Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Clavaria zollingeri

 
Original - The coral fungus Clavaria zollingeri, commonly known as the "violet coral".
 
Edit 1 - More magenta. Noodle snacks (talk) 09:15, 27 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Reason
I said "wow" when I first saw this image just a few hours ago, and immediately created the species article (will be expanding it soon). I think it's a beautiful, clear shot of a bizarre fungus.
Articles in which this image appears
Clavaria zollingeri, Clavaria
FP category for this image
Wikipedia:Featured_pictures/Other_lifeforms/Fungi
Creator
Dan Molter of Mushroom Observer

An unedited version of this photo is available at MushrooomObserver.org: http://mushroomobserver.org/47508

I like the top photo best. The mushroom is already in your face; the yellow leaves and bright green background give much needed distraction. 184.57.122.217 (talk) 06:18, 2 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

  • Yeah, but the point is that the yellow leaves and bright green background are very unnatural. We're trying to document the weirdness of nature here, not lessen it. J Milburn (talk) 11:30, 2 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support original, oppose edit: Accuracy of colours is more important than looking good for EV. The original also has the wow effect. --Redtigerxyz Talk 14:27, 2 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support any. Very good EV, just was used for DYK.--Mbz1 (talk) 21:54, 3 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Color and Light If the question is about accuracy of color, then I encourage you to look at the natural light photo of the same specimen posted at MO along with this image. In natural light, the fungus appears dull pink. But what is natural light? I found this mushroom while running back to my car to escape an approaching lightning storm. It was booming and cracking and the sky was all green and dark. On a sunny day, the natural light photo would look a lot different. Vibrant colors in the top photo were achieved by using artificial light sources along with flash (edit: meta-data says flash did not fire) and the spooky natural light of a brewing thunderstorm. This photo is a representation of a fungus that can look way different depending on lighting conditions. I think I have shown it in a good light. Shroomydan (talk) 14:21, 4 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comments on the edit, please. Which do we prefer? Makeemlighter (talk) 04:48, 5 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

  • Prefer top image on aesthetic grounds only. I think it is a prettier picture. I took about fifteen shots of this specimen using a mixture of natural light, blue spectrum diode flood lights, and built in flash. The color is different on each photo depending on placement of lights, f-stop, white balance, etc. This image was my favorite of the lot. As someone mentioned, I did hit the auto-levels button and it brightened the image.

Promoted File:Clavaria zollingeri 90973.jpg --Makeemlighter (talk) 23:28, 7 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]