Well, I am sitting here in relative panic mode. I just boxed up and UPSed off my 5D Mark II to Canon for a clean and check. There are a few spots on the sensor that my Sensor Swabs cannot remove. It’s been a few years so off it went in advance of foliage season. I do have the 40D in the interim, but I’ve only been using that for the insect shots I’ve posted. If all goes well, Steve Extended will be back for this weekend.
Before all that, I visited Hawley Bog in hopes of finding some rich red pitcher plants. I am not convinced the shots are worth sharing…we’ll see. On the way out, I photographed theses nice bright shiny orange mushroom. They are, to the best of my knowledge, Orange Mycenas-Myceana leaiana.
While I was at it, I decided these were a good subject to try out my new 15mm macro lens. Seriously…it’s the Venus Optics Loawa 15mm wide angle macro. It can focus within a few inches and still include the surrounds to give a feel for the habitat.
It’s going to take some practice and is entirely manually operated.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
That is amazing~ the best of both worlds! I think the maiden shot with it is wonderful. Shrooms are so fun to look at.
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Walking in the shadowy dank woods, I saw these mushrooms as a beacon of color. I passed them by on the way into the bog knowing they weren’t going anywhere as a dickcissel might have. 🙂
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Ha, yeah! …now if it were slime mold, you never know 🙂
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I can hear the slime mold now….slow down, you walk too fast. 🙂
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Haha! 🙂
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That is a vibrant orange.
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Yeah, it shouted at me from the shadows, Jim.
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Were you jumping at the shadows? http://youtu.be/xRzZP3N_BmY
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Nice. Here’s a version that I like a lot….
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Excellent choice. I’ve enjoyed it many times. Thanks.
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What an interesting idea. An ultra WA macro. I love ‘shrooms but I find identifying them really tough. I am not familiar with the lens. Is it a B&H order Steve?
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I have a hard time with them too, Andrew. Some are discernible only by spore prints which means ripping them from the ground, which you know I won’t do. One good reason why I don’t forage for them is the difficulty in an ID.
The lens is new…I had to wait several weeks until B&H had them in stock and pounced upon notification of availability. Several European photographers, like Paul Harcourt Davies, received theirs a while back and have been posting images on FB and I was smitten. It’s a bit of a challenge at first.
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Let me know what you think of the lens Steve. I shall have to see if it is available over here. I guess it must be but I haven’t seen it advertised or reviewed.
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Here are some reviews that I read prior to ordering….
http://learnmacro.com/closer-still-first-forays-with-the-venus-optics-laowa15mm-f4-wide-angle-11-macro-lens/
http://learnmacro.com/
I’ve only made the the one image so far, but based on Paul’s review I am expecting good images relying on whether I exhibit competence. 🙂
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I’m loving the mushroom photos! I’ll also be very curious to hear about the 15mm macro – news of that one has had me pretty intrigued.
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Thanks, Jackson. I hope to find a few more to share. I’ll try to make a few more images with the Venus once I get the 5D2 back.
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“Beacon of color” is a perfect description. I’m especially fond of the first photo, where the glassy appearance of the mushrooms is most pronounced. They look like the sort of glass objets d’ sort-of-art that were so popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
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I think the first is my preferred image and what I am most used to doing. Up close and intimate. The other is a bit unpolished still, but on the way.
We purchased a rooster that could be a metal objet d’ sort-of-art as a house present for some hosts once while in Maine. They declared it to be kitsch and there was no evidence of it anywhere upon our next visit. Oh well, we have its twin in our greenhouse window. One couple’s kitsch is another’s objet d’ interest. 🙂
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The rich, bold colors with the darker background makes such amazing images. I love the details in your shots.
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Thanks, Charlie. I guess that, in this case, the devil is not in the details.
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You’re still the king of mushroom pictures among the photographers I’m familiar with.
A 15mm macro: wow. No doubt you’ll have lots of fun with it. The fact that it’s a manual lens shouldn’t bother a photographer like you who got started when all cameras focused manually.
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It helps to love your subject as you know, Steve. While I am not an avid mycophile, I do find mushrooms fascinating.
I am figuring the operation out. The aperture is manual as well as the focus. The camera gets no information from the lens (until capture and display of the histogram) and the DOF preview button is relatively moot. I used a CP filter to cut the glare on the mushroom cap, but the angle is so wide that the filter ring vignettes. I may have to start carrying my handheld meter again.
If you would like to read a review from someone who actually knows what he is doing, see the links I left for Andrew above.
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