2011 at 10:34 PM

Interesting capture and comp. I like it.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on March 8, 2011 at 11:45 PM

Well certainly not a flowers color and beauty, but they are wonder all their own. You do have some small issues that have already been brought up, but if in your neighborhood definitely worth a return session. I hope they are still there.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on March 10, 2011 at 12:59 PM

Very interesting. That large FG fungus would be great to explore with a macro lens.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments