Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN/NC

I grew up watching and sometimes even catching fireflies. On Summer evenings, when my dad and I were out fishing after dark, we would witness fields and forests full of flickering lights. Naturally, I’ve always considered this a key subject to capture of my Appalachian home, but frankly there has been a significant technology barrier. Simply put, there’s no way to capture fireflies on film and even a single digital exposure does not reflect the actual experience of standing in a forest that’s pulsing with thousands of lights. Advancements in digital technology has opened the low-light world and after experimenting with techniques over the past couple of years I’m proud to present, Synchronous. This image includes a series of stacked exposures that captured the brightest lights that flashed through this patch of forest over a period of 2 minutes. Note the word brightest, as many were too dim to appear in the frame yet could be seen by the naked eye. As proud as I am of this image, it is missing a key part of the magic of the synchronous fireflies memorizing performance — the incredible contrast of one moment that is completely dark followed by a fully lit moment like the image you see here. I would highly suggest anyone who has not witnessed the synchronous fireflies in action to go see them for yourself. There are lottery systems set up for places all over the mountain south and of course these places are excellent vantage points. However, the key is getting outside just after dark from late May through early July. I’ve witnessed impressive firefly displays in unlikely places such the urban trails of Asheville or even in freshly mowed fields – places where I never imagined they would be active. I hope this image inspires you to explore an Appalachian summer evening!