When it rains for days on end, some of us complain but photographer Steve Axford is in his creative element. The constant moisture creates the ideal environment for him to photograph fungi at its glorious best.

In this video for ABC Open's "Water Is...", Steve invites us to share in a little of his obsession: the magical, miniature world created when it rains. With him you will discover fungi of all different shapes, sizes and colours, including species that have never been seen before in Australia.

View more ABC Open Water Is ... contributions.

Go behind the scenes with Steve and ABC Open North Coast Producer as they share some tips on how to make your own Water Is ... video with photos and audio.

And, read Steve's ABC Open guest blog with tips on how you too can photograph fungi. He also lets us in on some of his other photographic obsessions: volcanoes, snakes and platypus.

You can see more fungi photographs in Steve Axford's on-line gallery.