Drawing, painting and photographing fungi

Fungi for Schools © British Mycological Society 2005

Here's a special treat - well , two actually! In the first, the botanical artist Lorna Minton gives you a complete eight-part course on sketching and painting fungi, and in the second, wildlife photographer Gordon Dickson offers an eight-part master class in fungal photography (and a few other people help with advice on related topics).

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In this series of eight Mycologist articles, Lorna Minton shows you how to sketch and paint fungi.	Illustrating fungi part 1 Illustrating fungi part 2 Painting fungi with gouache. Part 1 Painting fungi with gouache. Part 2 Equipment needed for painting fungi Sketching in the field Backgrounds for paintings Pen and ink with watercolour
These are the formal references for the articles available in this section: Minton, L. (1989). Illustrating fungi. 1. Mycologist 3: 114-115 Minton, L. (1989). Illustrating fungi. 2. Mycologist 3: 181-182 Minton, L. (1990). Illustrating fungi. 3. Painting fungi with gouache. Part 1. Mycologist 4: 14-15 Minton, L. (1990). Illustrating fungi. 4. Painting fungi with gouache. Part 2. Mycologist 4: 74-75 Minton, L. (1990). Illustrating fungi. 5. Equipment needed for painting fungi. Mycologist 4: 138-139 Minton, L. (1990). Illustrating fungi. 6. Sketching in the field. Mycologist 4: 182-183 Minton, L. (1991). Illustrating fungi. 7. Backgrounds for paintings. Mycologist 5: 38-39 Minton, L. (1991). Illustrating fungi. 8. Pen and ink with watercolour. Mycologist 5: 90-91
Lorna Minton is a Gold-medal-winning botanical artist. CLICK HERE to visit her own website to learn more.

Gordon Dickson's series of articles deals with the basics of good photography. We have also added some other, later, articles that expand the photographic theme.	Intentions, aims and viewpoints Camera, lights, action! Composition and exposure Some examples in colour Problems with colours Studio photography Photomicrography Photography through the microscope for absolute beginners Choosing and using equipment
These are the formal references for the articles available in this section: Dickson, G. (1987). Photographing fungi. 1. Mycologist 1: 76-77 Dickson, G. (1987). Photographing fungi. 2. Mycologist 1: 124-125 Dickson, G. (1987). Photographing fungi. 3. Mycologist 1: 176-177 Dickson, G. (1988). Photographing fungi. 4. Mycologist 2: 26-28 Dickson, G. (1988). Photographing fungi. 5. Mycologist 2: 71-72 Dickson, G. (1988). Photographing fungi. 6. Mycologist 2: 174-175 Dickson, G. (1989). Photographing fungi. 7. Mycologist 3: 37-38 Braddock, A. (2000). Photography through the microscope. A guide for absolute beginners. Field Mycology 1: 7-8 Dickson, G. (1989). Photographing fungi. 8. Mycologist 3: 84-85
Further articles about photography of fungi are available here as follows: Smart, R.G., Seviour, R.J. & Pethica, L.M. (1989). A modified camera tripod suitable for photographing fungi at ground level. Mycologist 3: 147-149 CLICK HERE to download the complete text. And did you know that you can take high quality close-up "photographs" with your flat-bed scanner? Well, here's how: Evans, S. (1996). Electronic fungi - a virtual possibility. Mycologist 10: 8-10. CLICK HERE to download the complete text. Greenhalgh, P.M. (2002). Scanopics. Taking photographs with a flat-bed scanner. Field Mycology 3: 6-8. CLICK HERE to download the complete text. The best source of photographic images used to be located at www.rogersmushrooms.com which was based on the most commonly-used field guide (Roger Phillips' Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe). Although the book is still available (view on Amazon), the website disappeared in 2017. Alan Wood has written a page about this on his Weekendgardener.net website, in which he suggests some alternatives for mushroom collectors (view this page now).

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