Mushrooms

One of my neighbors couldn’t wait for me to get home from a long trip so he could show me the mushrooms in his back yard. While I was gone he mowed around several bunches of mushrooms, pine needles, and leaves so he wouldn’t disturb the scene, hoping I would get home while the mushrooms still looked good.

When I got home he proudly took me to his back yard. The mushrooms looked good, the pine needles and leaves added to the scenic options, and the sun was low in the evening sky so the light was nice. I hurried home to get my camera and lenses.

With my tripod mounted camera very low to the ground, I took pictures of different bunches of mushrooms from a number of different angles. I used a small lens aperture to maximize the depth of field which was pretty limited due to the focal length I was using and the close focusing distance. This meant a long shutter speed so I had to pick moments when the pine needles and leaves were moving.

Assured that I had the images that I wanted, my neighbor mowed his yard. The mushrooms, leaves, and pine needles were removed and his lawn was restored to its usual pristine condition.

This image is my favorite of all the photos I took that evening. And my neighbor is proud of the print of this image that hangs on his wall.  In fact, one day I saw him out showing the print to other neighbors up and down our street.

Photo Data. Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens at 106 mm. 1/10 sec,  f/16; ISO 100.