I really wish I was a better naturalist. I try though. My bookshelf is filled with identification guides of all sorts – bugs to birds, lichen to leaves. . But the ol’ hard drive in my head can’t seem to pack in much more information these days. . . So quite often when I am in the field, I shoot by what attracts my eye, not necessarily because I am out to document some biological discovery. . Knowing your subject and its habitat always helps, but I never thought it to be mandatory.
This was the case today with these mushrooms I don’t photograph mushrooms a lot, so my ID knowledge of them really stinks I suppose if I knew more, I would recognize the ‘magic’ kind and it might actually help some of my photographs! 😉 I looked them up afterward, and they are nothing really special – common Japanese Umbrella mushrooms that are known to grow in the typical suburban lawn Hmm – didn’t know that, might have overlooked them many times until this particular time. And, they are edible!. Didn’t try that.
But now I will know them when I see them again. That is usually how it goes, and it is a very slow process of learning new species. There are only so many birds, birdsongs, wildflowers, trees, plants, bugs, etc that I can keep in my head at any particular moment I really envy those that can!
I like it , its simple and clean yet we detailed. And yeah I also want to have more experience when it comes to nature photography. I do mostly trees and shrubbery , Unfortunately with me living in the middle of the city there seem to be a limited number of chances to go to the wilderness for more natural and panoramic subjects
I understand what you ™re saying. I shoot quite a bit of nature photography and though I know my craft and settings well I tend to just shoot and then sort through all the images later. I have also been known to do this when shooting wildlife photography.
Just about anytime I shoot something outdoors I am overwhelmed by potential shots so I just click away and then spend a few hours during the weekend sorting through them all. I ™d say the good to not so good ration is usually about 70%-30% in favor of the good. The shots I don ™t care for end up in the recycle bin while the other outdoors photos turn into wildlife art prints.
lol, Boyd. I have a Jack Russell too and she tries to eat everything including her own… well I’ll leave that to your imagination.
I got a laugh out of this post because I am the same way. It’s not that I don’t care about knowing the subject, but I’m a visual person first everything else second. I like to shoot birds depending on where I am but it’s I’m not going to stand there trying to ID a bird as it is whizzing by my camera. I’m totally hopeless at ID’g trees and flowers though.
I believe that photography is a wonderful way of learning about nature,for people who are not students of biology.I wouldn’t really ever sit down and read stuff about living creatures. But when I’m out in the field I love to photograph anything that looks good and I then try finding out what I have photographed. I’ve learnt more about nature and wildlife by this method than when I was at school! 🙂
Ron, sorry ’bout that – it was put in my spam filter for some reason. Hopefully that will not happen again.
Tom – I will have to look those up.
I commented a few days ago, but it didn’t seem to take.
Anyway – really cool shot Mark!
I also wish I was a better naturalist. My fear is that I’m going to walk right by some rare flower / plant / bird and not even know it.
Ron
Love the composition in this one – it’s lovely. The two groups of radial lines are great together.
Looks like some kind of Mycena species to me. I used to be a wild mushroom hunter, member of the Boston Mycological Club and all. I’d caution you about eating any wild mushroom until you know more – I don’t think there are any prize edibles in this group at all, so it isn’t worth the risk. Look for chanterelles and boletus edulis!
Amazing mushroom. I probably wouldn’t have thought so if you had not stated it. I have trouble myself remembering. I’m more intuitive. I would photo more mushrooms but my Jack Russell eats them before I can. I’m afraid he is going to poison his crazy self! Nice article.
Great shot Mark,mushrooms are really neat and I would love to do an extensive shoot on them, but they are to close to the ground and every shot I have attempted has come out lacking. I guess a lot of trial and error, would be the best approach.
Great photo Mark!
I hear you – I wish I was a better naturalist as well. I try. I sure admire people with indepth knowledge.
I have wondered how many times I have wandered past a rare plant / bird / flower and didn’t even realize it.
Cheers,
Ron
My experience is similar to Bill’s. I start out being happy with “it’s a spider” and up on Bugguide trying to ID species.
Mark,
I would say it’s a combination of the end result and your own standards. What I’ve seen of your own work emphasizes form, color, texture, etc. Prints would easily fit into a home or office. Decoration. You don’t have to know what you are shooting, so long as it is striking. If education was the objective, then you take two or more photos. One is of the plant in its environment. The other or others are closeups of the flowers, fruit, and other details. You don’t have to go for beauty as much.
On the other hand, your own standards may arise. You invest in books because you want to know more. And of course, knowing more about your subject enables you to know where and when to look for certain things, and where the real nature news is. There is a satisfaction in photographing things in nature that are rare.
If that is your cause, I would advise that you get yourself on a first-name basis with (or otherwise close to) the nearest specialists in the various fields of nature, like at a university or museum. Plant identification is tricky. Insect identification is really tricky. Some stuff can be done from books. Quite a bit of it cannot. Talking to the experts can be a big help. If possible, get one of them to take you on a field trip where the expert does his or her thing and you just watch. You could be blown away by the experience. I have.
Bill
Lovely Japanese Umbrella Mushrooms. 🙂 I’ve only tried to ID a few plants, but I love to try to ID birds, though I’ve not captured anything exotic, to be sure. 🙂
On being edible, no thanks! I’ll buy mine at the grocery store! 🙂
I use my cheapo digicam to photograph all kinds of stuff I want to identify when I’m home. Been concentrating on shrubs and caterpillars the past two years. But one thing I’ve learned is to try to get the diagnostic characterictics clearly in pixels. I used to end up with a picture of nondescript vegetation with pink flowers and still not be certain whether the leaves are alternate or opposite. So I shoot several shots now, sometimes with my hand in the picture (to expose some part), and I am not doing too bad. Then I jot the locality and date notes in the field guide (which really helps rcall next yera when you’ve forgotten everything. Digital photographty makes it easier compared to the old days.