Myxomycete Hunting

Welcome to the fall of 2025!

Slime mold fruiting bodies

That sounded a little more ominous than my welcoming you to the transition from a scorching Summer to a crisp Autumn was intended to. Over the last few days, while worrying about the disturbing news coming from, it seems, everywhere, my anxiety was interrupted by two delightful surprises that reminded me that I have a job to do. The unexpected events were an introduction to a new photographer and the onset of several days of moderately heavy rainfall. The photographer is a chap named Kutub Uddin - from Bangladesh - and his work was brought to my attention by our own macro Master, Graham Carey. Kutub was previously unknown to me, but that is my fault, not his. If I had paid attention to the prestigious Natural History Museum (UK) Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, I would have seen his work much sooner.

Home grown myxos

Kutub and I have not yet spoken but I have contacted him and expect to meet with him sometime in the next few days. I have reached out to him to see if he would be interested in coming onto the channel for a conversation about his rather lovely fungus and slime mold work. His images may well remind you of the award winning fungus photography of Australia’s Steve Axford, or the groundbreaking slime mold artistry of California’s Alison Pollack - but you be the judge. His work can be found on the Natural History Museum’s website (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/2025-slime-family-portrait?tags=ed.current) or on his own website (https://www.kutubuddin.photography/home).

It is the springtails that photobombed my picture that make it interesting

Apropos of nothing, but interesting nonetheless, Kutub lives just around the corner from my childhood home in the South of England. In fact, the woodlands that he frequents in search of the remarkable species that he showcases on his website are but a ten minute drive from my hometown, in the heart of the rolling chalk hills known as the South Downs. It really is a small world!

more myxos from my terrarium

What does rain have to do with any of this, you ask? Well, this corner of Middle Earth has been as dry as a bone all summer long, with very little precipitation since the merciful end of Winter (though there is another one planned for later this year - shudder!). I have been led to believe that this is precisely the circumstance under which dormant plasmodial slime molds will perk up and slither off in search of nutrition. It is also forecast that we will see a significant drop in temperature within a couple days of the rain ending and that this may be just the ticket for getting the piles of crawling dog’s vomit to rethink their plans and instead turn into fruiting bodies. Whether or not any of this is actually true is still open to debate, but the promise of a window of prime slime mold conditions is just too exciting to ignore.

We seem to have just two species around here…

Then it occurred to me that here was a rare opportunity to push the envelope and try something that no person in their right mind would even consider - A live-streamed slime mold hunt in the woods of Central Illinois. And this is exactly what I am going to try to do this Thursday during Macro Talk Too, at 2PM Central Time. We are going to take a walk in the woods and find some fruiting bodies to photograph. While we are turning over logs and digging through damp leaf litter, I will talk about how best to photograph these minute structures, in the field and in the studio. I will show you how I harvest and transport these delicate structures back to my studio. I will also demonstrate my own lighting preferences for use  in high magnification field macro photography. What could possibly go wrong? Here is the link… https://youtube.com/live/q--joWJedk4?feature=share

So what about Macro Talk on Tuesday at 8PM? I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to  share with you my experiences using the Platypod camera platform, as well as the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 super macro lens, and a selection of exciting new macro field lights from Small Rig. This will be a multi-product pre-review that will set the stage for actually using this equipment during our field trip on Thursday. Time permitting I will also be doing a  book review and introducing you to my 3D printed, high-magnification, LED-illuminated, quantum-inspired, anti-gravity capable slime mold locator and identification aid. If not, you will get to see it in action on Thursday. Here is your link to the Tuesday livestream - https://youtube.com/live/bPSY-vAayH4?feature=share

Saturday is Pzoom day for my Patreon Supporters and we are going to continue the theme of slime mold imaging by taking a close look at my setup for studio for photographing the specimens we brought back from the field on Thursday. Of core, we will stick to our usual programming during the first hour, so if you have images to share, or an introduction to make, or an update to report on, plan on doing so in the first hour. That is at 10AM on Saturday, 10.25.25 and your invitation is posted over on Patreon.

If you are not a member of my Patreon Supporters group, but would like to be a pert of keeping this channel alive and kicking, please visit my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/allanwallsphotography and see how much richer your life can become by giving me some money!

After Pzoom, at 12:30 on Saturday (still 10.25.25) we have another episode of Tangent! This is a forum for anyone interested in 3D design and modeling for macro photographers. We talk about all kinds of “maker-related” stuff, but the focus is usually going to be on improving our Fusion 360 CAD/CAM skills. It is hosted by Larry  and myself and it is free for anyone who wishes to attend. This week we will handle any followup from last month’s discussion around parametric design workflow before diving into this week’s topic - more information coming soon. This your invitation to the party - Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Allan Walls’ Tangent, with Larry Strunk

Time: Oct 25, 2025 12:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6916802815?pwd=TS9tZi9ZL1NXeVUvOUF4eTg5YjdlZz09&omn=81806013439

Meeting ID: 691 680 2815

Passcode: 678122

Join instructions

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Fruiting bodies disgorging their spores

That is all I have for today. Hope to see you sometime this week!

