alt Hacker NewsPhotographing the hidden world of slime mould
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Many years ago (or so it seems now), I was turned on to slime moulds by the photos of Kim Fleming on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/myriorama/albums/1271006/). The undersides of logs can be a good place to find them.
My, that was a yummy slime mold!
> "You take multiple pictures, sometimes over 100 and it takes tiny little slivers of focus, and then you put all those into software, and that creates your final image."
Is this a workaround to let us see “what it would look like”, or are there optical reasons why this produces an image that is inherently artificial, and could never really be perceived that way?
When I was a young urbanite, I might not have believed you if you told me that one day I would gain great pleasure in discovering large blooms of Dog vomit slime mold in the garden, but here we are.
Slime molds are really amazing; large patches spring up overnight and they are so vibrant in color.
>If you shrink yourself down to the size of a mite, and take a walk through the forest, this is how you would see slime mould.
Thanks for explaining the concept of close-up photography in terms I can understand. :D
If you saw a movie with an alien landscape with these appearances, you might think it's too far fetched.
I realize that that these photos are for looking at but it irks me when there is never a size scale.
One of my favorite Facebook groups is "Slime Mold Identification & Appreciation", which has some spectacularly talented and prolific professional slime mold photographers posting to it. Including Barry Webb, the subject of this article, who is an "all star contributor" and posts frequently.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1510123272580859
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1510123272580859/user/100041...
And then there's this guy:
Harvesting, cooking and eating Dog Vomit Slime Mold:
Macro photography is a fascinating hobby, revealing a whole new world under your nose. And you don't have to go any further than your garden or local park to go on safari.
It requires a bit of kit:
-digital camera (I use a Nikon D7000)
-macro lens (I use a Laowa 100mm). A standard lens won't be able to focus close enough.
-flash (I use a Godox). You need a decent flash to get enough light for a sharp photo. Ambient light won't cut it.
The main issue is that the depth of field (the area in front and behind the bit your are focussing on) is tiny. Usually well under a millimetre. Which makes focussing quite a challenge. Thankfully digital photos are effectively free and you can just delete the blurry ones.
It is also quite challenging to get close enough to insects to photograph (you need to be within a few mm).
There are plenty of good videos on YouTube to get you started, if you are interested.