257: Sloppy Ink Caps

Coprinus comatus in its squishy phase, captured after prolonged rainfall today.
I intended to take sime photos of these yesterday (when they were all much fresher,) but I didn't have my camera on me.
Lesson 1: Ink caps are very short-lived.
Lesson 2: Might want the camera? Then take it!!
I took some decent shots today, anyway; even if I had to wait until the early evening.

Settings: f/4, 1/100, ISO 400, P-FA 50mm.

240: Coral of the Woods

I can't tell whether this is Yellow Antler fungus or Ramaria aurea, but I'm glad I came across it today.
I also used a fill-in flash to help with this shot; previous outings to capture close-ups of fungi would sometimes yield disappointing pictures when long exposures were needed, due partly to shake, while noise and disappointing colour could also be problems.
Using a flash cuts down the exposure time, gives crisper images and is also useful for giving extra illumination do shaded areas of the image - common in situations like these.

Settings: f/8, 1/4, ISO 100, 50mm Pentacon M42, 9mm extension, 1/4 flash, white card, beanbag.

113: Fungus Anonymous

Settings: f/6.7, 1/180, ISO 100, 50mm Cosinon M42, 27mm extension, 1/4 flash, foil reflector, white card, tripod.

111: Mushroom Double

Upon my egg box of corn salad seedlings sprouts a stand of tiny mushrooms. Too curious not to record in an image today, they await an identification which may never happen.
They're certainly pretty close up, resembling a group of very flat jellyfish-like creatures.

Settings: f/8, 1/180, ISO 100, 50mm Cosinon M42, 17mm extension, 1/4 flash, foil reflector, tripod.

Is 111 a lucky number? Today I recieved a new (old, second hand) DSLR, a Canon EOS D30. I had no illusions about its image quality compared to the K10D, but it's ideal for shooting animation with. Why?
1. They're very cheap!
2. I don't have to wear out my K10D on animation now.
3. It has a DC adapter with its battery charger, an otherwise expensive extra, but essential. Plus, it works with the 10D, 20D etc.
4. The 2168x1440 resolution (small, but still plenty of room for cropping to full 1080p HD.) Also, the small option (1440x960) can be used for 720p.

I shot the same scene on the D30 with the same lens and flash setup, but the framing is different, due to a slight move to get it into minimum focus (because of the lack of 1mm extension by PK adapter) and the different crop factor (1.6x as opposed to 1.52x)
However, it took a while to get the manual flash working, as I didn't realise I needed to tape over the four extra hotshoe contacts - as with the K10D. Consequently, the mushrooms, having grown in a plastic bag and around 100% humidity, had already started to shrivel in the dry air. But no matter, it's also interesting for that reason.

Settings: as before, except 1/200 and 16mm extension.

101: Wood Shrooms

What mushrooms are these? I thought they might be sulphur tufts, but I'm not sure.
I didn't expect to see any mushrooms now, what with it being spring. They're mostly around in autumn, by my experience.
I like to get the camera down nice and low for mushrooms; high-angle shots just don't do them justice, and often look amateurish. It's a good thing I had my beanbag with me so I could take a solid shot from the ground. I should invest in an angled viewfinder attachment so I don't have to bend down and see the image twisted round, but it's not really essential. This one came out right first time, so there's my slowly advancing photographic experience making itself known again.

Settings: f/8, 1/25, ISO 100, P-FA 50mm, beanbag.

003: Mushrooms of Wood

A group of mushroom-like carvings fashioned from tree trunks, which I came across these in a clearing in some local woodland. Do these serve a purpose or are they merely the result of a forester's idle fancy? Either way, they caught my attention today with their unexpected forms.
They somehow seem like stakes with safety caps.

That same walk in the woods this morning was filled with small birds. We could hear two woodpeckers tapping on differently sized trees (judging by the difference in pitch.)
Plus a list of other birds we spotted:
Jay, Woodpigeon, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Chaffinch (possibly.)
Our toes got slightly frozen again today, it's been an unusually cold winter. All the better for ice photos, though.
I didn't take any photos of birds today as it was too cold to stand around and wait, and I wasn't in a waving-a-large-lens-around mood. Besides, the birdwatching hide was a long way off and on the other side of a main road.