The many clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms (Filoboletus manipularis, among possible others) that we saw earlier in the week had all but withered. The sole bunch still existing in a decent condition was found near the end of the route, emitting a very weak bioluminescence. Singlets and another dying cluster could be found on an adjacent log, their glow barely discernable from the gleaming moonlight being reflected by surrounding surfaces on the forest floor.
First, behold the X100S! 25-second exposure, f/4, ISO 5000, in-camera noise reduction off, auto white balance. The junk piece of a manual screw-in cable release I picked up at Photographica failed me in the field, so I had to keep my finger on the shutter for the entire duration of the exposure.
Straight-out-of-camera, cropped
Straight-out-of-camera at 100%
And enter the D7100; goodness knows what happened. I tried a few different settings and they all turned out hideous. The four images below are from my best single, an exposure of 136 seconds, f/7.1, ISO 1250, in-camera noise reduction off, manual white balance – which offered the least terrible WB among all the settings. Wireless remote-triggered.
Post-processed, cropped
Post-processed at 100%
Straight-out-of-camera, cropped
Straight-out-of-camera at 100%
It was past midnight then and I didn’t have the luxury of time. I’ll be back again, one night.
Older shots by the Nikon D300 for comparison.