Happy International Mushroom Day
A fungus attacks a spider.
October 15th, is International Mushroom Day—a day for fungi lovers worldwide to celebrate our shared obsession. In this blog we dive into how we can all contribute to expanding the world’s knowledge of fungi, share some of the recent successes we’ve had at Planet Fungi, and offer a glimpse into Stephen’s process for photographing the fascinating, tiny world of flesh-eating fungi. Let’s jump in!
In our video for the Great Aussie Fungi Hunt, Stephen Axford, Susie Webster from FUNGIMAP, and our Fungi Hunters Finlay and Marnie guide you through taking a photograph, describing your fungus, and uploading it to iNaturalist.
The Great Aussie Fungi Hunt 2024: Get Involved!
The Great Aussie Fungi Hunt 2024 is in full swing! It kicked off on October 1st and runs through to the end of the month, concluding on October 31st. This is your chance to grab your walking shoes, smartphones, and cameras and join the hunt.
Whether you’re an experienced fungi hunter or just curious about what’s lurking in your backyard, the Great Aussie Fungi Hunt 2024 is the perfect opportunity to embark on an adventure into the hidden world of fungi.
FUNGIMAP, Australia’s citizen science organization dedicated to documenting fungi, is calling on nature lovers and curious minds alike to step outside and start exploring the fungi around them. All you need to do is photograph and document your finds, whether they’re weird, wonderful, or simply fascinating.
For those of you outside Australia, fear not! You can still follow along with some great tips for photographing and describing your specimens for platforms like iNaturalist.
FUNGIMAP - https://fungimap.org.au/
VIDEO - https://bit.ly/GAFH_HowToVideo
And if you’re local, there’s even more incentive: prizes for the Most Research Grade Finds and the Most Exciting or Rarest Find. Just upload your observations to iNaturalist to be eligible!
With over 2,000 observations from more than 500 participants already logged in the first ten days, we’re off to a fantastic start.
Head over to Fungimap for hints on where to look and check out their guide to the 100 most commonly identified Australian fungi here.
FOLLOW THE RAIN has continued to gather recognition at international film festivals!
Last weekend, the Innsbruck Nature Film Festival in Austria honoured Catherine for her work as a director, cinematographer, and editor of Planet Fungi’s new documentary, FOLLOW THE RAIN with the Wild Women Award.
This project was a labour of love, born from our passion for sharing the incredible world of fungi and its critical role in sustaining life on Earth.
FOLLOW THE RAIN was also recognised at the EKOFILM Festival in the Czech Republic, where it received the Best Film: Beauty in Nature Award.
Additionally, the Canadian Cinematography Awards selected FOLLOW THE RAIN as Best Documentary Cinematography, Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Producer, Best Original Score in December 2023 and Canadian Cinematography Awards – Best film of the month which means it is now one of the 20 films selected for the live screenings in 2025.
The European Cinematography Awards awarded it with Best Cinematography in December 2023.
It’s a huge honour to have our work appreciated on such a global scale.
This recognition only reinforces how others are coming to realise how fungi are essential to the planet’s biodiversity and that conserving their habitats is crucial.
❤️📺🍄🟫💻🍄🟫📱❤️
If you live in Australia or New Zealand you can now watch FOLLOW THE RAIN on Netflix ANZ 🎉 Whether you’re lounging on the couch, commuting, or just looking for an excuse to binge some fungi goodness—press play on any device you can get your hands on. Watch it, rewatch it, give it a double thumbs-up👍👍and please spread the word.🍄🟫📺✨🙏
To stay up to date on international screening, streaming, and broadcast opportunities, follow us https://www.planetfungi.movie/follow-us
If you are an international streamer or broadcaster interested in screening Follow the Rain, please get in touch with Natalie Lawley at Escapade Media.
Find out more about FOLLOW THE RAIN
Photographing Entomopathogenic Fungi: A Technical Journey
It's time for Stephen to walk you through the technical process of photographing some of the tiniest, most bizarre fungi out there: entomopathogenic fungi.
These kinds of fungi infect and take over the bodies of insects. They’re incredibly intricate and beautiful, but they can also be as small as 2 mm, which poses quite a photographic challenge.
For fungi like these, I use an old Canon MPE 65 mm lens with my Sony a7R V camera, which gives me the high level of magnification needed to capture these minute details. But here’s where the technical side kicks in—this isn’t your typical point-and-shoot scenario.
To get everything in focus, I have to use a technique called focus bracketing. This involves taking multiple photos at different focus points and merging them together to create one perfectly sharp image.
With these fungi, which often have complex structures pointing in all directions, I might need over a hundred layers.
Because the lens doesn’t have a focus ring, I use a StackShot rail system, which moves the camera ever so slightly—sometimes by just 30 microns—to change the focus with each shot. This requires a rock-solid setup: a sturdy tripod, excellent lighting, and plenty of patience.
Speaking of lighting, I prefer to control it as much as possible, so when I don’t need to photograph the specimen in the field, I use artificial lighting. On my Sony a7R V, I aim for a low F-stop, often around F4, depending on the size of the fungus. If the F-stop is too high, I run into diffraction issues, which blur the image. The goal is to strike the perfect balance between resolution and depth of field.
For the tiniest subjects, some photographers go even further, using microscope objectives on their lenses. If you’re curious, check out Alison Pollack’s work on teeny fungi and slime moulds—she’s an expert at this technique!
Photographing these fungi is tricky for another reason: it’s hard to isolate the subject from its background. Often, the leaf or wood substrate the fungus is growing on fills the shot, and I try to make sure that not only the fungus but also part of its environment is in focus to create a complete image.
Despite the challenges, these tiny fungi are mesmerizing. When you get the shot just right, the details leap off the screen, revealing their strange, alien-like beauty that most people never get to see.
FUNGI: WEB OF LIFE screenings
Byron Bay Film Festival - Sun 20 Oct, 12:45 pm Palace Byron Bay
Melbourne IMAX cinema - Season 1 16 - 20 October
Sydney Opera House - 28 November
This documentary features Merlin Sheldrake (author of the bestseller Entangled Life) and is narrated by the legendary Björk and features time-lapses by Stephen Axford, Wim van Egmond and Patrick Healey.
It is currently screening worldwide. Find your closest IMAX or DOME cinema here https://www.fungimovie.com/theaters
You can also request an on-demand screening here in non-IMAX cinemas here https://www.fungimovie.com/theaters
WALL ART FOR PLANNING AND DREAMING
Miraculous Mushroom Calendar 2025 is here!
Enjoy Stephen Axford’s stunning portraits of fungi, complete with fascinating facts.
This twelve-month calendar is available now at bookshops and online.
Our publishers are committed to sustainability, planting over one million trees and eliminating single-use plastic.
SUPPORT FUNGAL RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION
If you would like to support more research into, and conservation of, this fascinating, important, but understudied area of science, there are three organisations that we partner with, who work tirelessly in these areas.
AUSTRALIA - Big Scrub Conservancy Foundation
INTERNATIONAL - Fungi Foundation
Every little bit helps.
Hygrocybe cheelii a spring fungus in the southern regions of Australia - a perfect find for the Great Aussie Fungi Hunt.