Gill Patterns

[John Cooper]

Canon EOS, Canon 100mm macro, ISO 50, F22, Flash x2, tripod

[Julie Kenward]

I am beginning to think that you are as obsessed with mushrooms as I am with gerbera daisies, John! I love your composition and the overall subject and your DOF is pretty sweet. Two small comments: there are a few hot spots on the rims of the shroom - you might try toning those down a bit or changing your flash settings next time and I'm not sure I like the really dark patched at the top of the frame. Did you try to clone some more greenery in or recover some of the highlights in that area so the backdrop would be more uniform?

I love these mushroom images...I hardly ever see them in the woods I walk.

[John Cooper]

I am beginning to think that you are as obsessed with mushrooms as I am with gerbera daisies, John! I love your composition and the overall subject and your DOF is pretty sweet. Two small comments: there are a few hot spots on the rims of the shroom - you might try toning those down a bit or changing your flash settings next time and I'm not sure I like the really dark patched at the top of the frame. Did you try to clone some more greenery in or recover some of the highlights in that area so the backdrop would be more uniform?

I love these mushroom images...I hardly ever see them in the woods I walk.

Thanks for the comments Julie - yes you could say I am obsessed with the fungi - must be the influence of my medical mycology BG :)
When using strong back-lighting to emphasize the translucency of the caps some of this light often spills over the rim creating some hot spots.
Dark patches don't bother me providing there is some shadow detail evident.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
I'm a big fan of this one.........pardon the pun but it really does lok like an old fashioned fan! Detail throughout is very nice and the BG is just perfect. I'm starting to think you travel around and photograph with a patch of BG moss! The bright spots really show the texture of the gungi well and are so minimal that they do not bother me at all.
Another great one!

[Ed Vatza]

Hi John,

Very nice image. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I must say that you have gotten me to look at fungi in a different light. :) I even stopped recently to try my hand at fungi but haven't come close to your images - yet!

I think the backlighting works wonders and for that reason am willing to live with the smallish hot spots. Excellent image overall, John.