Once the original wild mushroom pictures are taken, back in the 'digital photography darkroom' of the computer the images of the mushroom picture then serve as both inspiration and source for the creation of the digital 'master' photographs from which the final wild mushroom art prints ultimately will be created. The original digital mushroom pictures are in effect the raw material from which the mushroom picture digital masters are created for the mushroom prints. Sometimes for the mushroom print the only changes to the original wild mushroom pictures may be as simple as cropping the photograph and removing a blurry shadow cast by a mote of dust on the lens. For other prints the lighting and composition of the scene may be altered to bring about a mood change or to change the emotional focus of the final mushroom print. Sometimes several separate images of the same fungi subject or scene are melded together to create a different or more complete scene. Some alterations are essentially the digital replications of established techniques of the masters of traditional film photography (many ground breaking methods were perfected by Ansel Adams, for example). However, an all-digital creative workflow can yield more than the traditional process of 'analog' photography. The all-digital process allows artistic choices which are unavailable to traditional photographers. The result is that the final digital master for a print may surpass what is possible to actually capture on film - digital or otherwise.
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 05
Many things which some might view as hassles are in fact what make the process of stalking mushrooms for fungi watercolor art appealing, while other difficulties and technical problems are and always will be just simple drudgery and trouble. There is a certain practical challenge involved in squirming into a moldy patch of forest debris while chasing the perfect angle on a little mycena, but being up close in the natural environment of that mushroom is its own reward too. …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 09
While not the case for mushroom art prints, for the purpose of mushroom identification and mycology studies, it is perfectly acceptable and in many circumstances absolutely essential to pick the mushroom. If the mushroom is growing so that the gills are not visible, or if one needs to take a spore print, or if one needs to examine the base of the mushroom stem to determine if it is tapered or bulbous, one often can't do any of that satisfactorily without picking the mushroom. …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 13
Sometimes it is best to use the scene's natural light, although this kind of low light photography (particularly under a dense forest canopy) can be difficult. Sometimes it is beneficial to augment natural lighting conditions with a remote flash or a macro flash to complement (or even overcome) the natural lighting and make the perfect art print. …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 06
Why is it that taking pictures of mushrooms presents a special challenge for someone wanting to make mushroom watercolor giclee art from these images? Well, it is a mix of technical, personal, and practical reasons. Many of these challenges are unique to fungi art photography (although one might imagine many are also shared by the mold photographer...). …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 16
I do not intend my mushroom art photographs and prints to be used for mushroom identification, and, although I am often tempted, I do not indulge in mushroom picking. In the final mushroom art print, I want to present an interpretation of the mushroom which reflects the state and environment in which I found it. This is impossible to achieve after mushroom picking for many reasons. …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 14
There is no question that from a purely mechanical and practical standpoint, mushroom picking can make mushroom photography a technically much easier process. However, in addition to physically disturbing the delicate natural features of the mushroom's natural micro-environment, and risking inflicting physical damage upon the mushroom itself, mushroom picking disrupts the scene's natural composition. …
Mushroom Art for Sale by Artist C Ribet 12
My mushroom photography for my mushroom art prints is most often not so much mycological photography of the mushrooms themselves as it is photography of the mushroom micro-environment and the surroundings there. Each mushroom photograph uses a mushroom as either the emotional focus or the primary visual focus of the print, but the mushroom itself may be not of much use to a mycology expert. …