Magical Photos of Fireflies Lighting Up a Japanese Forest
Daniel Kordan’s photos of firefly mating season in a bamboo forest are utterly enchanting
During mating season, fireflies engage in a call and response of flashing lights to court potential partners. This dance is familiar to anyone with fireflies in their garden, but it’s utterly dazzling if you’re lucky enough to witness it on Kyushu Island in Japan, where millions of fireflies congregate in the summer to light up the night sky.
When Russian photographer Daniel Kordan traveled to Japan to document this particular wonder of nature, he described the shoot as his “most unusual and enchanting experience.”
I felt like a kid looking for the first time in my life at a Christmas tree! It was so exciting and enchanting, like magic. At a certain moment, the fireflies synchronize and start blinking synchronously. Yellow-green flashes light up the forest with dim light, and for a few milliseconds you can see mysterious shrines and the dreamy bamboo forest. It was like a meditation. In deep dark space you are surrounded by soft emerald light for just a few seconds!
