Confronting Mortality, Finding Fungi
Panus lecomtei, hairy oyster mushroom
From a sneak peek at our new book to winter fungi photo tips to global events — dive into this month’s Planet Fungi update.
Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray
This month, we want to take you back to the very beginning of Stephen’s journey into the fungal kingdom. It didn’t start with a camera in the rainforest, but with a confrontation with loss, survival, and the unexpected courage that comes from both.
Here’s an extract from Chapter 1:
Confronting mortality was the catalyst for Stephen Axford’s passion for fungi.
‘In 1998, my wife of 13 years, Pat Flannagan, was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. It was a five-year journey of hospitals, a deepening love and saying goodbyes as I cared for her until she died. Only months later, I discovered I also had a life-threatening illness.
Against all odds, I recovered, but in caring for Pat and facing death twice, I discovered an inner strength, a courage I didn’t know I had.
After being a troubled and rebellious youth, I realised I liked the man I had become.
This helped me to rethink my life. I was ready to take some risks, to reinvent myself.’
Cortinarius archeri, emperor cortinar 2002 Stephen’s first “aha” encounter
Chapter 1 goes on to explore how those risks led Stephen into the wild places of Australia’s east coast, and ultimately to the brilliant purple mushroom on Wilson’s Promontory that changed everything. From that moment, fungi became not just a subject, but a way of seeing life itself—bizarre, beautiful, fragile, and resilient.
He began to notice forms that defied imagination:
‘Mushrooms that look like coral in the sea or shrivelled fingers on a dead man’s hand.
Mushrooms with eyelashes and others that mimic 1960s designer chairs.’
Atheniella adonis, scarlet bonnet
This is the beginning of a journey that has now spanned decades, continents, and thousands of photographs and films.
Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray is our love letter to this hidden kingdom— written by Catherine Marciniak, Stephen Axford, and mycologist Tom May. A stunning book that reveals not only the beauty of fungi, but also the very human stories behind decades of discovery.
📖 Available now wherever good books are found.
👉 Find an online retailer near you via www.planetfungi.movie
✍️ Love the book? Leave a review and help others discover the hidden kingdom of fungi.
CSIRO Publishing - Australasia, Oceania and Americas
CABI Books - Europe, UK, Asia, Middle East and Africa
My Winter Fungal Obsession
Fungi photography tips with Stephen Axford
In winter, our paddocks look quiet, but they’re humming with life. Underground, fungi weave vast mycelial networks, and every so often they send up tiny sporing bodies to remind us they’re there. This year, one shady patch of moss has given me a new obsession: Rickenella sp., delicate orange mushrooms that seem to love moss as much as I do.
They look a lot like the Northern Hemisphere’s Orange Mosscap (Rickenella fibula), but these could be a different southern cousin.
We’ve collected specimens for DNA sequencing—so watch this space.
What we do know is that we always find this species nestled in moss.
The exact nature of that relationship is still a mystery.
At just a few millimetres wide, photographing them is a challenge.
My Sony 90 mm macro lens on the A7RV gets me part of the way, but sometimes I clip on an inexpensive little Raynox macroscopic lens to get closer. It vignettes around the edges, but if you frame a bit wider and crop, it works beautifully.
The hardest part is getting the right angle—most of the stem is hidden in moss, so you have to get right down at ground level to show them properly.
Tiny fungi like Rickenella remind me why I do this: biodiversity thrives in the overlooked corners, and you don’t need to travel far to find it. Sometimes, all it takes is lying face down in the moss.
UPCOMING EVENTS: MEET, WATCH & CELEBRATE WITH PLANET FUNGI
As our coffee table book Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray makes its way into the world, we’re also excited to be meeting many of you in person. From book signings and keynote talks to screenings, festivals, and exhibitions, here’s where you can find us or our mycomedia in the coming months.
MEET THE AUTHORS
We’d love to share our personal reflections with you face-to-face, including live readings and taking you behind the scenes of our global journeys.
