Photographer Anna Zatonow is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the series ‘Also about mushrooms’. To see Anna’s body of work, click on any photograph.

In this series, set against the backdrop of the Polish countryside, Świętokrzyskie Province – my family’s stomping grounds. My lens captures unfiltered moments of their daily lives, intimately intertwined with the changing seasons.

In one of the frames, my mother and her sister pose for a photograph after their yearly mushroom foray in the forest near their childhood home. These are no ordinary foragers – they’re seasoned experts, handed down wisdom from their mother to me, and now, I’m passing it on to my daughter. With an innate familiarity, they navigate the woodland terrain, discerning the perfect spots for porcini and the optimal conditions for chanterelles. Each year, we transform into fungi foragers, drawn by the allure of the woods, the thrill, the stories, and the family ritual. As we dry, stew, pickle, and ferment our harvest, the act itself becomes a communal experience, a celebration, and a shared language.

This series, at its core, is all about sharing these rituals and passing them on, about the walks in the woods as days grow shorter. It is also all about mushrooms.