Amber King, Forest Phantoms (ANIMAL & NATURE 2024)

Over the damp summer of 2023/24 there were many opportunities to photograph Ghost Fungi or Omphalotus Nidiformis. My photographs are all single shot from a range of locations around the Illawarra escarpment and demonstrate the beauty of mushroom forms as well as the glow they produce. I would hike during the day with my baby strapped to my back to find their locations, returning to them at night to photograph them. Their bloom (or fruit) only lasting at most a week before disappearing back into the forest.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.