By Nan Etzwiler – MMS Photo Contest Director
2025 Photo Contest Awards
By Nan Etzwiler – MMS Photo Contest Director
This year, we had three first-time submitters who were among the honorees at the
MMS Annual Photo Contest awards. We announced the winning photos on March 7, 2026, at the Annual MMS Banquet at the Midland Hills Country Club.
This year’s contest had 220 submissions across the three categories of “Pictorial”, “Scientific”, and “Humor/Other.” Forty-six photographers displayed over 143 species. Participation increased this year by almost 40%! Winners included both veteran winners and first-time submitters. Submitters’ ages ranged from age 9 to age 80+, proving that mushroom photography may be enjoyed throughout a lifetime!
For the past several years, a committee has chosen the winners. This year, the MMS membership had the opportunity to vote for its favorites in the Pictorial and Activities/Humor categories. We used a new online voting tool called “PollUnit.” The technology worked fairly smoothly thanks to the efforts of Jane Onorati and Nan Etzwiler.
Winning Photos
Ross Haugberg’s photo of Lycoperdon pulcherrimum won First Place in the Pictorial Category. The clarity of focus on the entwined spines of this excellent puffball specimen, against a blurred forest backdrop, made this photo worthy of recognition.
Anastasia Jacklitch photographed Tetrapyrgos nigripes, with a fine mist and against a black background. This technique really made this monochromal picture a stand-out.
Nan Etzwiler’s shot of Sarcoscypha occidentalis took advantage of its eye-popping orange cup fungi.
Mark Kiefer was awarded Fourth Place for his close-up shot of Chlorociboria aerugenascens, the “Green Elf Cap.” Mark captured the exquisite detail of the tiny turquoise lobes and the blue-stained host wood.
MMS’s nine scientific judges awarded Nan Etzwiler First Place in the Scientific category. The collage of features of Cortinarius armillatus (red-banded Cort), included its trademark 2-4 orange bands on its stipe. This submission also won the “Blewit Award,” which is given to the submission that gleans the highest average vote score across all categories.
First-time submitter Erica Tava Johnson received 2nd place and her collage of Pulveroboleus ravenelii (powdery sulfur bolete). She creatively included her “passport” page from the MMS Passport Program, which rewards members for identifying and documenting mushrooms.
Ross Haugberg won 3rd place for his Entoloma arbortivum submission. He included photos of distinctive gill patterns, heterodiametric spores, and mats of basil mycelium.
“Pacman” (Alan Tocyzdlowski) was awarded First Place in the Activities/Humor/Other category. He cleverly depicted a three-quarters Russula consuming brown slime mold balls!
John Lamprecht and Claudette Lamprecht tied for 4th place in the Scientific Category with their photographs of the classic species Phallus ravenelii and Amanita muscaria, respectively.
First-time submitter/winner Neal Johnson won 2nd Place for his excellent photograph of a Dagger Moth caterpillar on fungi.
First-time submitter/winner Michael Pherson scored Fourth Place with his sweet shot of a sleeping toad under a fern and on a mushroom cap!
John Lamprecht was awarded third place for “Half and Half Lobster Hypomyces lactiflorum, depicting the specimen in neatly colored halves of orange and white.
The Director’s Award recognizes one photo each year, from any category, that may not fit within the classical descriptions of the contest categories. Director’s Award-winning photos illuminate aspects of a specimen or photography technique that might not often be appreciated. This year’s winner was Alan Tocyzdlowski. In his photo of Leotia lubrica, the little brown jelly babies emerge from snow. His tight depth of field highlights the front mushrooms in the snow.
Finally, for the first time, the MMS awarded a Youth Award to an 18-and-under photographer whose submission emerged with the highest average vote count of youth submitters. Out of ten submissions, ten-year-old Penny Lamprecht’s Activities/Humor category submission, “Dead Man’s Fingers By Day and By Night,” captured the first-ever Youth Award! Penny used an ultraviolet light to create the eerie effect of a skeletal hand by a cluster of mushrooms.
Thank you to all the submitters, the ID experts, and the judges who made this year’s contest a success!