The other day on our daily walk, we came upon some wild mushrooms - Old Man of the Woods. They are edible, but the ones I found this time ended up being dissected and photographed. I took a sharp chef's knife and bisected one of the mushrooms and noticed that it produced a reddish fluid. So I took a piece of nice watercolor paper and made several prints. I was pretty sure the image would fade over time and had no idea how to fix it, and, in fact, wasn't entirely sure I wanted to. Instead, I grabbed a digital camera and made multiple photographs. One of photography's unique superpowers is its ability to record transient phenomena. Sure enough, the image of the mushroom did fade over night and also changed color due to oxidation. I'll continue to document the process of decay over the next couple of weeks. The combination of the hands-on aspects of an analog process with the convenience of digital imaging make it a rewarding way to work.
