By Taylor Lockwood
The stamp photo was one of my earlier, high quality images of bioluminescent mushrooms. Quality is an issue because of the dim light some of them produce and the special considerations needed to make a good photo.
That was also about the time I realized I was getting "hooked" and passionate about finding more glowing mushrooms in a darkened forest. So I have been quite absorbed in the last few years finding them on my recent travels to Australia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, America, and now Malaysia. Some of those have been scientifically known species and some are new.
After many years of traveling the globe in search of beautiful mushrooms, I have gotten only deeper into a new passion: searching for the rarest of them all, bioluminescent mushrooms.
There are only about 85 of these glow-in-the-dark wonders named and recorded from around the world.
But the thrill of seeing them in a darkened forest, or better yet -- finding new ones, has turned my passion into a tremendously rewarding obsession.
The picture was actually shot against the side of Pico
do Marumbi (Paraná, Brazil).
These Mycena lucentipes were found in some of the remaining Atlantic rain forests of southern Brazil, in the state of Paraná.
These Mycena lucentipes were found in some of the remaining Atlantic rain forests of southern Brazil, in the state of Paraná.
That evening I had
taken the Paranaguá-Curitiba jungle train halfway up the mountains, got off
where I knew there would be a trail back down to the lowlands, and started
slowly walking down the hill in the dark.
There still are jaguars and deadly snakes in these areas but the thrill of the hunt for glowing mushrooms numbs my sense of danger.
With my lights off more than half the time, and on only enough to navigate from stop to stop, it took my slow, methodical process several hours until I found the only potential “shot” of the night. Fortunately, the mushrooms were bright enough to photograph and a beautiful collection at that.
Taylor Lockwood Bio:
Taylor Lockwood grew up near Seattle in an art-aware environment and took to music at an early age. After high school he entered the University of Washington College of Architecture, but by the time he was 21 he was playing several musical instruments and soon moved to California to start a band.
After spending several years in the San Francisco Bay area, he moved to Los Angeles. Then after three bands and seven years of heat and smog, he set out looking for a cooler and greener place to live.
In December 1984, in the middle of the rainy season, he moved to Mendocino, CA. In his first week there, he “discovered” mushrooms, bought a camera, and started taking photos.
After a year of customizing his equipment and focusing his direction, he presented his first slide show for the Los Angeles Mycological Society annual fair. Since then, he has taken thousands of photos and done hundreds of shows in the U.S. and around the world.
There still are jaguars and deadly snakes in these areas but the thrill of the hunt for glowing mushrooms numbs my sense of danger.
With my lights off more than half the time, and on only enough to navigate from stop to stop, it took my slow, methodical process several hours until I found the only potential “shot” of the night. Fortunately, the mushrooms were bright enough to photograph and a beautiful collection at that.
Taylor Lockwood Bio:
Taylor Lockwood grew up near Seattle in an art-aware environment and took to music at an early age. After high school he entered the University of Washington College of Architecture, but by the time he was 21 he was playing several musical instruments and soon moved to California to start a band.
After spending several years in the San Francisco Bay area, he moved to Los Angeles. Then after three bands and seven years of heat and smog, he set out looking for a cooler and greener place to live.
In December 1984, in the middle of the rainy season, he moved to Mendocino, CA. In his first week there, he “discovered” mushrooms, bought a camera, and started taking photos.
After a year of customizing his equipment and focusing his direction, he presented his first slide show for the Los Angeles Mycological Society annual fair. Since then, he has taken thousands of photos and done hundreds of shows in the U.S. and around the world.
In 1996, Lockwood bought
a computer and learned quickly how to work with graphics programs in order to
“spread the word” about the beauty of this unappreciated facet of nature.
Praise for his work and vision to promote the beauty of mushrooms has gained
him acclaim with mycologists, mushroom enthusiasts, photography critics, and
nature lovers around the world.
His work has appeared in the National Geographic Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other publications. Like many other amateur and professional mycologists, Lockwood is a pioneer in the discovery and appreciation of mushrooms and other fungi.
His work has appeared in the National Geographic Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other publications. Like many other amateur and professional mycologists, Lockwood is a pioneer in the discovery and appreciation of mushrooms and other fungi.
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