Our story focuses on the photography of Bob Keller, of the Wave Gallery in Yachats. Keller shot the images above, and many more. Find his collection here.
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| Bruce Waugh examines very small mushrooms on a stick during an outing earlier this month near Neskowin. OCT photo by Niki Price. |
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Welcome to the Fungal
Yachats Mushroom Festival
Oct. 16 to 18, 2009
[Updated Oct. 15, 2009] [Map It!]
By Niki Price | Oregon Coast TODAY
Trips into the forest, with the intent to find mushrooms, are called forays. Fans of the photographer Bob Keller might consider his image-hunting trips more like safaris. Although his forays are mostly in the woods nearby, he returns with exotic images — the slime-covered Cortinarius, with insects trapped in the ooze, to a striking Hydnellum, dotted with droplets that look just like fresh blood.
He bags them, usually just in the memory of his Canon 5D digital camera, and brings them back to his studio. Using a large-format, high-resolution digital printer, he can have the morning’s images ready by the afternoon. For a professional naturalist turned art photographer and gallery owner, it’s the ideal adventure.
“Fall is my favorite time in the woods, and the mushrooms are always a bonus. They give you something to look for, like little jewels,” he said. “The variety here is amazing. There are hundreds and hundreds of species. I see something unknown to me every time I go out.”
The biodiversity is what makes the central Oregon coast so alluring to amateur and professional mycologists, and what has inspired this weekend’s Yachats Village Mushroom Fest. For three days, Oct. 16-18, fungi lovers can take guided walks, hear expert talks and eat gourmet cuisine, all dedicated to the wild and cultivated mushrooms that grow so easily here.
Gift shops and galleries around the village will be offering fungi-focused books and gifts for the weekend. At the Wave Gallery, which Keller opened in 2007, wild mushroom photos take their place beside wide-angle landscapes, ocean scenes and historic reproductions.
Keller started taking photos four decades ago, when he was serving with U.S. Army Intelligence in Europe. An elderly German photographer trained him in film and darkroom techniques, which Keller applied faithfully until the advent of digital cameras in the 1990s.
For the greater part of his professional life, however, Keller worked as a naturalist in California. He wrote brochures and delivered educational programs for the County of Sacramento, for example, and served with California State Parks. Later, he opened a shop called Field Trip, which sold binoculars, butterfly nets and other natural science gifts.
He started photographing mushrooms six years ago, when he was living a few miles from the coast near Mendocino. When he moved to Yachats in 2007, he brought his new hobby with him.
Fungi photo tips
The secret to great mushroom photos, he believes, is natural light.
“A lot of people use flashes and reflectors, but I think that looks garish. I prefer a natural look,” Keller said. “But it’s gloomy in the woods, usually, so you need a long exposure. So I carry a mini-tripod, that can be used at ground level, and a cable release.”
That cable release allows the photographer to release the shutter without actually touching the camera, which often disturbs the image during the exposure.
His Canon is equipped with an angle finder, which allows him to preview the image without lying down on the ground. Keller’s kit also includes two lenses, a macro and a wide-angle zoom, and what he calls the “landscape photographer’s friend,” a pair of pruners that can be used to remove twigs or other natural interference.
He wears standard rainforest naturalist gear, waterproof hiking boots with Goretex liners and layered clothes, plus heavy kneepads that help him maneuver in the wet leaf litter. A bottle of water and a snack, and he’s equipped for his mushroom safari.
Keller doesn’t teach workshops, but he does offer a few more pointers for amateur myco-photographers.
“People can get great results with their little point-and-shoots. Most cameras that I’ve tried were impressive when set on the macro mode, the little flower icon. As far as tripods go, the small, inexpensive tabletop ones, rigid or flexible, work fine. As does a basic beanbag,” he said. “And instead of a cable release, just use the 2-second timer. The shot can be framed using the display, and many of those flip up.”
Bob Keller’s photos can be viewed at The Wave Gallery, 2118 Hwy. 101 N in Yachats, or online at bobkellerphoto.com.
All the mushroom walks, talks and exhibits are free and open to the public. For details, call 800-929-0477 or visit yachats.org.
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The 10th annual Yachats Village Mushroom Fest
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
6 p.m. Enchanted Forest Fungi Feast, Commons
Mushroom dishes prepared by local chefs, with proceeds to benefit
the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve, and entertainment by the
Woodlands Trio. Tickets, $30, available by calling 800-929-0477 or
dropping by the Yachats Info Center
Saturday, Oct. 17
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fungi Exhibits, Commons
Labeled specimens, books and information, courtesy of the Lincoln County Mycological Society
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Harvest Farmers’ Market, Commons
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Workshops, Ladies’ Club
10 a.m. Dyeing Fiber With Mushrooms
1 p.m. Harvesting and Cooking Common Edibles
3 p.m. Grow Your Own Gourmet Mushrooms
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Guided walks at Gerdemann Preserve
Free shuttles from the Commons
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Ecology for Everyone, Commons
Scientific presentations for the general public
11 a.m. How to Use a Mushroom Field Guide
1 p.m. Oregon Truffles
2 p.m. Valuable Fungi in Your Woodlot
3 p.m. Healing Power of Medicinal Mushrooms
4 p.m. Newly-discovered Underwater Species
11 a.m.-2 p.m. Lasagna Feed, Commons
3 p.m. Oktoberfest, Yachats Lions Hall (Shh… this is a no-mushroom event)
7:30 p.m. Fantastic Fungi Fuel Forest Growth, Dr. Dan Luoma, Overleaf Lodge Event Center
Sunday, Oct. 18
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fungi Exhibits, Commons
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Harvest Farmers’ Market, Commons
10-11 a.m. Guided walks at Gerdemann Botanical Preserve, Free shuttles from the Commons
All weekend long
• Special mushroom dishes will be on the menus at the Adobe Resort, Cheese and Crackers, The Drift Inn, The Green Salmon Coffee and Tea Shoppe, Heidi’s Homemade Food, The Landmark, Luna Sea Fish House, Roca Mar and the Yachats River House.
• Cultivated culinary mushroom tent in front of the Village Market
• Fungi books, photos, gifts and crafts at local shops and galleries.
Yachats Commons = W. Fourth St. and Hwy. 101
Yachats Ladies Club = W. Third and Pontiac
Yachats Lions Club = W. Fourth and Pontiac
Info Center = Hwy. 101 and W.Third St.
Overleaf Lodge = 1 mile north of downtown on Hwy. 101
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Cape Perpetua Events
In conjunction with the Yachats Village Mushroom Fest, the Cape Perpetua State Scenic Area Visitors Center will be hosting walks, slide shows and presentations with some of Oregon’s top fungi experts. Because parking is limited at the cape, a free shuttle will leave from the Yachats Commons parking lot on the hour. The parking fee at Cape Perpetua, 3 miles south of Yachats on Hwy. 101, is $5.
Saturday, Oct. 17
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fungi slide show and presentations
10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mushroom walks leave from visitors center
1 p.m. Ecology of Plants & Fungi of Drift Creek, Jake Hurlbert
Sunday, Oct. 18
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fungi slide shows and presentations
10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mushroom walks leave from visitors center
1 p.m. Ecology of Plants & Fungi of Drift Creek, Jake Hurlbert
Mushroom walks — A total of 24 guided walks, from introductory to advanced, will be offered every half hour. Be sure to wear outdoor clothing, sturdy walking shoes/boots and raingear. Handicapped accessibility is limited. For a full schedule, head to yachats.org or call the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center, 541-547-3289.
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