Mushroom at Lake Sanitarium in Mount Macedon for Sunday Best

 

Returning to the same spot each year yields the familiar sight of mushrooms—unchanged in form, yet ever transformed by the shifting light and atmosphere. It is a quiet pleasure to observe and capture their delicate textures through the lens of a macro camera, where each detail is magnified and newly appreciated. At Mount Macedon, where the air is almost perpetually damp and the mists linger among the trees, the forest floor remains a fertile haven for fungi. The endemic weather—cool, wet, and cloaked in a veil of fog—imbues the landscape with a subdued beauty, making each photographic outing a contemplative and rewarding pursuit.

Sony A7RV

Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro

Linking Sunday Best

Of late, I have been viewing the series Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing, which piqued my curiosity regarding the distinction between the nyala and the impala, both of which are frequently mentioned or encountered in such wilderness settings. Compelled by this interest, I sought further understanding through study and inquiry.

The impala is a slender, graceful antelope renowned for its agility and speed, commonly found across the savannas and light woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. It bears a reddish-brown coat, with males distinguished by their lyre-shaped, ridged horns. Social in nature, impalas are often seen in large herds and rely on their swiftness to evade predators.

In contrast, the nyala is a more reclusive and strikingly patterned antelope, typically inhabiting dense bushlands and thickets, particularly in southern Africa. Males are darker in colour—deep brown to slate grey—with prominent vertical white stripes, spiral horns, and a shaggy appearance marked by a mane and white facial markings. Females and juveniles, by contrast, are lighter in hue and more modestly adorned.

Thus, while both species are antelopes of the African wild, they differ notably in habitat, temperament, and physical characteristics—the impala embodying fleet elegance in open terrain, and the nyala exuding quiet dignity in the shelter of the bush.