Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Mystery #80


Do you know what this is? Post your guesses in the comments.

UPDATE: Yep, it's a mushroom. I shot this on the same bike ride as the turtle. I was kind of startled to see the mushroom because it was a big as a softball. Here's a shot from turtle's-eye level:

15 comments:

kenju said...

Is it the outside of a melon?

Nicole said...

Is it a mushroom?

Celestial Freak said...

mushroom and melon were a couple of my thoughts too. Also thought maybe some kind of root like kohlrabi or some type of thin tree bark?

Unknown said...

Mutant Meringue?

Shark Girl said...

It looks like a close up view of your "Mushroom in the pines" photo

crystal said...

Looks like mushroom flesh to me!

Charleston Catholic / Clay Center Project said...

I was thinking "mushroom" when I first saw it, too.

Jerry Pennington said...

Cool, haven't seen a mystery photo in a while. I have one of these up right now, too.

I agree with the others and think it's a mushroom.

Rick Lee said...

Yep, it's a mushroom! You guys are good... see update for another photo.

Rick Lee said...

BTW... congrats to Nicole for being first with the correct answer.

Nicole said...

Cool!! What do I win??

Just kidding!

I am only first because I spend way too much time on the computer.

Nicole said...

Back for another comment..or question, I mean.
You just use a regular point and shoot for these shots?

Tell us your secrets, please!!!

Rick Lee said...

Nicole, these were taken with my Fuji Z5 (rather than the Fuji F30 I usually carry with me) The Z5 is a very thin and small camera that I like to carry while bicycling. I put it in a ziplock and stick it in the pocket on the back of my jersey. Most of these little point-and-shoot cameras have a macro mode, but most consumers don't take the time to read the manuals and learn to use their cameras.

Why are my photos better than most? Well... the fact that I have so many years of professional experience doesn't hurt. I have an eye for things that might make a good photo. I take lots of pictures. I didn't take 2 photos of the mushroom. I probably took 10 photos just of the underside. I shot it from various angles and several of the shots weren't even in focus. But I got one I liked. That shot was actually a little too dark as it came out of the camera, but the file that comes out of the camera is just raw material. The camera was metering off of the white mushroom so it came out a little too dark. The camera is stupid, it tries to make everything medium gray because it doesn't know any better. I used Photoshop to lighten it as well as remove the greenish cast that was caused by it being in the deep woods. There is no pure sunlight reaching the forest floor... most of the light is bouncing off of the green leaves of the surrounding plants. This needs to be corrected. This comment is getting pretty long... I'm going to stop now.

Nicole said...

Rick, it's your blog...no one will complain about a long comment.
I think that my camera has that macros stuff. I have read the manual and it makes no sense to me. I have a Kodak easy share Z740 and when I got it 2 years ago, it was supposed to be top of the line as far as point and shoots. I supposed that it serves it's purpose. I recently discovered through reading the manual again, that it has a burst mode, which will take 5 shots in 2 seconds. I love that mode for action shots.

K T Cat said...

Rick, thanks for that long comment. I got the gist of it and now know what to look for in my own camera's manual.