Aug 232014
 

Knowing today was going to be the steamiest day of the summer so far, I set out mid-morning on my daily Piney Woods Church Road adventures.  Beside the horse pasture fence, just along the edge of the roadway, I encountered a number of tiny parasol-like mushrooms, Parasola plicatilis, the Japanese Parasol or Pleated Inky Cap.  A common mushroom of urban and suburban lawns, it has a charming elegance that I found captivating.  My favorite photograph of the session was this one, in which I was able to use a fairly small aperture (f/6.3) yet, by turning my camera just so, bring both the mushroom cap and two tiny dew drops on a nearby grass blade into focus.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Aug 032014
 

This afternoon I felt compelled to photograph mushrooms, of which there are several of at least three different species along Piney Woods Church Road right now.  This is a view from underneath, looking up at the gills that are letting in the sunlight.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA