Magpie inkcap in dreamy conditions. ISO 100 - 180 mm - f/3.5 - 1/50 sec.
The leaves are changing color, the serviceberry trees are a deep red, the red oak trees are orange red and the birches are slowly turning into golden yellow colors. On the forest floor it is a party of colored leaves and splurges of mushrooms. It seems this year after the dry summer that the toadstools have done their best after a few rain showers. In my local patch under a few red oak trees, the Magpie inkcap (Coprinus picaceus) grow every year. This beautiful toadstools with a brown conical hat covers with white spots (velum), that's what gives this toadstool its name in dutch “spechtinktzwam” because the spots resemble the plumage of the great spotted woodpecker (Wikipedia). This color scheme stood out well among the leaves of the red oaks.
Young magpie almost covered with leaves of the red oak tree. ISO 160 - 180 mm - f/3.5 - 1/60 sec.
The advantage of this subject is that toadstools stands patiently and you have the opportunity to look at it from all sides and then determine the best composition and then make the image. This seems simple, but I still need the necessary time to finish with a satisfied image. To make an image that I am satisfied with, I need peace of mind and that is unfortunately not always present, so I like to go back when it is a bit quieter in my head. I think this is great advice to photograph a subject several times in a short time, learning by doing is my mantra.
behind the scenes
For photographing toadstools I now also use my Benro Bat tripod, a nice tool with the center column which is ideal for placing the camera at a low view point. As for the lenses, I use both my 180mm macro lens and my Laowa 100mm lens. For this Laowa lens I have adjusted the tripod collar a bit so that it stays in place around the lens so that it can be properly attached under the center column with ball head. When shooting toadstools I try to place the lens between the leaves so that you get a soft dreamy foreground. If possible, I try to slightly upwards the lens so that you can include the light circles (bokeh) through the foliage in the image. When the foliage already has some color, that completes the image as far as I'm concerned.
Final image of the magpie inkcap displayed in the video above. ISO 100 - 100 mm - f/2.8 - 1/40 sec.