Fungus is Among Us: Photographing Mushrooms on the Patio

I just wanted to make some photographs on that fine afternoon.

One of the ways I use to stay creative is the 1-hour photo shoot, or its little brother, the half-hour photoshoot.

Constrain the time. Focus the mind.

And shoot.

Not a moment longer than what is set.

I get my gear together, and the surfaces, props, and subjects I want to use. Then hit the timer button and get to it.

I had purchased a small box of brown mushrooms a few days prior, and decided they would be the perfect subjects.

My studio that afternoon was my front patio, and it was a bit late in the day. This gave me light through the trees and umbrellas and I used that to sculpt the compositions.

I set the timer on my iPhone to 30 minutes.

I had found a few pieces of flooring tile on a walk with my granddaughter and they were too cool to leave lying in the desert. They were sitting on the porch and instantly became a prop for the subjects.

I look for design, color, and shape when I shoot. The arrow shape of the tile worked as a foil against the same shape reversed of the direct light. Throwing the shadow forward was the idea.

I then moved to the saltillo tile floor, which after 25 years has begun to look just about right. Recent rains have helped add to the patina.

I am not a fan of working on the ground, but I made it a point to push on and let the knees suffer for art. And they did… heh.

The flowers were falling from the little bushes so I simply let them fall into the photo and left them alone (mostly… still had to provide some distances and prevent the clumping).

I shot about 20 images, keeping 9.

The timer went off and I put the camera down and cleaned up the patio.

Camera: Canon 6D
Lens: 50MM f1.4

I am a photographer, designer, and photo editor. You can find me at my self-named website or at Project 52 Pro System where I teach commercial photography online. This is our tenth year of teaching, and it is the most unique online class you will find anywhere.

You can find my books on Amazon, and I have taught two classes at CREATIVELIVE.