I'm mightily proud of this home-grown Chocolate Bhut Jolokia chilli, finally ripened. Apparently a natural variant of the famous red naga ghost chilli, its a hottie, over a 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, so a little goes a long way: popped a single one into a batch of curry and its a perfect heat.

Much as my nearest and dearest pour scorn and ridicule on my mycological obsessions, even they would concede that not only did this Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) make for a fantastic photo. It also made for a fantastic korma.

Now reading John Wright’s Grasslands and struck by how many grassland ecosystems there are in the UK, and how much they’ve declined over the past century due to chemical fertilisers, the plough, draining and construction.

A poor dead fly grotesquely entombed in a killer fungus. I'm no expert in entomopathogenic fungi, but I'm guessing the perpetrator might be Pandora dipterigena. #fungifriends #mycology #thelastofus #killerfungi #fungiphotography

Happy and full of cheesy bread.

Beautiful birthday meal with my beautiful @sarahappleton.bsky.social at Qarva. The things these Georgians can do with a beetroot, it would make your eyes water.

First chill of the year!

The tiny but deadly fruitbodies of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, responsible for the #ashdieback disease devastating the UK's ash population and disconcertingly prevalent in my part of the world. #fungifriends #hymenoscyphus #mycology #ashdiebacktuesday #naturephotography #fungi #fungiphotography

A nice little treat on a fungi foray the other day - Pyronema omphalodes, a little ascomycete that grows on the burnt remains of old fires. A whole flush of this turned up after the rains of last week. #fungi #fungifriends #mycology #ascomycetes

Maidstone today. Saddest thing about mongs like these is not the lack of empathy or the lack of intelligence. It’s the lack of imagination.

It's been good to see some fungi popping up this past week with the long-awaited rains. Here's a beautiful Eyelash Fungus, a Scutellinia of unknown species, but I believe its Scutellinia crinita after checking it out under the microscope. #mycology #fungi #mushrooms #naturephotography

I have to recommend anyone involved in film criticism or with a more general interest in the visual arts read this life-changing book by David Hockney, Secret Knowledge, about the lens-based vision of the world that has dominated Western culture for the past 500 years.

Very sad to hear of the passing of David Hockney. Few other artists have pursued the very essence of their art and had such an impact on the way I look at the world. Here's one of my favourite of his works, The Scrabble Game (1983)

Devastated to learn of the passing of Tony Stella, a great fan of Japanese cinema and my go-to artist when commissioning for the blu-rays I'm working on. This is a real shock.

Melampsora euphorbiae on Petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus), a rust fungi, and about the only fungi around in a very dry West Kent at the moment - but still not without its beauty. #rustfungi #fungi #mycology #fungifriends #naturephotography

Well I’ll suddenly raise my glass to that! What’s M:P?

My recent production job for HELTER SKELTER is “a standout release for cult Asian cinema enthusiasts” according to DVD Beaver. Thanks to all who worked with me on this! www.dvdbeaver.com/subsite/film3/helter_skelter_blu-ray.htm

This book too is wonderful- www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/products/mr-...

Fungi around the year in the UK, today's great find, Spring Hazelcup (Encoelia furfuracea) here in Kent. Not a common find, so a pretty exciting one. #fungifriends #fungi #mycology #naturephotography

Some very say news just in, but Shozin Fukui, director of Pinocchio 964 and Rubbers Lover, passed away on 2 April. As some might know, in the midst of a resurgence of interest in his work that culminated with a 2025 retrospective at K's Cinema in Shinjuku, he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

Excited to have made my debut for the @britmycolsoc.org.uk Field Mycology journal with a piece on resupinate fungi, also including my photos- one of which even makes the front cover! Thanks @clareblencowe.bsky.social ! The journal can be accessed for free at fieldmycology.org/index.php/jo...

It's the small things in life... Alder Goblets (Ciboria caucus), a tiny cup fungus that appears this time of year on very wet fallen alder catkins. #fungifriends #mycology #naturephotography #fungiphotography

Today's slime mould,Trichia crateriformis, which has opened up its top to release its spores (by a process known as circumsessile dehiscence!)

And yesterday brought me a slime mould, the tiny pinheads of Comatricha nigra in vast profusion in our local Kent woodland. #slimemould #slimemold #fungifriends #naturephotography #myxomycetes #mycology

2026 is proving to be a wonderful year for first time fungi finds so far. Looks like this is the rarely recorded Henningsomyces candidus - tiny little macaroni-like tubes found on a very rotten piece of wood in Southeast England. #fungifriends #fungi #mycology #naturephotography

Been back looking for more graveyard fungi, and on a patch of Bryum capillare moss on a gravestone, found this tiny little ascomycete. It most closely resembles Octospora coccinea, but the jury's out on that so far. #fungifriends #fungi #naturephotography #mycology

Another upcoming release from Australia’s New Wave Video with my mucky fingerprints on it, in the form of a booklet essay for NUN IN ROPE HELL. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. newwavevideo.myshopify.com/products/nun...

Delighted to have a commentary on this new release of A COLT IS MY PASSPORT. I love my Nikkatsu Borderless Action! newwavevideo.myshopify.com/products/a-c...

Just back from a New Year's pilgrimage to Canterbury on a tip off to find the elusive Cobalt Crust (Terana caerulea) fungi, a bucket list species for me. Mission accomplished! A great find for me, hopefully auguring a successful 2026 of more fungi photography!