Steve Axford

STEPHEN AXFORD lives in the subtropical region of the NSW north coast in Australia. He is passionate about documenting the beauty and science of fungi and has an international reputation as a specialist in macro fungi photography. He also has a unique expertise in time-lapse photography of fungi.

He shoots with a series Sony a7rIV - a7rII cameras combined with Sony macro 90mm lenses which he finds perfect for the high resolution finish and detail he wants to capture in his location fungi photography.  

Stephen's images have appeared in articles, books, magazines and science journals across the globe. His works are in the permanent exhibition of Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra Australia and are part of a recent exhibition in the Contemporary Gallery Kunming, China.

Stephen’s fungi time-lapses have featured in award-winning science documentaries including Planet Earth 2, The Kingdom: how fungi made the world, Fantastic Fungi, Hostile Planet, Our Planet, Green Planet, Carbon – the unauthorised biography and in the fungi safari documentary Planet Fungi – northeast India co-created by Stephen and his filmmaker partner, Catherine Marciniak.

The time-lapses are also showcased in the first iMax film on fungi “FUNGI – Nature’s Hidden kingdom”.

At the invitation of the Kunming Institute of Botany part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Stephen has documented the fungi in some of China’s tropical and temperate rainforests.

Stephen’s photographs have subsequently been used to illustrate comprehensive field guides of fungi in Yunnan. He even has a Chinese mushroom named after him, Panaeolus Axfordii.

He has been invited to document the fungi in Nepal, India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Mexico and Chile, and of course it is a constant obsession in the fungi hotspots of Tasmania, the NSW north coast and southern Queensland.