Jasper Goodall

"This image has been in my mind all year, waiting till the days shorten as we head into autumn until these fungi pushed upwards through the loam. Mushrooms are so delicate and begin to break down so quickly that I have not found it possible to bring them into the studio as part of a still life. It took 3 days of hunting and photographing the mushrooms in situ without picking them, then making red and white paper stand-ins to be able to compose and to cast correct shadows on the moss below. Long and laborious, but so worth it for the final image." - Jasper Goodall

Inspired by Victorian era taxidermy dioramas, 'Dark Flora' is a series of photographs using wild plants and flowers in a curated yet naturalistic arrangement. The plants are foraged from forest clearings, hedgerows and roadside verges, often using humble and unassuming species rather than showy specimens so often used in floral photography. Each arrangement is gathered from within approximately a square mile and therefore represent seasonal ‘portraits’ of the local environments from which they came.

Dark Flora #7 - Fly Agaric.
A poisonous autumnal cornucopia of amanita muscaria mushrooms, (commonly known as fly agaric) sulphur tuft mushrooms, trumpet lichen, male fern, beech and bramble. Foraged from Sussex wealden woodland in early October.