Member-only story
Nonfiction
Trying to Get the Perfect Shot: Mushroom Photography 101
A photo-essay on the successes, failures, and surprises of trying out a new hobby
I’m a big fan of mushrooms. The cute kind, not the eating kind.
I recently befriended a mycologist (mushroom scientist) who is teaching me how to spot mushrooms in the wild; where to find them; their names; and all sorts of fun facts.
But I, layman when it comes to the natural sciences, just want to take cute pictures of them, especially when I come across the most perfect, beautiful mushroom like in the photo above.
Is that AI? you might be asking. Because how could I possibly have stumbled across not only a perfect mushroom, but a toadstool with a toad on it, so perfectly posed?
Answer: I didn’t. Like most nature photography, it’s a little bit staged.
“The hardest part of nature photography,” I wrote in a Facebook post after taking these photos, “is getting your husband to catch the toads.”
