Velvet shanks, by Ken Crossan, winner of the botanical category of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards.
Natural history photographer Ken Crossan has gained national recognition for a striking image of a species of mushroom in a Caithness woodland.
He won the botanical category of this year’s Scottish Nature Photography Awards with his picture of velvet shanks brightening up a dark winter day.
Velvet shank has a fibrous, velvety stalk and an orange cap. It is able to tolerate below-freezing conditions.
The image was captured on Thrumster estate, a favoured location for Wick-based Ken, with the permission of Islay Macleod.
Ken said he was delighted to have won the botanical category.
In his caption, requested by the competition organisers, he explained: “Growing in clusters on decaying and dead broadleaved trees, particularly elm, this group was found on a dead horse-chestnut tree which was felled a few weeks later. As the Caithness landscape is recognised especially for its coast and its blanket bog, the Flow Country, a landscape with few native trees, it is rewarding to highlight a less well documented aspect of the environment.”
Ken pointed his camera upwards to achieve the winning composition, allowing the velvet shanks to dominate the foreground with tree branches spreading across the sky.
Last year saw the publication of Ken’s book Life at the Edge: The Natural History of the Caithness Coast.
Ken moved to Wick from Glasgow around 30 years ago. He is a multi-award-winning photographer and naturalist who has been recognised in international competitions.
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