daniel kordan captures an enchanted japanese forest lit by fireflies

landscape photographer daniel kordan travelled to japan to capture one of nature’s most magical spectacles — fireflies’ mating season. the short photo series displays an enchanting light show where the beetle’s love language translates into flashes of light. 

images © daniel kordan

‘watching fireflies is a very exciting thing,’ said daniel kordan on a facebook post. ‘you arrive long before the night to find a spot, figure out your composition, talk to local photographers to understand best conditions (peak of fireflies may be just few days at certain locations), then bring your chair and wait. wait for a miracle, and when the first firefly goes off – you are happy as a kid.’

kordan also says that fireflies are very sensitive, and to mate they need certain things: clean water nearby, warm humid air without rain, and a pitch dark space. the light dance begins as the male flashes a specific pattern while flying, hoping for a female to reply. if the flash catches a female’s attention, she will reply with a flash of her own. both fireflies will engage in a twinkling conversation until they meet and mate.

‘to photograph fireflies you need to make a stack of hundreds of images, because on long exposures (more than one minute) you’ll get lots of hot pixels,’ kordan commented. ‘but not a single photo can show how beautiful it is – a shimmering and blinking forest full of little stars.’

project info:

name: japanese fireflores

photographer: daniel kordan