Allan

Flash is Dead - Long Live Flash

Greetings!

Heather in the highlands of Scotland - courtesy of Pixbay

This will be my last blog post for a couple of weeks - I am headed back to the Motherland for a few days of R&R and to celebrate the birthday of my older brother (who will be officially ancient following this birthday). I have decided not to to to attempt transatlantic live-streaming as I will only be away for a few days and could use a short break. I will be back on the 3rd of August and plan to have everything running as usual by that first week of August.

A castle in the highlands - courtesy of Pixbay

There will only be one livestream before I leave, and I want to make the most of it, so I will be talking about the role of flash in modern studio macro photography.

A lot has changed since the last time I talked about flash and I think it is worth taking an hour to examine the relevance of flash in the era of mirrorless cameras and high-quality LED lighting. I will start out by talking about what has not changed all that much - how flash is used in field macro. I will recap my thoughts on the various flash techniques and my recommendations for field equipment. After that I will focus on studio-based extreme macro and will summarize the relevant changes in how we do this kind of photography in 2025. I will talk about how the advent of the era of mirrorless cameras has called into question the supremacy of flash as a gold standard in studio work. We will look at advances in LED technology and how the availability of cheap but high-quality lighting has impacted the use of flash. Then we will talk about my workflow and I will lay out my “best practices” for using flash. I will talk about the common problems encountered when using flash in the extreme macro setting and discuss how they can be avoided. To join the livestream at 8pm on Tuesday, use this link… https://youtube.com/live/uWWTUj-bWNQ?feature=share

Flash is not dead, but it’s role in extreme macro photography has become less dominant in recent years, and may continue to do as lighting options increase, prices drop, and the last of the DSLRs fade from the picture.

A single Flashpoint MF12

I am confident in recommending the Flashpoint MF12 (Godox MF12 is also recommended with the caveat that is must be purchased from a vendor with a proven track record of honoring the warranty of a Godox product as Godox has a track record of not doing so). Here is a link to the Flashpoint MF12 - https://amzn.to/46Zz5NM. This flash , when used as I describe in the livestream, has performed more consistently over large stacks than any other speed light that I have tested, including the TT150 and all of Godox’s larger speedlights. The trick to avoiding dropped frames due to  slow recycle time is to use  increased numbers of flash units at decreased power levels. It also helps to charge between stacks, use a relatively long cycle time (5 seconds), and turn off the modeling lights. I have consistently stacked 6-800 images without a single dropped frame, a virtual impossibility with any of my other flashes. If a speed light ever hits the market with the capability of continuous use while connected to external power, I may consider moving to larger speedlights and fewer of them, but until then I will continue to use and recommend the amazing little MF12.

A word on the TT150 - and the v150 if it is still being made - this is a terrible flash for studio macro, and probably not particularly good for anything else. It has the worst battery life of any speedlight I have ever used, consistently failing to  shoot a full stack, even a modest one, without dropping frames. I don’t know if it is a fault in the power management circuitry, or if the tube overheats, or there is a problem with the triggering, but I avoid the use of these units entirely. There are a lot of flash devices on the market, and I have not tested more than a dozen of them, so there may be some very solid and dependable offerings that I am not familiar with. But of those that I do know, the MF12 remains the most reliable, least expensive, and easiest to learn speed light for studio macro.

The Nikon R1C1 basic kit

However, the MF12 is not my favorite option for use in the field. That honor goes to the amazing Nikon R1C1. A very expensive setup that may be unattainable for many, this system has the best TTL exposure software in the business. I was shocked at how well the R1C1 performed under all lighting conditions and by the consistent accuracy of the automatic power setting. But there are a few things that are irritating - like the use of an expensive and hard to locate battery, the non-intuitive controls, and the over engineered diffusers. But I would gladly deal with all of these issues if ever I become an R1C1 owner (unlikely given the sticker price of $850 - or close to it, for two SB-R200’s, and over $1,000 with two extra flash units). Here is a link, should you be interested - https://amzn.to/4eWziDq

I have been working in the field with a single standard speed light and the AK Diffuser. It is a very different approach to lighting than I am used to. A single bright “global” light does not offer the same degree of versatility as a multi-flash system and results in images that are a little flatter and less nuanced than those captured with the R1Ci, or the Godox MF12s, for that matter. But I am not through with my testing and think that the single light may have use cases where it shines (pun intended).

Godox mf-12 setup for field work

I am going to leave it that for today - I have still got plenty to do before I will be ready to head across the big pond in a day or two. Hope you can make it tomorrow, but if not I will see you in a couple of weeks!

A highland coo licks his nostril - courtesy of Gabriela Palai