natural therapies

I've been unwell now for almost ten years.  It was towards the end of 2013 that I started getting sick with what was eventually diagnosed as multiple myeloma.

Throughout this whole period there have been a few things that have kept me going, including my love of nature and the outdoors in general.  Whether it's out with the family or time spent alone in contemplation, I like nothing more than getting out into the natural world.

Of course, as a photographer I really enjoy taking pictures of it; from insects to mushrooms and everything in between I've pointed my camera at it and taken some of my most favourite images.

I'm lucky to have a small patch of public woodland at the bottom of my road which my daughter and I visit at least twice a week to take pictures, top up the bird feeders we've placed there and generally to just see what we can see.

At this time of year photographing birds is tricky as the tree canopy is so thick little light penetrates it.  This though does make for ideal fungi and mushroom spotting though, and over the next couple of months we'll see hundreds of different fruiting species there.

This week's images are of two of the first mushrooms of the season, a little crop of tiny fibre cap mushrooms growing under a log - perfect conditions, along with some equally tiny variable oysterling mushrooms growing on a twig.

Nikon D700, Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8G
1/5th of a second at f3.5, ISO 200
tripod, self-timer release
5-shot focus stack in Helicon Focus

Nikon D700, Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8G
1/4 of a second at f3.5, ISO 200
tripod, self-timer release
6-shot focus stack in Helicon Focus

If you want to know more about how this patch of woodland and nature in general helps me cope with myeloma, then watch this week's video, filmed in these very woods: