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koraks said:
Thanks for the kind replies once again The camera used was a Canon 20d with a Canon 24-70  for the closer shots and a Tamron 17-35 for the wider ones. I also use two flash units (580ex and 420ex) for natural looking, but totally unrealistic lighting . For most shots I use balanced available and flash light, requiring a tripod due to the low light levels in the woods (exposure times up to about 10 seconds; even 30 secs for the last habitat pic).


Although the above setup sounds quite expensive (it once was, actually), similar results can be obtained using no more than about $200 worth of (second hand) analog equipment. Actually, that's the way I started out, but a digital work flow gives me more immediate satisfaction

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You used a flashlight?    j/k

Thanks for breaking that down for us.  One more question; is the resolution on the original photos jacked to the max?  Like 12 mgs or something?

I knew something was going on with the photos and suspected the two flash units because they are different, I would say qualitatively better by magnitudes than anything I have seen here so far.  When I said calendar work I wasn't joking.  I think they are THAT good!

I fooled around with camera stuff in the early 80's.  Bought a Nikon, lens, filters blah blah blah, was gonna set up a dark room, bought photography magazines.  So I guess you could say I'm "into it."  The trouble is I'm an idiot.  I don't really understand it.

Your photographs are amazing; you have inspired me.  I can see why you aren't satisfied with some of your work.  You have a VERY high standard!  I have posted maybe one or two I was slightly happy about, my first macro shot for one.  I think the rest of my photos are crap for a number of reasons.

Thanks for sharing your work!

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koraks said:

Meripilus giganteus, I tried to include some more of the habitat as I was getting disappointed at the somewhat flat look of my pics lately:


Boletus erythropus buttons, we get those a lot here:

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I Love both of these -- the Meripilus shot is wonderful in a technical sense and the bolete shot shows where to look for mushrooms when your back hurts, it looks as though the mushrooms are at eye level! Is that a trail below or a dry stream bed? Great balance of mushrooms and habitat!!!!!

Working with two flash units will dramatically improve photo quality... of course you can pull it off with one flash if your exposure times are long enough to allow manually triggering and repositioning the unit -- three to five seconds plus. I love taking photos in slightly low light conditions for this reason... although I haven't been using a secondary flash this year due to laziness.

You should seriously consider that calendar idea.

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The trouble is I'm an idiot.  I don't really understand it.

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Knowing you from these boards, I can assure you that you are not an idiot. You're probably ok, apart from hanging around here which infers some sort of mental disorder, but one that does not inhibit proper functioning in a normal society in my experience

Depending on what you are dissatisfied with in your own photos, here is a thought that my help. When taking a picture, I always try to identify very specifically what it is that I like in a particular scene. With mushrooms, things that often pop up are the thought that I'd like to include as much as possible of the stem(s) and any textures that may stand out. Lately, I'm trying to focus a bit more on the context of the mushroom as it leads to compositions that 'breathe' a bit more, allowing for more space around the subject. But the trick is this: once you've identified the features that you would like to include in your composition, find a way to include them, but nothing more. Additional stuff may confuse the viewer and I find that it very seldom yields any pleasant surprises. It helps if you can find a way to make a composition that places the features of interest in a meaningful constellation. This is why I always get my clothes dirty (or worse) when photographing, as it requires you to try different angles. Then, it all comes down to practice. As is the way I experience all of my photography: it's all just practice for the next shot.

I haven't touched on the subject of lighting in the above considerations. Lighting is a long story on its own, one definitely worth telling, but it'll be for another time.

Of course, Lockwood is an extremely inspiring photographer, as is Roger Phillips. I also admire the photography of Georg Müller, he's the photographer behind www.pilzepilze.de.

@George: I could have pulled this off with one flash unit, although it would have caused the loss of at least a few frames due to stumbling against the tripod due to my clumsiness.

The boletes were growing in a dry ditch which is quite deep at this end. These ditches are all over the woods in this area, laid down in a perfectly geometric pattern. It makes the woods a tad boring, but it does help in finding your bearings quickly (not that you could really get lost anywhere near here )

Thanks for the suggestion on the calendar. I'll think about it, maybe a digital one would work, I considered something like that for a while, but never took the time to work it out. Perhaps I'll reconsider that

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koraks said:
Thank you for the heartwarming replies once again! Yes, I am a perfectionist and my standards are always a few steps ahead of my capabilities. Although I am constantly improving on my technical skills (albeit only marginally lately, but learning curves tend to be a bit steeper towards the beginning), I find the hardest issue to tackle is creativity. I still feel I am stuck on the level that I can capture an image I find reasonably well, but I can't seem to be able to actually cultivate a concept in my mind first and then realizing it.

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@Senor_hongos: these images were shot in Canon's CR2 raw file format, hence a resolution of 8 mpix which is the native resolution of de 20d's cmos sensor. I resize and apply some usm in Photoshop (settings amount 150-300%, radius 0.2-0.5px, no threshold) for crisp images. But you still need really sharp images to start with to end up with satisfactory web versions, let alone print versions.

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Ah HA!  Raw format!  I knew something was up.  Thanks for the tips on the photoshop.  I use Corel Paintshop Pro X, but I am sure I can do the tweaking with it.

Thanks for the compliment/encouragement.

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Depending on what you are dissatisfied with in your own photos, here is a thought that my help. When taking a picture, I always try to identify very specifically what it is that I like in a particular scene. With mushrooms, things that often pop up are the thought that I'd like to include as much as possible of the stem(s) and any textures that may stand out. Lately, I'm trying to focus a bit more on the context of the mushroom as it leads to compositions that 'breathe' a bit more, allowing for more space around the subject. But the trick is this: once you've identified the features that you would like to include in your composition, find a way to include them, but nothing more. Additional stuff may confuse the viewer and I find that it very seldom yields any pleasant surprises. It helps if you can find a way to make a composition that places the features of interest in a meaningful constellation. This is why I always get my clothes dirty (or worse) when photographing, as it requires you to try different angles. Then, it all comes down to practice. As is the way I experience all of my photography: it's all just practice for the next shot.

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I agree in all parts.  I don't have a problem with composition, well, not much.  And the creativity aspect is fairly easy as well.  Most of my problems stem from the shitty-ass equipment I own.  Like you, I crawl around on my belly half the time.  And God help you if you find yourself on a foray with me.  My friends are all racing around picking mushrooms (like in morel season) while I am on my belly trying to take a better picture!    And I hunt the way I shoot.  In morel season I sometimes end up crawling on my stomach peering under the Mayapples.  But it's all for the hunt/shots, right?

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Thanks for the suggestion on the calendar. I'll think about it, maybe a digital one would work, I considered something like that for a while, but never took the time to work it out. Perhaps I'll reconsider that

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Damn straight you should reconsider!  I'd buy one I know that.  I've talked to Taylor on the phone about being a distributor for his books back in the day.  We were even going to foray together but it never turned out.  If Taylor can make the bucks he does with his stuff....  You know what I mean.