The Spore the Merrier
For my final attempt to photograph fungi this year, (2025), I went to one of my favourite woodland locations, Wisley Common in Surrey
It was warm for mid-December, so my photography walk felt more like an early autumn day than winter. Most fungi had been and gone by this time of year, and trying to find any still standing wasn’t going to be easy as the woodland floor covered was with fallen leaves.
Every so often though, I spotted one clinging to a rotting log standing alone defiantly among the leaf litter, and those few were enough for a session of macro photography.
I had a couple of small lights with me, a small tripod, and as it was very quiet, (there can often be a lot of dog walkers), I decided to experiment with focus stacking.
Equipment
Nikon Z8
Nikon 105mm Macro lens
Sirui AM-223L tripod
Two small small led panels with triopds
Towel (for positioning the camera on the ground)
Gilled mushroom, Mycenoid type
Gilled mushroom, known as a Mycenoid type due to its slender stem and small cap.
Creating the Image
20 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/3 second : f 20 : iso 64
One small light in front and to the side
Camera on the ground
Common Jelly Spot fungus
Common Jelly Spot fungus on the end of a a decaying log
Creating the Image
18 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/30 : f 9 : iso 400
Natural light
Camera on the tripod
Bracket Fungi
Bracket fungi or shelf fungi growing on a log
Creating the Image
39 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/50 second : f 8 : iso 400
One small light above left
Camera on the tripod
Hidden among the bracket fungi were two tiny transparent gilled fungi
Sulphur Tuft Fungi
The caps are typically orange in the center, becoming a lighter sulfur-yellow towards the edges, and can reach up to around 5cm in diameter. Grows in clumps.
Creating the Image
15 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/30 second : f 8 : iso 100
One small light above left
Camera on the tripod
Purple Jelly Disc Fungi
Creating the Image
49 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/3 second : f 8 : iso 100
Natural light, rucksack used to keep sunlight off of fungi
Camera on the tripod
Too small to identify, (see image right)
Creating the Image
30 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/5 second : f 11 : iso 64
One light underneath the fungi
Camera on the tripod
Probably ivory bonnet fungus
Creating the Image
13 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/3 second : f 13 : iso 64
One light behind right
Candlesnuff Fungus
Common Candlesnuff Fungus
Creating the Image
27 images stacked in helicon focus
Edited in Lightroom
1/5 second : f 13 : iso 64
I did one stack with natural light, and one with an LED panel. The image above was with natural light which I preferred
Final Gallery (click to enlarge)
