Books
The Wild Mushroom
This beautiful book is designed as a celebration of the beauty, ingenuity, mystery and power of fungi, one of the most fascinating and varied plant groups on Earth. This is the first book of its kind that has focused on photographing "The Wild Mushroom" in its natural habitat and surroundings. George McCarthy is perhaps best known for his photographs of birds and mammals so fungi might seem rather tame by comparison but for him it has become a passion and it clearly shows!
All the species of fungi are grouped together and virtually all are common to the UK, northern Europe and North America making it a best seller on both sides of the Atlantic. Captions and text describe details of their colouring, size, location and edibility as well as interesting facts relating to the history and folklore that surrounds them. There is also a history of the cultivation of mushrooms, which first started in the 17th Century and describes the techniques used in growing, under controlled conditions, one of the most delicate cash crops to harvest successfully.
From his home in Sussex, England George has travelled extensively in his search for the rare and beautiful specimens portrayed in over two hundred and twenty superb colour photographs specially taken for this edition. In fact, so lavish is the production, that it contains over forty full-page plates. The fundamental principles behind his fungi photography are to achieve pictorial images that are as true to nature as possible, reveal the diversities of form and colour and are technically faultless. This book is guaranteed to inspire country lovers, naturalists, mycologists and fungi photographers alike.
Unfortunately, being a commissioned work, there was only one, fairly limited, edition printed and the book is no longer available in the shops. Consequently it has now become a collector’s item and copies are very scarce. Fortunately, when the publishers became defunct, George was able to buy the remaining stock and at the time of writing has less than 70 in stock. Originally published at £24.95 you can get an autographed copy sent anywhere in mainland Britain for £12.50, Europe including Ireland £15.00 and to the rest of the World £20.00 which includes shipping.
Photographing Fungi in the Field
Subsequently the publishers of Outdoor Photographer magazine approached George to re-publish the book using a different cover image under the title “Photographing Fungi in the Field”. This book is virtually identical apart from the fact that the photography section has been updated and substantially extended at the expense of a chapter on commercial production. Again George had the opportunity to buy up all the stock and so an autographed copy of this book is available from us anywhere in mainland Britain for £12.50, Europe including Ireland £15.00 and to the rest of the World £20.00 which includes shipping.
At the moment we have limited numbers of both books but it is imperative that you e-mail us in the first instance to make sure that we still have copies left. On receipt we will confirm your order and send you details of how to make your payment.
