Polypore from Below

Gallery: FloraPosted March 2, 2016299 views8 comments

Click on the image above for a larger view, or the expansion symbol for an even larger detail view.

A sunset hike on a local trail last June found me looking up at some orange Polyporus alveolaris growing on a long-dead branch hanging above my head. (It is saprophytic, growing on dead hardwoods. There is some disagreement as to the proper genus name; some mycologists place it in the genus Neofavolus.) The late afternoon light enhanced the textures on the bottom surface, so I stopped to get some pictures. This one is a 9-shot stack because the distance between the top and bottom fruiting bodies is more than it appears from this angle.

Canon 7D2; Canon 18-135mm.
1/200 sec. @ f/11; ISO 640
7 Shots stacked in PSCC

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on March 2, 2016 at 7:14 PM

Hi Wayne,

Pretty good comp and your stacking looks like it did the trick. The BG is very nice. I might add a touch of sharpening to the foremost fungal lobe. The base of that one looks looks slightly softer than the hind most fungal lobe. Might be my eyes playing tricks on me. Other than that, I like the presentation and fungi are well worth photographing................................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 2, 2016 at 8:04 PM

Thanks Jim, You are right -- the closer lobe is not quite in focus. If you look at the large version, you'll see that there is a hole in the lower lobe. With that closer lobe out of focus, I thought it was easier to see that the further lobe was visible through the hole, with the softer focus adding sort of a 3D effect. That 3D effect gave me an excuse to be lazy and not spend time on selective sharpening.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 4, 2016 at 12:09 PM

Wayne: Well seen and presented. My one suggestion would be to crop from the top to eliminate about 50% of the OOF branch beyond the fungi. For some reason that draws my eye and cropping it diminishes its impact for me. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Moats on March 4, 2016 at 6:34 PM

Wayne, great subject and nice sharp details, I would crop much tighter making the main subject larger in the frame and eliminate some of the background.

Registered on October 20, 2004, 892 Posts, 6324 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on March 7, 2016 at 5:50 PM

Fine stacking, Wayne ! The depth of field, composition and lighting all contribute to presenting the plant so beautifully.

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 8, 2016 at 10:12 PM

I agree with Mike and Bill. The polypore is the story. I would crop to get it writ large! cool

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy Aron on July 18, 2016 at 12:29 AM

Perfect capture with compelling light, textures, and shape.

Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy Aron on January 5, 2017 at 7:27 PM

Very cool shot. Wish the background were simpler, esp the part that directly abuts the main subject.

Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments