I was having a bit of a creative block. I could not get motivated to take photos, so I had a look at photos I have taken in previous years in February.

I did get some ideas, but I also came across this image I never published. The image did need some post processing, it is made up of a number of focus stacked images. I also gave it the usual sharpening, dodging and burning, and general clean-up.

So what makes this work? Of course the colours… Due to the way red and green light are focused by our eyes (or any lens) red seems closer than green. This gives the image depth. In this image, the red mushroom is also the brightest area, so your eye is drawn to it.

Compositionally, it is a simple triangle between a leaf, a dark area and the mushroom.

I think originally I did not like this image because I thought the piece of grass was a distraction. Now I think the piece of grass gives the image a bit of a dynamic.

If I would not have been in a slump, I would not have re-found this image and who knows if it would ever have been published…