With their squidgy, marshmallow-like shapes and stalks reminiscent of strawberry liquorice laces, the fungi in this gallery look as if they would be quite at home in a sweetshop window. But these are no innocent sweet treats Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
Found in the depths of the rainforests, many of photographer Steve Axford’s subjects are inedible specimens that smell less than rosy Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
After retiring from a job in IT, Axford developed a taste for snapping fungi when he moved to New South Wales in Australia, though his curiosity stayed purely artistic Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
'They’re just nice photographs,' Axford explains. 'I don’t even particularly like eating fungi. If I eat too many mushrooms, they tend to give me a gut ache.' Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
His enjoyment of fungi stretches back a long way: 'I remember as a little kid my dad used to take me out picking mushrooms, so I’ve liked searching for them all my life.' Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
With a sprinkle of luck, and a good stretch of time, he often finds something worth the effort. He takes great pleasure in shooting the fungi but, as he says, he enjoys the whole process Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
'Going out into the bush and looking for mushrooms, it just slows you down so you can see what’s going on around you,' Axford says. 'You see things you’ve never seen before.' Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
There is also a dash of discovery to it all. 'There are quite a lot of new species that come up, which no one is quite sure of. It’s sort of normal with fungi, particularly in Australia and in the tropics' Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
Axford confesses, 'I take photographs of all sorts of things, but the fungi, well, I just fell in love with them.' Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
You can see more of Axford's beautiful pictures on his website Photograph: Stephen Axford/HotSpot Media
