Close-up, Fungi, Photography

Mycena Madness

(8 photos) – After a tip off from my neighbour, I headed down to the rivulet to hunt out the usually elusive blue fairy parasols – Mycena Interupta, one of my favourite fungi, to find they are erupting! Though still a challenge to not only find, but also to get to, down the steep valley sides through thick, wet scrub.

These images are from two quick one hour trips, the first, Saturday evening just before dark, and again this morning before work. In the shot above, you can see there are plenty more on the way, so I hope to make a few more visits this week.

Once you actually find them, the next challenge is setting the camera in a good sturdy position to capture 15 shots for the focus stack. Usually not easy on soggy, soft, uneven and often muddy ground, weaving tripod legs between twisting branches, or balancing the camera on sticks to get a nice low angle.

Then there’s the leeches. Only two on these trips, but so worth the effort!

Thanks for visiting and viewing. More fun and fungi will be added soon 🙂

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TasView (Tone)

Tone Bacon - Tasmanian photographer. tasview.com

35 thoughts on “Mycena Madness”

      2. I’ve learnt a lot about Nevada too since following your blog, blowing away my now quite ridiculous pre-conceived ideas that were probably formed from Road Runner cartoons I watched as a kid!

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      4. If you watched any cartoons with Taz Devil in them you would think Tasmania very odd and dangerous indeed!!

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  6. Stunning, amazing, fantastic, almost other-worldly! The blues of the fungi, the iridescence of their “parasols” against the dark background, just incredible. I had no idea they existed. Your efforts certainly paid off – thank you for your patience, persistence, and willingness to deal with leeches to get these amazing captures.

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    1. Thank you so much, I really appreciate your praise and words of encouragement! You just spurned me on to go there again today 😀

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    1. I’m not sure what these would do to you, but I value my kidneys enough not to try 😉 I’m very careful not to touch any fungi as some of them are extremely toxic!

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      1. That’s so true. When we have gone mushrooming, we only pick chanterelles and the odd cauliflower mushroom we might find. And never mix uncertain ones with the good ones in the bag.

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      2. There’s some poisonous ones here that look almost identical to edible ones, so no fungi picking for me, though I do have a very young childhood memory of my Dad stopping by the roadside to pick field mushrooms, I even remember where we stopped when I drive past on the newer highway now.

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      1. You are welcome my friend👍 Credit where it is due, and they certainly are stunning images of stunning nature! ‘Fossicking’…I have never heard of that word before so I had to google it😄, and now I know! What we would say I guess in the UK: ‘Rummaging. A new word learnt, thank you👍. Best…Jay

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