Velvet shanks, by Ken Crossan, winner of the botanical category of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards.<\/p>\n
Natural history photographer Ken Crossan has gained national recognition for a striking image of a species of mushroom in a Caithness woodland.<\/p>\n
He won the botanical category of this year\u2019s Scottish Nature Photography Awards with his picture of velvet shanks brightening up a dark winter day.<\/p>\n
Velvet shank has a fibrous, velvety stalk and an orange cap. It is able to tolerate below-freezing conditions.<\/p>\n
The image was captured on Thrumster estate, a favoured location for Wick-based Ken, with the permission of Islay Macleod.<\/p>\n
Ken said he was delighted to have won the botanical category.<\/p>\n
In his caption, requested by the competition organisers, he explained: \u201cGrowing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Last year saw the publication of Ken\u2019s book Life at the Edge: The Natural History of the Caithness Coast<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n