Karen Davis  

Safe from the Scary 'Shroom by Karen Davis

February 2025 - Safe from the Scary 'Shroom

About the Image(s)

Alternate Title: Saved from the Scary 'Shroom
Camera: Google Pixel 7 Pro (Yep - my cell phone camera!)
ISO- 350
1/75 sec at f/1.9
Date Taken: 8/9/2024

This shot was taken on a recent camping trip to Little Beaver State Park in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia. As Maggie (my BerneDoodle) and I explored the woods around our campsite, I was amazed at the number of mushrooms I saw. There had been some recent rains, so growing conditions
must have been perfect in the damp leaves. This particular threesome sparked my imagination, and I started to weave a story of the larger/older mushroom protecting the child from the scary stranger in the distance. It took several shots to get the angle right. Then a bit of tweaking in Lightroom to up the Clarity, remove a couple of green leaves that were distracting, and add a darker vignette to contribute a
bit of menace to the scene.

I'm hoping to enter this into a local competition with the theme "My Point of View". What do you think?

Thanks for your feedback!

11 comments posted

Gregory Waldron   Gregory Waldron
Hi Karen,
A very nice image. I think this image will do well in your local competition. Your post-processing work fits your story line.
Best regards,
Greg   Posted: 02/08/2025 17:48:49
Karen Davis   Karen Davis
Thank you, Greg. We'll see what our Evaluator says. You just never know!
Karen   Posted: 02/20/2025 04:54:06
Tom Brassil   Tom Brassil
Hi Karen, nice sharp image with the three mushrooms forming a triangle relationship with each other. The subtle hue ranges of the foliage form a nice contrast to the mushrooms. I think a worthy image for a competition, however I might desaturate the greens' in the background, a minor point but, to me, the green contrast with the main colour pallet.
Thanks for sharing   Posted: 02/10/2025 00:41:10
Karen Davis   Karen Davis
Hi Tom,
Good point on those greens. Maybe if I darken them a bit it will look even more "scary"!
Thanks!
Karen   Posted: 02/20/2025 04:55:13
Leslie Larson   Leslie Larson
(Groups 21 & 94)
Humm. I would get rid of the out-of-focus back shroom and agree with Tom to clone out the green. Also, before submitting you might want to bring down the bright white of the stars of the photo. I love mushrooms and find them endlessly photographable (new word).   Posted: 02/11/2025 21:28:56
Karen Davis   Karen Davis
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for your suggestion. I was hoping that folks would see that 'shroom in the back as the scary one chasing the other two in the foreground. Guess I need to do more work!
I appreciate your feedback.
Karen
P.S. I like the word "photographable!" Spell check didn't kick it out!   Posted: 02/20/2025 04:58:35
Erin Browne   Erin Browne
Hi Karen - a great capture- I would have probably stepped on it before I even noticed.

The two mushrooms in the foreground are sharp and I think the contrast coloring of the mushrooms works well with the dark forest floor. Although it does create a triangle and we all like the rule of three - I would like to see it without the out of focus mushroom in the background, and maybe cropping it closer or a different ratio to get rid of the green triangle in the upper right. As the horizon is not level I find it to pull my eyes away from the foreground some   Posted: 02/13/2025 01:57:08
Karen Davis   Karen Davis
Hi Erin,
I doubt you would have stepped on them - they were pretty big and there were LOTS of them everywhere!

I guess I missed the mark with my storytelling on the "scary 'shroom." I might take him out and try converting to black and white.
Thanks for your feedback!
Karen   Posted: 02/20/2025 05:03:32
Ingrid Lockhart   Ingrid Lockhart
Hi Karen. These are very cool mushrooms and I love the surface texture on the tops. I'm not sure about the out of focus mushroom in the background. It does create a grouping of three and a triangle composition, but it definitely draws attention away from the primary two in-focus characters. I agree that the green is distracting and should be desaturated, but I also think that a conversion to black/white might really enhance the atmosphere and composition - worth a try anyway...   Posted: 02/20/2025 19:47:05
Darcy Johnson   Darcy Johnson
Hi Karen - All those mushrooms . . . What a find! As for my votes: I agree it would be best to knock back or be rid of the third mushroom as well as the deep green running along the top of the image. Also, A black and white version would be well worth the try although I do like the main focus and contrast of the two mushrooms as presented among the forest floor of sticks and leaves too. The texture of the mushrooms is lovely. I hope that Maggie didn't try to eat them! All the best with the local competition -   Posted: 02/23/2025 03:41:57
Karen Davis   Karen Davis
Hi Darcy,

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I will definitely try a B&W and see about removing that 3rd'Shroom!

And, Maggie could have cared less about those 'shrooms. They didn't smell like chicken - or cheese!

Take care!
Karen   Posted: 02/23/2025 04:18:44

 

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