Bookings essential:
Byron Bay, Australia – Wednesday 17 September | 6.00 PM – 7.30 PM
The Book Room at Byron | 27 Fletcher Street Byron Bay
🎟️ Tickets here – EventbriteVienna, Austria – Wednesday 8 October | 7.00 PM
OstLicht. Galerie für Fotografie, BROTFABRIK, Stiege #3 Absberggasse 27, 1100 Wien
🎟️ Tickets here – Pilzfestspiele
FOLLOW THE RAIN - CINEMA SCREENINGS – UK / EUROPE
Our documentary Follow the Rain is travelling, and we’d love for you to join us at one of these screenings:
Vienna, Austria – Thursday 9 October | 8.15 PM (with Fungi: Web of Life)
🎟️ Tickets here – PilzfestspieleHay-on-Wye, Wales – Saturday 4 October | 4.00 PM
Fungi Town Festival, Hay Castle Learning Space, Oxford Road, Hereford, Wales. UK
🎟️ Details hereRotterdam, Netherlands – 3–9 November | Exact date and time TBC
Wildlife Film Festival Official Selection — WFFR screens the most beautiful and impactful films about nature.
🎟️ Tickets on sale in October
FUNGI FESTIVAL — PILZFESTSPIELE
Vienna, Austria (4–10 October 2025)
We’re honoured to be part of this extraordinary fungi festival. We hope you can participate in the feast of fungi events on offer.
Our events include:
Book Signing, Exhibition and Follow the Rain screenings – details above and below
Fungi Photography Workshop – Saturday 10 October | 9.00 AM – 12.00 PM
Museumsquartier Room D – Bookings essential
🎟️ Tickets here – Intensive Fungi PhotographySpecial Talk – University of Vienna, Main Building – Sunday 12 October
🎤 Event link
EXHIBITIONS
London, England – Our Story with David Attenborough
Natural History Museum, London — Now until 12 April 2026
🎟️ Details and tickets
This landmark exhibition invites visitors to journey through Earth’s epic history with stories of life’s resilience and transformation. Among its highlights is immersive computer-generated imagery that uncovers the hidden kingdom of fungi, revealing these organisms’ roles in shaping our planet. Stephen and Catherine are proud to have contributed creative and scientific advice to the fungi animation sequences.Byron Bay, Australia – Save Wallum Art Exhibition and Fundraiser
13–28 September | Opening Night: Saturday 13 September 2025 from 6 PM
Gallery Cosmosis, 22 Brigantine St, Byron Arts and Industry Estate
This unique fundraiser brings together over 100 small canvases inspired by the wildlife, wildflowers, and magic of Wallum. Catherine will be exhibiting four paintings inspired by the fungi of the Wallum Reserve, part of her Symbiotism series.
Details here. Free entry, all welcome.Vienna, Austria – OstLicht Gallery | 6–10 October
Daily from 10.00 AM to 6.00 PMOstLicht. Galerie für Fotografie, BROTFABRIK, Stiege #3 Absberggasse 27
Group exhibition features breathtaking macro shots, fascinating time-lapse photography, and interactive installations that make the hidden world of fungi visible and tangible.
🎟️ Tickets here – Eventim Light
BRING THE MAGIC OF FUNGI INTO THE CLASSROOM
Our award-winning fungi documentary Follow the Rain—along with an exciting new Study Guide for Schools, is now available for teachers and parents who want to bring the wonder of nature into young minds
Outreach campaign and study guide generously financed by Michelle Marie Bailey.
Designed for Years 3–8 and matched to the Australian curriculum, our teacher pack connects science, the arts and media studies with hands-on learning. Kids can explore how fungi are classified, how they interact with plants and animals, and how photography and film can be powerful tools for science.
Whether you're a teacher looking for rich classroom content, or a parent or grandparent eager to get your local school to use this truly unique educational resource, Follow the Rain is the perfect way to inspire a lifelong fascination with the natural world.
For more information contact ATOM shop@atom.org.au
SUPPORT FUNGAL RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION
If you would like to support more research into, and conservation of, this fascinating, important, but understudied area of science, there are three organisations that we partner with, who work tirelessly in these areas.
AUSTRALIA - Big Scrub Conservancy Foundation
INTERNATIONAL - Fungi Foundation
Every little bit helps.