Mushroom Carousel

Saturday 28 November 2020, 15:51 by Erik Nevels | 3,652 views | 3 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

In my previous blog about photographing a tree, I wrote about my search for the right viewpoint. Inspired by the Photofacts documentary The world of Lars van de Goor, I returned to a tree I had photographed before, looking for a better viewpoint for the photo.

What this search has to do with this blog about a mushroom carousel, you’ll read shortly.

Searching

As I said, I was searching for a better viewpoint. By walking around the tree several times, varying the distance and regularly stopping, I explored the possibilities.

That took time, but produced different and surprising viewpoints. I recently discovered that this way of working generates success not only with trees, but with mushrooms too, when I explored the Beegderheide with my mate, looking for photogenic specimens.

Don't decide too quickly: 'I'm done'

While wandering around, I came across a group of cute mushrooms, varying in size, a family, so to speak.

My first reaction was to find a position from which I could see the group properly. In other words, there were no branches, grass or anything else between me, or rather my camera, and the subject.

The grass was now behind the group of mushrooms, and I thought it made a fairly suitable background.

After a few more clicks, I initially thought I was done with this family, until I realised that walking around the tree might produce surprising viewpoints here too. Besides, I didn’t have to walk nearly as far as I had with the tree.

Sony A7-3, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO160

Easy to say, easy to do

During my walk with the camera in my hand, I kept pointing it at the mushrooms, also varying the distance from the group.

From each viewpoint, I was really looking at the interplay between three factors: the subject, the surroundings in the form of the foreground and especially the background, and finally the light.

From which viewpoint did I find that interplay interesting, cool, beautiful, exciting, mysterious or perfect? In short, when did I get my tripod and start working on the next series of family photos?

Through the grass

Because I didn’t expect it, I was inclined to quickly pass by the viewpoint where the mushrooms stood behind the grass. Fortunately, I stopped here too, pointed my camera and focused.

I was pleasantly surprised by the image. I mainly saw the grass, but the chosen aperture of f/2.8 made it so blurry that it offered me a beautiful view through it. The photo gained something exciting, something mysterious.

Sony A7-3, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO160

A richer experience

The funny thing was that, with the photo of the view through the grass in mind, I stopped a week later when I saw a beautiful fly agaric.

Why did I stop? Grass! There was grass around the mushroom. Perhaps until recently I would have walked on. Now I asked myself: 'What would this view through the grass look like in the photo?'

Good enough reason to stop for a little longer and point the camera for a view through the grass towards the fly agaric. This image too, taken at an aperture of f/2.8, surprised me.

Unlike with the family, the grass here was less out of focus because it was growing around the mushroom. But it still created a surprising view through the grass towards the fly agaric, which stood serenely in its place, showing off.

Sony A7-3, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO640

Carousel

In my early childhood, I found the carousel, or roundabout as we called it in our village, rather scary at the fair. Those fast circles, sitting on a wooden fairground horse that also moved up and down. I soon chose the safer option, paid for by my parents, and sat in the fire engine. You could still operate the bell yourself in that one.

Now the carousel has returned to my life. I spin around again. Around subjects this time. Clockwise and anticlockwise. I keep spinning until I get dizzy and stop to take a photo.

Fortunately, I no longer find it scary!

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