Fly Agaric

One taken last Thursday. Had to wrestle with a load of brambles to get a shot of this.

D300 150mm f11 1/60s -0.3EV TTL flash ISO 1000 Full frame Hand held

C & C welcome

The angle you've shot this one at, Maggie, show how well formed your subject is; no bites, scratches or other blemishes.
Unfortunately as an aesthetic piece it really does nothing for me at all. There's a long list of things in this one that I don't particularly like, but for quickness I'll just mention the stem being clipped at the base and the harsh flash shadows.

It's a bit like most of the stuff I took yesterday, shows the subject but does nothing to show the photographers ability

Hi Maggie you seem to be facing the same problem as me when photographing these, they never seem to grow where you want them to,I have found several fantastic specimens in the last week and not one of them was in a photogenic place. No answer to that one though just keep on hunting for them.

Thanks John and Shaun for taking the time to reply. Appreciate your honest comments. It was very frustrating as not only were there 3 super specimens of these, if taken at a lower view point (which I tried) it was only showing the rim of the fungi and therefore the red top was missing. Taken from higher up (which this was) I agree is not a good composition at all. Think I will have to try and find some younger specimens with domed tops.

Nits covered Maggie, using a lower view point might have worked well, as it's a view of Fly Agaric that you don't often see, just a thought

Andy...

Hi Maggie I know exactly what you are saying about the low angle, what I keep looking for is a mature one just on the crest of a hill so that I can get the 3/4 angle showing the top and still throw the background out f focus, not much to ask

Nice to see a concave version, it would make a great witch's chalice.

See

http://amanita-muscaria.org/mushrooms/amanita_muscaria.php