Quote: How did you light this and yet achieve that pure black ?

(so curious as this series is brill)

Thanks for asking. It's all natural light. The mushroom was growing from decaying wood and I managed to use a tree trunk as a dark background. It was very dark in the forest, hence the long exposure, but the available light was coming down from the tree canopy above and behind the tree trunk so the mushroom is lit from behind and above. A lot of these smaller mushrooms are translucent and some light passes through them hence it almost looks as though they are lit from within. Sometimes I use aluminium foil to reflect light onto the underside of a mushroom but not in this case - just available light, a long exposure and praying that there isn't a breath of wind to cause any movement. Hope this explains it.

Phil.

Despite the competition between the two areas of highlights the title holds it all together. The quality of the lighting is excellent and the processing work is top notch. Would it be better with the orange areas at the top right and near the bottom right cloned out? Nevertheless a beautiful image which captures the mood of the forest.

Phil.