I drove half an hour and hiked 10 minutes through a pitch-black forest to see the fireflies in this meadow. Then I realized what a perfect night it was to photograph these dimly-flickering bugs. It was the night of the summer equinox. The sky was clear, the stars were bright and the air was calm and cool.
So, I hiked 10 minutes through that pitch-black forest back to the car, then drove 30 minutes back to my studio to get my camera gear, then drove 30 minutes back to the pitch-black forest for a 10 minute hike to spend an hour and a half trying to get a good photo of these little glowing beasties. Sometimes you just have to do what you feel called to do and do it now, because you may never get another chance.
It was totally worth it–a breathtaking sight. Thousands of fireflies winked like flashbulbs in a stadium. In person, it looked so random, but the long exposure registers each firefly trailing a stream of dots. The camera also picks up unusual colors when you push the exposures to such extremes.
