Green Moss
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While hiking in Pine Mountain State Park I was intrigued with the plant life that was on the trees. I assume these green guys are a moss since they were primarily on the north side of the trees. This image was taken using my 60mm Nikkor macro lens and processed in Aperture 3.
Moss #2
Another shot of the moss from a little closer. This image was also processed in Aperture 3.
Moss and Lichen
I was also fascinated by the various lichen that accompanied the moss. The patterns and textures are so intricate. As with the previous images I used Aperture 3 for processing.
Moss #3
The more I studied these mosses the more intrigued I became.
Lichen Study
These lichen remind me of coral reefs floating above canyons in the sea. The forms and colors are amazing and seem as endless as the ocean depths.
Lichen Study #2
These lichen are everywhere in the forest at Pine Mountain. These were on a branch I found lying on the ground but they were everywhere on the trees and on the forest floor as well. The texture and delicate structure is something that really draws my eye to them.
I’m not sure that I have properly identified any of these organisms and welcome any input that people want to share with me about what they are.
Lichens are fascinating, aren’t they? I’ve often thought they look like life-forms from coral reefs also. Beautiful images, Nick.
Thanks I’m glad you like the images and the subject matter.
The green guys are a kind of club-moss. How did you get that great depth of field?
Annie I appreciate the info about what the moss. I shot these images at f22 using my 60mm Nikkor Micro Lens on a Nikon D90 body giving me 90mm final magnification due to the small sensor crop factor. Of course I also used a tripod and a remote release to keep everything steady.
Annie I also tried to make sure that the subjects were on the same plane as my camera. Think of it as trying to photograph a printed page; doing so allowed me to minimise the depth of the subject whereas shooting at an angle would have expanded the depth of the image and thrown more of it out of focus.
You’re obviously doing everything right. I usually use a Sigma 150 macro on a D200 or D800, but perhaps I should be borrowing my husband’s Nikkor 60 micro when he is using his 105 micro.
By the way, you’re fungi #2 shot is actually of a lichen (ok, so lichens are part fungi, part algae)
As a photography judge I can only comment that these are good scientific technical images but as photo art they lack composition, clear cut subject matter and potential viewer interest. Sorry but I could not rate them very highly.
Thank you for sharing your opinion Leon.
I had to chuckle at Leon’s comment…all in the eye of the beholder. Nick, Nature macro is my first love and I loved your subject studies.
Thanks Phyllis, I thought they were pretty good compositions too.
Before I read your comment about the mosses and lichen looking like coral, I thought how much they resemble the coral I have just seen snorkeling in the waters of St. Bart. I like especially the colors in the blue lichen.
I used to scuba dive in the caribbean off the island of Bonair and the connection to coral was pretty vivid for me. Thanks for commenting Blanche.
These images take me back many years when I was learning photography and would go out in the early spring as the snow was melting. At the time I was using a Canon TX and a 50mm with extension tubes and shooting on Kodachrome. Times have certainly changed. Thanks for the images Nick.
Glad you liked it Mike.
Some of my favorite macros are of fungi and lichen. Great compositions and DOF.
Thank you for the kind words.