~ Homeward Bound ~
This is the final post of this 'trip.' You can read and/or see the other posts here: Show & Tell and Tell & Show. Personally, i think some of the better shots are in those two posts. But, this finale is not without a few good shots!
We were already on our way home when i left off in the last post. We were no longer in the forest or on a trail or Flower Town. We were walking on the sidewalk. Ironically, some of the best mushrooms i saw were in this more heavily trafficked and developed area. I would imagine that is because the spores are spread more in areas more well travelled.
I hated to see that this mushroom in the image below had been plucked and then left to rot. I guess many people can't resist the urge to kick one of these as i like to do with seeded Dandelions. hahaha However, there is still beauty in these fallen fungal friends to be admired... the gills in particular!
I did promise i won't write as much in this post as the last two. I will try my best to keep that promise (though it may already be too late based on that intro)!
I almost missed this colony of mushrooms. I really like when they are all bunched together like this. It makes for some interesting photo opportunities. The lighting was totally different here than in the forest so it took a while to get the settings to cooperate with me.
I like that upon closer examination these caps look almost fuzzy like the moss.
As usual, i tried to switch up the angles a bit and find a more interesting point of view.
Sometimes, when i try this, my camera is so low to the ground and pointing upwards that i can't see my camera screen. I can't see if the focus worked or not and i am shooting blind, like back in the old analog days! I miss that thrill to be honest. Fortunately, the images below did turn out alright!
Then, of course, we need more snail-trails! I only caught the one below due to my angle of shooting and the way the light semi-reflected off of the pearlescent sheen.
Maybe not as much as some other mushrooms, but these were reminding me of little miniature hamburger buns.
I guess when i see a colony of shrooms like that it makes me think of togetherness and community. I could see myself as one of those little dudes just sprouting up and chilling with my little colony of friends and family.
FungusAmongUs
~ But Wait... There's More ~
This colony below is a different group of the same kind of mushrooms that wasn't that far away from the others. Must be their 'stomping' grounds! Well, since these are growing out of a stump i guess it would be 'stumping grounds' instead. hahaha
When i was using my hand as an anchor to steady my camera for the macroshots i tried really hard not to impale my hand on those sharded wood spikes. The last remnants of when this tree was felled other than the stump itself.
You can see some black lichen type fungi growing next to the brown shroom balls.
I didn't realize until i was editing the image below that it had a slime mold in the bottom left of the image. I had tried to capture some shots of this type back in the forest but that was a time when i couldn't see my screen and therefore none of the images came out well enough to share.
So, i'm glad miles away to have 'accidentally' captured these little purple dots. They look a lot like caviar! Well, the ones that haven't cupped at the top yet.
I zoomed in on the corner of the image above to give you a closer look at these things.
I didn't think the snails (or slugs, we have no witnesses) liked to eat these brown ones. I figured they maybe too textured and didn't feel good to crawl on and therefore weren't good food. Based on the image below, i think they were at least worth tasting.
I really liked the lighting in these shots. It definitely created more contrast and accented the texture and colors better in my unprofessional opinion.
Even the wood shards were looking cool!
I also enjoyed that lone blade of grass hanging out with the fungi!
Mushroom Party!
~ The END ~
So, as we wrap up this walk and series of 3 posts i will show you the last images taken on my walk. Not including the files i deleted that were shit shots... i took a total of 138 photographs on this walk. Within these 3 posts... i shared most of all of them.
As much as i love the caps... i never get tired of the gills. I love shooting mushrooms at a profile and it's a pleasure to see up close and personal on their level.
One of the last things we came across before getting home is this little bridge over a tiny stream. I was encouraged to go try and get a shot or two down by the water.
I could tell straightaway that my camera was not up to the challenge. The lighting was so low and filtered, the motion of the water, and the lack of ability for my camera to zoom very far limited my options immensely.
Of course, i was thinking of all the amzing photographers, amateur and professional alike, in our amazing Photography Lovers Community while trying to get these shots. So, i just took two and cut my losses.
But, a couple of the best (or at least my favorites) turned out to be last!
There is more going on in the image below than initially meets the eye!
What an intersting entanglement of mature fruiting bodies!
This image below REALLY captures the Leather Look that i think i mentioned in one of the other posts. In fact, this may be the best portrayal i have captured of the Leathery look that some Mushrooms can have.
Not the greatest photo... but i had to share anyways because i have never seen a mushroom so completely devoured from outside like the one you see in the next photo.
It's a shame. The mushroom below is VERY edible and extremely good tasting. They can grow super big and this was quite a large specimen. Unfortunately, i think we have another victim of being kicked out of the ground.
Now, the potential will never be fully realized. Who knows how big this dude would have grown? It was big enough to eat already and it had a lot of growing to do. I didn't take it because who knows how long it had been sitting there?!
One last apple...
I saw this tone from very far away and once i got close enough to realize it was from filtered light glowing through an Autumn leaf... i had to get some shots.
I'm not 100% sure... but i think the one above and below may just be my favorite shots of the walk. Ironically, they were taken the absolute closest proximity to home on the way back. It was kind of like the icing on the cake for me to get these captured.
And... a nice curiosity to see as the last two images of this post. I don't think i recall seeing this type of a mushroom at this stage of it's life.
The leathery cap-skin (i just made that word up) has now descended into the bowl of it's inverted cap. The gils are dried up and as the moisore has left this fruiting body... it has dried out the flesh and begun the crack around the perimeter.
This was one of my favorite shrooms of the day even though it was more in a state of death. I guess it embodied that half dead and half alive motif of Fall well enough to capture my imagination.
I try to picture each mushroom in whatever stage of development it's in at the time and think of what it's life was like so far and where is it going.
The whole life cycle of the mushrooms is super cool and considering they feed on dead and dying things... i find many of them to be more beautiful at some stage in their death. From this angle, this totally looked like an ear to me.
The End
I appreciate your time joining me on these last few posts and thank you for your thoughtful comments as well! It's been nice to have something to share. Until next time, you all take care and i look forward to hearing which image you enjoyed the most and why.
Thanks For Joining Me Today
