Beautiful Shrooms.

From Kestrel. Click for full size.

This is called a “shrump”; it is a hump in the duff caused by a mushroom coming up from underneath. Just like a Christmas present, you can’t tell what’s in there until you open it.

Inside the shrump is Russula brevipes.

What on Earth is THAT? Well, believe it or not, this too used to be Russula brevipes. It was attacked by another fungus that is parasitic on other mushrooms – Hypomyces lactiflourum.

Hypomyces lactiflourum is not always so “mushroomy” looking. Many times the host is so deformed you can hardly tell what it was. In this one you can even still see where the gills are.

35 Degrees South: Adelaide Parklands, Oddments.

From Lofty:

1. East Parklands with My Little Mountain (Mt Lofty) in the background. 2. A mulched avenue, once a carriage drive. 3. Ibis looking for grubs. 4. Black swans making their escape from the horrible human. 5. Goodman Building, HQ of the Botanic Gardens. 6. Moreton Bay Figs outside the Botanic Gardens entrance. 7. River Gums drinking at a small creek. 8. Pedal Prix cars practicing in the East Parklands.

Click for full size.

The Daily Bird #107

Bluejay, click for full size.

Random Monday.

Togetherness. Click for full size.

Jayne, Chas and Alfie share a meal.

The Daily Bird #106

A so very serious juvenile Grackle. Click for full size.

Nevada’s Solar Reserve.

Chicago-based photographer Reuben Wu recently photographed the Nevada SolarReserve, a grouping over 10,000 mirrors which power nearly 75,000 homes during its peak season. Wu photographed the mass of reflective panels during nightfall, allowing the brilliant colors of the sunset to be doubled into the shining surfaces below. Wu likens the energy facility to a topographic ocean, considering it one of the greatest land art installations ever built.

Stunning photos, and it’s always good to see alternate energy in the works, but I’d like a lot more information about these, so I’ll do some digging about. In the meantime, there are more of Reuben Wu’s photo’s at Colossal Art, and they are stunning!

Tribal Photography.

How often do you learn a valuable lesson from pissing yourself drunk, besides, “never drink that much again?” While traveling with a Central Mongolian tribe, photographer Jimmy Nelson learned lessons both in reindeer psychology and humor after downing too much vodka and wetting his tent. As the story goes, he woke up to reindeer charging into his bed (apparently they love human urine). Nelson tells this and more stories, accompanied by his majestic portraits of the customs and trappings of indigenous peoples from accross the world, in a new video from the Cooperative of Photography. Like Aesop’s fables, Nelson’s anecdotes have lessons touching on knowledge, vulnerability, and pride. Young photographers can also learn a lot about how to interact with subjects respectfully and purposefully.

Jimmy Nelson currently has a show at Gallery KNOKKE through September 18. See more of his work on his website. Visit the Cooperative of Photography for more tips, tricks, and interviews with photographers.

Via The Creators Project, where there are more photos.