Fungus Amongus

[Jim Poor]

I went out looking for critters today and didn't have much luck. However, this fungus that was on a tree right where I parked kept calling my name. I made a couple images when I arrived, and thought about how to make more while I was wandering around Great Falls NP.

I tried several things, but ended up with the 200-400 on the D3. I started with everything mounted on a Wimberly head, but then left the flash on the head and hand held the lens to get some different angles and a little side light. In retrospect, even more side lighting would have been better.

D3 ISO 200
200-400 @ 400mm
1/60 @ f/11
Flash off camera to the left a little @ (I think) -1 1/3.

Post:
Cropped & rotated to get more diagonal lines.
Curves to open up the histogram & then another curves layer for contrast.
Resized & Smart Sharpened 200% @ .2 pixels
I tried something different & did S/H as the very last step. I left the shadows alone and hit the highlights @ 18% Radius 0.

I think this will look real nice with black border. Wish I could have kept the LRC sharp :(

[Robert O'Toole]

I like it.

Very interesting pattern and nice warm colors, it successful.

I would try 2 things, spot clone out all the little specks, they distract and I would crop a little off the left edge, the details dont fit the other pattern too much.

Robert

[Jim Poor]

Thanks Robert,

I'll hit the spots. If I crop from the left, I may take some from the bottom too. That might help with the OOF corner.

I may go back and try a few other ideas as well. I wish I could get closer, but that would require a ladder as it is way up the tree :D

[Arthur Morris]

Robert will tell you that when we do image critiquing on IPTs we often play this game, "OK boys and girls, which part of the picture do you like best? OK. How can we get more of the good part int he image?"

Here I saw only the top of the image when I opened the thread, and said, "Whoa," that is wicked. As I scrolled down the image got less and less interested and more and more oof.

The crop below screamed out to me so I answered.

Later and love and way cool pattern. I think that I would have thought it sand patterns...

artie

[David Kennedy]

With Artie's crop, this image is really captivating.

[Arthur Morris]

With Artie's crop, this image is really captivating.

At least I didn't change this one to plastic!

later and love, artie

ps: and thanks, and regards to Dad.

[Gayle Clement]

I liked this image when I saw it and Artie's crop pushed it over the top. Fascinating pattern and a really interesting photo.

[David Kennedy]

At least I didn't change this one to plastic!

That was just once :D

[John Cooper]

Fungi are one of my most favourite subjects Jim and close-ups of the gill patterns, as you have captured here, make stunning images. I agree that the repost by Art has further enhanced the composition.

[Chris Ober]

Good eye and the crop looks good too. Love the pattern. With a stationary subject like this, why stick to f/11? Try a few out all the way down and see if how much you can get more in focus. I bet B&W would look good here too.

[Fabs Forns]

Killer patterns and colors, Jim!
I rather like the full version because of the movement at the bottom.

[Jim Poor]

Thanks everyone, and Wow! @ the crop from Artie! I have a lot more images of this fungus from f4 up to something like f22. I hope to go back and try some other things too.

Thanks again,
jim

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jim, a really nice abstract image. The crop Artie did really brought out the best in this image. The bottom half with its straight lines didn't help the image at all. With the smaller crop you have just the most interesting flow in the image. If you get a chance to shoot this again, raise the F-stop, this should all be in focus.

[Jim Poor]

I don't think I'll be revisiting this one today after all. With the wind the way it is, I don't think I could use the higher F-stops because the tripod will be shaking too much. I've got a few more frames of it to play with. I'll post some including a zoomed out version of the whole thing to get others' ideas on how to approach it next time.

[Jim Caldwell]

The patterns on the thumbnail really jumped out at me - nice capture! Artie's crop is a really nice improvement.

[Blake Shadle]

Very nicely done, Jim. I liked Robert's suggestion of taking some off the left side to remove the bit of detail that doesn't match the rest of the pattern. Croping the way Artie did removes the oof lrc problem. Great suggestions for an excellent image.

Oh! and the title for the image made me smile :)