A Fungus Among Us

[Norm Dulak]

Nikon D300 w/Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VRII micro lens, tripod mounted
ISO equivalent 640
Aperture Priority, 1/60 sec @ f/36
Nikon R1 twin strobes, set at +1.0 comp by the D300's Commander function
PS CS5 PP, with levels, curves and S&H
No crop; as originally framed

It seems that no matter where you look, you can find something interesting to photograph. At this time of the year, fungi are increasingly appearing. This fungus on a decaying log was found under the canopy of a wooded area of our property. I think that the texture of the log and the green algae (moss?) growing on it add interest.

Please tell me what you think about this image. And if anyone can identify this particular fungus, please do!:)

Norm

[Ken Childs]

Norm, whatever this is, it's way past its prime. That's some dead looking fungus! I think that some close-ups of the patterns on this log might be a more interesting subject.
FYI, I always have a hard time getting good shots of fungus/mushrooms when they're attached to logs. I can never get enough separation between the subject and the log/BG to get a decent shot.

[Norm Dulak]

Norm, whatever this is, it's way past its prime. That's some dead looking fungus! I think that some close-ups of the patterns on this log might be a more interesting subject.


Ken:

You certainly have a strong opinion here!:( And you are quite obviously right that the fungus is not new and pristine. But I nevertheless view the image as a tapestry of interesting colors and textures.:)

Norm

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Norm,
I'm not so sure this is that past prime.....I see it in the forests around here most of the time looking like this. I always do have a problem with it too.....as I can never find a great BG log or pattern. You did better than I ever have and I still keep trying.....although not sure this makes the nicest subject because of it's colors. The thought is excellent.....although the overall comp doesn't work for me either.
Do you think perhaps getting in tighter.....to show more detail in the fungus would work? Will have to try it myself when I get back home from Florida as it is an intriguing subject.

[Norm Dulak]

Hey Norm,
I'm not so sure this is that past prime.....I see it in the forests around here most of the time looking like this. I always do have a problem with it too.....as I can never find a great BG log or pattern. You did better than I ever have and I still keep trying.....although not sure this makes the nicest subject because of it's colors. The thought is excellent.....although the overall comp doesn't work for me either.
Do you think perhaps getting in tighter.....to show more detail in the fungus would work? Will have to try it myself when I get back home from Florida as it is an intriguing subject.

Roman:

Thanks for your comments!:)

I may have made too much of what the log contributed, from a color perspective or otherwise, and I'll take up your suggestion to show more detail in the fungus. I'll probably experiment with an extension tube(s) and/or close-up filter(s) to do that.

As for the fungus itself, I'll admit I was taken a bit aback by the comment that "whatever this is, it's way past its prime. That's some dead looking fungus!" I've never seen anything like that before in any BPN forum!

Norm

[Ken Childs]

Sorry, Norm. I should have been more tactful with my comments. :o

[Katherine Enns]

I think this is in Polyporaceae (one of the bracket fungi) , and I cant see the pore structure, so I can't say for surebut and it's eastern so that also leaves me in the dark a bit. Its possibly a relative of Polyporus versicolor, but it is in fact....dead. C'est mort. RIP. ;) It hasnt been dead for long, as there isnt a bloom of green algae on it yet, but the pores are kind of fistulating and its bleached out. Thats what happens to bracket fungi when they pack it in, they remain on the substrate but turn a pearly color, and in another winter or so, it will be gone. Judging from the green algae and moss prothalia on the bark, its in a very shady site (am I wrong?) and that will eventually knock out brackets, they do like some light. Being fungi, they can do without, but this one normally has bands of color, mostly browns and yellows.

I agree with Ken in that fungi on wood substrates are very difficult to photograph, and I suspect that is because there are two different planes and to get the fruiting body and the substrate in focus and with detail is hard to do. For those of you who are interested in fungi imperfecti photography, please check out the late Sylvia Sharnoff.

[Norm Dulak]

I think this is in Polyporaceae (one of the bracket fungi) , and I cant see the pore structure, so I can't say for surebut and it's eastern so that also leaves me in the dark a bit. Its possibly a relative of Polyporus versicolor, but it is in fact....dead. C'est mort. RIP. ;) It hasnt been dead for long, as there isnt a bloom of green algae on it yet, but the pores are kind of fistulating and its bleached out. Thats what happens to bracket fungi when they pack it in, they remain on the substrate but turn a pearly color, and in another winter or so, it will be gone. Judging from the green algae and moss prothalia on the bark, its in a very shady site (am I wrong?) and that will eventually knock out brackets, they do like some light. Being fungi, they can do without, but this one normally has bands of color, mostly browns and yellows.

I agree with Ken in that fungi on wood substrates are very difficult to photograph, and I suspect that is because there are two different planes and to get the fruiting body and the substrate in focus and with detail is hard to do. For those of you who are interested in fungi imperfecti photography, please check out the late Sylvia Sharnoff.

Thanks Katherine. It's always good to have opinions from experts on the subject. Maybe you are right in saying that the fungus was not technically in good shape. But I saw it as something interesting, and I tried to photograph it in its setting to the best of my ability. As for the difficulty in capturing fungi on wood substrates, I stopped my lens down to f/36 and used the twin strobes to gain the greatest possible DOF. And I don't think my effort was entirely unsuccessful in that regard. But better appreciating the difficulties in this kind of photography now, I will in the future look for fresher fungi and move in closer to capture their remarkable structures.

Again, thanks for the information you have provided!:)

Norm

[Katherine Enns]

I think you did very well, considering. And any biota subject, whether dead or alive, is fair game as far as I am concerned. BTW, I am a competent biologist but not that competent as a photographer as you would see from my posts:D. And you have some detail in this subject. Like I said, darn hard to shoot, for a stationary subject. I have literally thousands of very bad shots of fungi...!

So, to frame this a bit better, I would try to get down a but below and shoot up at the subject more...the points of interest for fungi are often the bracket bottom where the pores are, and less of the log substrate. You have it well lit, but because its bleached out and lost its pigments, its hard to get the residual banding on the edge of the bracket structures. That is typically a darker stripey brown and yellow color, and the pores dont fistulate like that when the plant is alive. This isnt a qualitative judgement by the way, just useless biological details unrelated to good photography! Keep going! Post more!