How do pictures of mushrooms present challenges for mushroom art vs. mushroom identification for mycology?
C Ribet: 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. For a mushroom photograph to adequately present a subject for safe mushroom identification (which you certainly want if you are out mushroom picking), it should show clearly every feature of the mushroom. How does a mushroom photograph show the top and the bottom of a mushroom, from cap to base of stem, if the there wasn't at least a little mushroom picking in the photographic process! 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. Obviously, after mushroom picking, the mushroom is not in the environment any longer, but for many mushrooms even from the very moment of picking, the mushroom itself rapidly begins to change, spores are lost, delicate veils fall off and change shape, colors degrade (sometimes instantaneously). Even minor things change, which might be a part of a mushroom art print 'scene composition', for example, the colorful mites and flies (sometimes a blessing, often a curse) will often depart after mushroom picking. The subtle and delicate natural spore prints on the surrounding groundcovers are disturbed or completely lost after mushroom picking. In contrast to the 'invasive' nature of mushroom photography for the purposes of mycology studies and mushroom identification, mushroom photography for the purpose of creating pictures of mushrooms for making mushroom art prints is quite the opposite. More...
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