Nature
Pictures
#fungi
#Jay Lichter
#macro
#New Zealand
#slime mildew
All photos © Jay Lichter, shared with permission
For years, New Zealand-based mycophile Jay Lichter didn’t consider mushrooms as far more than produce one buys within the grocery store. However he started to note how a lot selection exists within the fungi world as he realized to establish totally different species and respect their necessary ecological function. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than he began paying extra consideration to slime molds, which regularly emerge in comparable habitats as fungi.
Lichter started taking images three years in the past utilizing an iPhone with a damaged display screen, however it wasn’t lengthy earlier than he leveled as much as a macro digital camera setup that allows him to seize the microscopic phenomena close-up and in unbelievable element. And many of the examples he discover are close by in native forests he feels lucky to have entry to. “I have a few favorite spots that never disappoint,” he tells Colossal, “but I try to keep things varied because you just never know, and that’s what makes things so exciting and novel every time I go out to take photos.”
One among Litchter’s favorites up to now is Mycena roseflava, a tiny pink specimen that appears like sugar-coated sweet, which he documented because of a stroke of luck. “Its impossibly tiny size and its colour and texture combo is what makes this mushroom in particular my favorite find to date,” he says. “On top of that, it was the very last photo I took on that day, and my camera died immediately afterwards, so I was potentially only seconds away from not being able to capture it at all!”
The variety of New Zealand’s fungi has impressed a brand new ebook undertaking, which Lichter is planning to publish late subsequent yr. Discover extra of his nice finds on Instagram.
#fungi
#Jay Lichter
#macro
#New Zealand
#slime mildew
Do tales and artists like this matter to you? Grow to be a Colossal Member as we speak and assist unbiased arts publishing for as little as $5 monthly. You will join with a group of like-minded readers who’re keen about up to date artwork, learn articles and newsletters ad-free, maintain our interview sequence, get reductions and early entry to our limited-edition print releases, and far more. Be a part of now!
