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Really Red Mushrooms
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Really Red Mushrooms

by Sanjay Sundaram

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 9, 2013167 views5 comments

Spotted these mushrooms on a hike during a really wet spring in the Texas Hill Country a few years ago. No idea what kind they are, but I think they must be deadly. The mushrooms were quite small... maybe a little over two inches tall and I had to set the camera on the ground and prop it up with twigs because it was too low for the tripod. I wanted to get a ground-level shot but couldn't avoid the grasses at the lower left and the bottom of the mushrooms causing the green blur. Hope that doesn't distract too much from the main subject.

Nikon D70 105mm 1/10s @ f/8 ISO 100

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.

Sanjay

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on July 9, 2013 at 6:26 PM
Love the colors (red on green) captured in this image, Sanjay. The shrooms are perfectly composed with a nice low perspective and off centered comp. Well done!
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on July 9, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Sanjay - Wonderful low level shot. Did you use Live View functionality OR a Right Angle VF ?

Not sure using a CPL might have reduced/removed the glare from the mushroom heads.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments
Comment posted by Sanjay Sundaram on July 10, 2013 at 12:13 AM
Scott, Thanks for your comment. Glad you liked it.

Ram,

Thanks for your comment and CPL suggestion. No LV in that camera. I placed the camera approximately right (propped up on the ground), took a shot, looked at the result and adjusted till it looked right. :smile:

Sanjay
Registered on April 9, 2013, 107 Posts, 725 Comments
Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on July 10, 2013 at 10:23 AM
That's a beautiful picture Sanjay. I think you need to diffuse the light shining on the mushrooms a little here. You could have used a diffuser or when I'm out and don't have one with me I will just try to stand in the way so my shadow is cast over the subject, or maybe even use my hat or anything to reduce the glare and high contrast.I'm not sure a polarizer would have been of much help in this harsh light.
Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 13, 2013 at 6:52 PM
Great look at these little 'shrooms. I like your dof choice, low point-of-view, and the very complementary greens in the background. My only (very minor) nit is the oof leaf near the lower left corner, everything else looks fine. (Not sure how your processing this, but I think one way to solve that oof leaf would be to blur the region between it and the edge, then it wouldn't catch so much attention.)
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments