Barry Webb Photographs the Macrocosmic World of Slime Molds Hidden Among UK Forests

a hidden season in the forest

In South Buckinghamshire, photographer Barry Webb watches a fleeting circle follow the rain. After an extremely dry summer in the UK, the ground remained quiet for months, with mud only appearing when moisture returned in late September and October. These organisms surface briefly, often lasting a few days, and then retreat back into the forest.

Working on a scale measured in millimeters, Webb approaches fallen branches, wet leaves and decaying wood with a 90mm macro lens. The camera brings forward forms that go unnoticed in real time to translate a thin film of life into something legible. A cluster the size of a fingernail begins to read as a field state, its textures and colors taking on structure.

Pink Arcyria sp. image © Barry Webb

eerie slime molds hovering between situations

Throughout Barry Webb’s series, mud shifts between states of growth and dispersion. THE photographer depicts spherical bodies rising on thin black stalks and holding a translucent tension that suggests movement even while still. Elsewhere, pale pink filaments gather in dense crowns, their surfaces catching the moisture that beads and slides off.

The images focus firmly on the structure. Webb frames each specimen against diffuse backgrounds that isolate the organism while maintaining a sense of place. The shallow depth of field compresses the scene, allowing the mud to capture the foreground precisely, while the surrounding forest dissolves in color.

Pink Stemonitis species. image © Barry Webb

Barry Webb’s Duration Study

Barry Webb’s photographic series is, as a whole, a study in duration. Slime molds exist as part of a larger ecological process as they feed on microorganisms within decaying material. Their visible forms mark a brief phase in a larger cycle, appearing and collapsing within days depending on humidity and temperature.

The project also talks about scale as a method. By expanding these organizations, Webb turns attention to systems that typically remain peripheral. Each image offers an accurate record, but also invites a slower look. The photographs have the feel of a field practice based on return, observation and timing, where the presence of mud depends as much on weather patterns as on the persistence of the photographer.

Lycogala conicum with slug slime. image © Barry Webb