The Beautiful Flight Paths of Fireflies

[Tuesday Afternoon]

For nearly a decade, amateur photographer Tsuneaki Hiramatsu spent his summer evenings in the forests outside Niimi, in Japan’s Okayama prefecture. He was intent on capturing the spectacle of firefly mating season, when the males and females vie for attention through blinking codes. As night fell, Hiramatsu began shooting a series of eight-second exposures. He then digitally merged the images, creating connect-the-dot photos of the fireflies’ golden flight paths. The images became a sensation on the Web and were included in a traveling museum exhibit called “Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence.” But for Hiramatsu, recognition for his artistry is secondary to engendering appreciation for the natural world. “Fireflies are little seen in areas developed by human beings,” he says. “When I feel the splendor and mystery of nature, I am glad to have everyone share that feeling.”

Read and See more:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/beautiful-flight-paths-fireflies-180949432/#ixzz2rBbN7SCj

[begin_within]

1. Nice!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

12. thanks!

[Kali]

2. nice

we don't really have them around here. rarely in very wet years we get the female ones on the ground, but I have never seen them fly here.

My first sight of them as an adult was in northern Chihuahua in the 90s. My friend and I were camping along a stream bed and I thought I saw someone walking with a dim flashlight on the far bank. They were wandering and moving so erratically I got kind of nervous. Then it dawned on me what I was actually seeing.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. gosh, Kali ...

you have been deprived of one childhood's greatest pleasures: chasing fireflies on a moonlit summer's eve ...

I feel all gooey like I should hug you or sumpin'

<---- for Kali's deprived childhood

[nolabear]

5. Oh yeah...we'd put lightning bugs in jars and watch them after we went to bed.

I MISS lightning bugs and cicadas and all that delicious nighttime Southern stuff. Seattle's nice but it doesn't have wonderful night things except for magnificent little tree frogs.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. Southern summers where the pace slows from a crawl to a really slow drawl =

I would love to see Seattle ... you guys should be buzzing over StuporBowl. I hear kick off is at 4:20 ...

[nolabear]

15. True dat! Actually Richard Sherman is a bigger topic.

Local opinion weighs heavily in his favor.

[dem in texas]

19. Yes, we'd catch them too.

This was back in the 40's before people sprayed pesticides everywhere and the night would be thick with lightning bugs. I was very young, 4 or 5 years old, and did what the older kids did. That was to pull the "light" off the bug and wear it. You would have a glowing ring on your finger, or stick them on your chest for a necklace. Ugh! I was a disgusting little kid.

I still see them in my yard, but not very many.

[Kali]

6. we lived in Madison Wisconsin when I was real young

and I have these kinda-sorta "memories" of catching them and having them in a jar, but I was like 4 so who knows where the memory came from, could have even been a movie.

They were there, there are family stories but whether what I am remembering is real or not...

other than that, yeah my real solid childhood, summer evening memories are scorpions on the ceiling

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. scorpions vs fireflies = the new summer sci-fi Blockbuster coming to your local cinema

we could make a fortune, Kali

[Kali]

9. well the scorps DO fluoresce if you shine a black light on them

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. perfect colors. It'll be a sure-fire hit, Kali ...

we can retire and ride horses forever

[Kali]

13. cool

sounds like a plan!


that reminds me, I may be acquiring yet another aged hand me down pony

I am such a glutton/sucker for hard cases. sigh

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. You are a sweetheart is what you are, Kali. Don't forget I will be requiring pictures and details

[warrior1]

4. Starry starry night

Beautiful thank you for sharing

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. yw

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

16. A perfect opportunity to post my favorite poem

that I wrote.

Enjoy!

---------

LIGHTNING BUGS

Warm springtime dusk-- Just right
for barefoot-running through
the back-yard grass so cool
and tickley; fresh and nice--
The flashes happen suddenly,
hidden at the corner of an
unsuspecting eye--
Now stop! Stand still;
don't breathe or blink,
for they may see and fly,
unseen, away!
Now over there! Up in the trees!
As night sneaks up to cool the breeze;
a Flash! and Flash!
Before you know you're darting
here and there across
the night-dark grassy lawn,
hands snatching at
a million zillion flecks
of winking yellow light--
You reach, and catch!
Your Mason jar is full
of blinking midnight
magic-lantern fire!
So, giggling, off to bed--
You keep your jar safe by your head--
You drowse to sleep, and smiling, dream
of whirring through the night on wings of
sprinkly, starry, winking, twinkly light.


© 2014 Steven A. Hessler
All Rights Reserved

[snappyturtle]

20. I like your poem...thanks for sharing...."magic-lantern fire"....nt

[toby jo]

17. Fireflies are mellow. Get deep into a forest at night and they'll carry ya off

[catbyte]

18. We still have them at my apartment complex. Fireflies are a sure sign summer has arrived.

And man, I miss them! Winter Storm Watch for tomorrow night & Saturday. No fireflies in sight...

[joeybee12]

21. That really is stunning...thanks

[cntrygrl]

22. His work is awesome. Thank you for the link!

[valerief]

23. The pics at the link are gorgeous. Nature's holiday lights! nt