There's so much to look forward to in the summer: long days of sun and relaxation, swimming and playing outside as the last light fades from the sky late in the evening.
But come nighttime, the magic is far from over. In fact, the magical beauty of a summer night is in a class by itself. There's the symphony of crickets and the smells of the night flowers opening after the sun has gone down, and there's a feeling of limitless freedom in a warm night.
And most magical of all are the tiny twinkling lights that emerge from the darkness.
If you live in certain areas of the world, you're probably familiar with the light-up bugs known as fireflies. They signal one another by blinking at different speeds through a process called bioluminescence. Maybe as a kid you ran around and tried to catch them, and maybe you still do! Just remember to let them go when you're done saying hello — they're living things!
Watching them can be mesmerizing, as proven by this beautiful time-lapse video shot in Missouri and Michigan. In Japan, fireflies are appreciated every summer, too, when they appear in the forests and turn them into truly magical places.
Photographing fireflies is hard because they prefer to come out in total darkness. Therefore, many photographers rely on long-exposures to capture them, and the results are dreamlike clouds of light. Check them out below, and look for some fireflies in your yard tonight!
[H/T: BoredPanda, Spoon & Tamago]
Fireflies are a staple of summer nights in many parts of the world, including in Japan, where the glowing beetles fill the forests with shimmering, green-hued light.
Photographers, looking for a challenge, wait in the woods and in fields as night falls, and take these spectacular long-exposure photos of the fireflies.
Fireflies don't like other sources of light, so using any kind of light will keep them away. A long exposure captures the bugs and makes the scenery visible.
Fireflies in Japan appear during May and June, usually between 7 and 9 in the evening, so photographers plan out trips to secret locations to get an uninterrupted shot.
This photo follows the light trail of a particular firefly in the foreground, and you can see how its blinking leaves a dotted line of light through the photo.
The longer the camera's shutter is left open, the more points of light will appear in the photos.
This photo shows not only the paths of fireflies, but what appear to be small drops of rain reflecting the light. And way in the back, you can see what appear to be airplanes.
These photos can can be composite images of up to 200 frames, capturing hundreds of points of light as the fireflies move around.
And an interesting fact about fireflies is that their light has no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies, so it can't be seen through infrared or UV filters.
Fireflies' light is usually yellow, yellowish green, or pale red.
To take these photographs requires sitting patiently in the dark and simply letting the insects fly by on their own time.
Fireflies dislike pollution, noise, and light, so it's important to stay still and quiet when looking to photograph them.
And each photographer has their own style. Some prefer a rapid shutter speed to capture the light as points or dots.
Others prefer a slower speed, which results in trails and streaks like this, which capture the curves and flight paths of the fireflies. You can also see how the long exposure time affects the waterfall in the background.
These fireflies have an orange glow, which stands out against the green stalks of bamboo in this forest.
If you live in an area without fireflies, take a moment to appreciate these friendly, glowing little bugs through these photos.
And if you have some firefly memories, share them with us below, and SHARE the magic with your friends!
