Looking for some items in the local woods for a still life. Came upon this high chroma subject that was growing on a 400 year old oak tree that died just this summer (quite sad). I figured it was a Cinnabar Red Polypore but the stalk\stem on the main one threw me a little bit. These guys are all over that giant old oak (rather the old dead oak). Of course I took a branch and a sample because chroma like this (outside of certain fruits and flowers) is hard to find. 1st image is at the site where I found my sample 2nd & 3rd images is the sample in the studio in front of a #5 neutral gray board after this guy was stored in a shed for over a week. chroma dropped a bit during that time and it looks like slug got to him. Overall I was surprised at the retention of chroma. Does anyone know what causes the high red-orange chroma? What's the pigmenting chemical? Derived from food source? Made by the organism itself? Shot with the iphone because it was all I had on me. Thank you for your time.
