Name: Andy Sands
Picture title: Slime Mould Didymium Squamulosum on Holly Leaf
Category: Fungi
Nationality: British
Occupation: Retail Photographic Shop Owner / Photographer

Andy:
‘Many happy hours in winter can be spent crawling around under a holly tree searching for slime moulds. This tiny slime mould, around 1mm tall, often grows in leaf litter. These three were found growing along the edge of a holly leaf in a Hertfordshire woodland in January.

The challenge photographing slime moulds such as these is their tiny size. I used my 60mm Macro lens with three extension tubes mounted between the lens and camera to achieve the required magnification. I then used focus bracketing to take a series of images in natural light, 28 in total, and combined them in post production at home using Zerene Stacker.’

Technical information:
Olympus OM-D E-M1x
Olympus 60mm f2.8 Macro
1 sec, f/5.6, ISO200
Accessories: Gitzo explorer tripod, cable release
Post processing: Stacked with Zerene Stacker, levels adjusted in Photoshop and sharpened with Topaz Ai.

Website: andysands.co.uk
Instagram: andysandsphotography