Ooo! Ghost pipes and dead man's fingers would be amazing!! I've never seen them around where I live, but I think they exist in the mountains north of me. I'm definitely looking out for them!
Great work Erik - enjoyed the insights into the process here. I have never tried image stacking of any kind because, like you, I don't enjoy photoshop, but seeing these makes me think I should give it a try. We have an abundance of fungi species here (thanks to the endless rain) and I always enjoy a fungi foray with my camera in autumn...
You should definitely give it a try! Focus stacking in Photoshop is pretty easy and lets you get a super close foreground and distant background that's sharp all the way through. Masking and blending like this is much trickier. I was very frustrated when I first started learning it, but there are some great tutorials on YouTube!
Love these Erik and really enjoyed reading about your creative process. I have seen this technique before from other photographers and love the magical mood it creates. I think your shots have come out really well and I particularly like the first one.
Thanks Gill! I think next time I'll take the photo from a bit further away. That might show the 'magic' of the mushroom in the context of more normal surroundings. These particular ones just didn't have much of interest around them. It's something to look forward to!
Definitely. I think its good to try new techniques and experiment with new subjects, it helps us grow as photographers. The only problem I have is I want the images to be perfect first time! 😆
Lol, thank you! The updates aren't all that mysterious, just not quite ready to go live yet. I'm still not sure if or how it'll affect Field Notes. I got a lot of feedback about my people pics from Honduras, so I'm going to try to lean into photographing people and portraits a bit. I re-organized my photo galleries and have a couple of new tabs on the home page and re-did my website a bit.
Thanks! I realized when replying to another comment that next time I'd like to take the photos from a bit further away. I think that would make them stand out in their environment more. These didn't have very good surroundings, though. Just motivation for the next time!
Love these! Always enjoy hearing about the creative process. Thanks for sharing your work.
Thanks Julie! I had a great time with it. I’d love to get better with these, but I have to find more mushrooms first!
The taller ones look like lamps. Do you live in an area with ghost pipes? I’d love to see these techniques applied to them. 😊
Ooo! Ghost pipes and dead man's fingers would be amazing!! I've never seen them around where I live, but I think they exist in the mountains north of me. I'm definitely looking out for them!
Mark your calendar for late May in the West Virginia mountains. . .. .
Excellent! Will do!
Great work Erik - enjoyed the insights into the process here. I have never tried image stacking of any kind because, like you, I don't enjoy photoshop, but seeing these makes me think I should give it a try. We have an abundance of fungi species here (thanks to the endless rain) and I always enjoy a fungi foray with my camera in autumn...
You should definitely give it a try! Focus stacking in Photoshop is pretty easy and lets you get a super close foreground and distant background that's sharp all the way through. Masking and blending like this is much trickier. I was very frustrated when I first started learning it, but there are some great tutorials on YouTube!
Love these Erik and really enjoyed reading about your creative process. I have seen this technique before from other photographers and love the magical mood it creates. I think your shots have come out really well and I particularly like the first one.
Thanks Gill! I think next time I'll take the photo from a bit further away. That might show the 'magic' of the mushroom in the context of more normal surroundings. These particular ones just didn't have much of interest around them. It's something to look forward to!
Definitely. I think its good to try new techniques and experiment with new subjects, it helps us grow as photographers. The only problem I have is I want the images to be perfect first time! 😆
Haha! I'm the same!!
This is such a cool post. Very Fantasia-esque. What a novel idea hunting for mushrooms just to photograph them. Nature is so awesome.
I already have ideas for more of these photos, but I gotta find the mushrooms first!
Popping in here to say I like the magic mushrooms!😍 and your explanation of your editing in Post was informative and inspiring.
Also, came here to say...looking forward to these mysterious updates that are coming to Field Notes....hmmmm...interest piqued..
Lol, thank you! The updates aren't all that mysterious, just not quite ready to go live yet. I'm still not sure if or how it'll affect Field Notes. I got a lot of feedback about my people pics from Honduras, so I'm going to try to lean into photographing people and portraits a bit. I re-organized my photo galleries and have a couple of new tabs on the home page and re-did my website a bit.
Oooh.....well all that sounds awesome!
Love the effect Erik. I too have long enjoyed fungi photos on Instagram - perhaps I'll give it a go one day. Well done you!
Thanks! I realized when replying to another comment that next time I'd like to take the photos from a bit further away. I think that would make them stand out in their environment more. These didn't have very good surroundings, though. Just motivation for the next time!