Emetic Russula

[Joanna Trescott]

I found this last year while hiking in the high country. I didn't have my tripod and did my best to brace against the ground.
Canon 20D, 28-135mm @80mm, F14, 1/15", ISO 800 +1/3 EV

[Julie Kenward]

Joanna, this is really lovely! Okay, dirty. Okay, Lovely!

It is a tad on the soft side but then so are mushrooms so we're gonna give you that. Beautifully composed and the color is fabulous. I might be prone to giving it a little bit more room on top but that's about it.

[Aristotle Georgiou]

Joanna I like this cause you have a real natural feel to this image. You haven't disturbed the mushrooms by removing any dirt and good on you! But me on the other hand would have been tempted too, does that make me a home wrecker?

[Ed Vatza]

Interesting composition. I would have been really tempted to break out the brush. I don't know that the entire scene needs to be cleaned but a little dusting would have highlighted the mushrooms a little more. That said, I like where you were headed here.

[Anita Rakestraw]

Beautiful mushrooms, love that red! I think it's cool that you left the dirt/old leaves/etc. - what amazes me is that, in my opinion, the dirt looks great in your photograph!! Very picturesque to me! I've never succeeded at that! I think if you want to add a little sharpness, this would respond well.

[Joanna Trescott]

Thank you for your "dirt" conversation. I liked the dirt because it tells a story of how this mushroom just (probably that day) pushed up through the leaves and soil. Sometimes when there is just one piece, I will try to remove with tweezers, but usually the mushroom's surface is a different color and texture below.

Here is the repost... I added curves adjustment, dodged a little and sharpened a little.. I like that there is more room at the top and bottom, but don't like all the black space to the right. Which crop do you prefer?

[Aristotle Georgiou]

Now that looks better Joanna, I really like the composition in the repost and like how you've added more room on the bottom.