Omphalotus japonicus

September 18, 2020　Tohoku

Photographer / Yoshiteru Takahashi

This summer, I visited the beech forest at the foot of Mt. Gassan for the first time in a long time while reporting in the Tohoku region.

This is my favorite place to take photos, with giant trees and swamps scattered around. The beech forest is a picturesque landscape throughout the year, whether it's green leaves, fallen leaves, or the spring snow melting, so I've been going there as a life's work for about 30 years.

The trail to the site takes about 30 minutes, and after many ups and downs, I arrived at my destination while it was still daylight.

I set up my tripod and immediately started deciding on the composition, and the custom-made Markins ball head Q20i-BK-S is actually the one I use most at this time.

The reason I chose this model is because when composing directly above, the knob that secures the ball is on the left hand side, opposite to the normal model, making it the ideal tripod head for me.

Before I got this model, I mainly used the Q20iQ-BK, but this is a lever shoe type, so compared to the Q20i-BK, which is the same knob shoe type, the load capacity and other performance are exactly the same, and the only difference is that the knob for tightening the ball is on the opposite side.

To explain a little more, the Markins ball head has a U-shaped groove, but the main purpose of this is to tilt the shoe 90 degrees to the left when attached to the camera plate for vertical shooting, so it seems that the current standard model has it placed in front so that the ball fixing knob can be easily operated. By the way, if you attach it to an L-plate, there is no need to tilt the shoe 90 degrees.

However, this U-shaped groove has other uses as well. For example, I can also use it to create compositions where you are looking up at a tree from below. Since I often use this composition, I find this model, where the fixing knob is located on the left hand side, easier to use than the standard model, where the fixing knob is on the right hand side.

Apparently, this model was previously in the product lineup, but was removed from the lineup at some point.

Well, actually, my main purpose for this day was to photograph the Omphalotus japonicus mushrooms growing in clusters on rotting beech trees, but unfortunately the weather suddenly changed and I had to give up on that.

Instead, I'd like to show you a photo I took previously. That day, there was a half moon, not a full moon, so I was worried that the trees would be crushed, but I was able to capture the green I had imagined.

I think I'll be visiting here again next year, but looking back at the works I've seen so far, I'm already looking forward to it.

Yoshiteru Takahashi

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1965. At the age of 16, fascinated by the red-crowned cranes encountered on a trip to the Kushiro Marshlands, began taking photographs. Continues to capture the changing nature of the seasons and the wildlife that inhabits various locations in Japan and abroad. Work has been featured on numerous calendars, posters, and magazine covers.

URL : teru-photo.com

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