On overcast days I love to seek out and photograph mushrooms along trails. I enjoy choosing a topic to focus on and one lens to utilize during a hike. On a summer day, during a 2011 trip to Algonquin Park, I grabbed my 100mm macro lens and, with Chitra’s keen eye, set out to find as many different mushrooms as we could. Along the way, I never pass up the opportunity to photograph other subjects if they present themselves since you just never know what nature is going to show you.

I am not an expert in identifying mushrooms, as I have often stated in previous posts, but the great thing about photographing them is that I can try to identify them when I get home. I highly emphasize ‘try’ since I often am reluctant to do so online. I currently have two books that I use, but they are certainly not the only ones out there. If someone more knowledgeable than me sees a photograph inaccurately named, please let me know in the comments below. For now, please enjoy the mushrooms, and other photographs, as examples of some of many mushrooms, fungi and more that you may encounter during a hike along Bat Lake. This summer was particularly rainy which made for some fantastic specimens.

There are over 5000 types of fungi in Ontario and Algonquin is home to at least 1000 throughout the year, so it’s no wonder they are so hard to identify. Whether I know the name or not, it’s still enjoyable to see how many I can spot and photograph during a single hike. Give it a try for yourself, you may become addicted to it!

* the Mushrooms of Ontario book is now old and not readily available