"A firefly illuminates itself as the sunset fades over the Vulcan Lakes in Crystal Lake, Saturday, June 27, 2009. The nocturnal beetle, commonly found in warm regions and also known as a lightning bug, emits a blinking pattern of light under their abdomen to attract mates."
Sometimes I just get lucky and Saturday was one of those days.
On my way back to the office from an assignment I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous sunset that was filling up the sky. There was a weather pattern that had moved in and the clouds were bisecting the sun. I had to pull over an take a picture.
After snapping off a few frames, I saw a whole group of fireflies flickering out of the corner of my eye. We don't have the cool little bugs in Colorado so it was only the second ever time I had seen them. I couldn't help but stop what I was doing and just stare at them. I would equate my excitement to someone who lives in Florida getting the chance to see snow. I was like a kid in a candy store.
After quickly realizing that a 400mm was the wrong tool for the job I went back to my car to grab a wide angle. I laid on my stomach near a group of the bugs trying to get as close as I could while keeping them in focus. The task of getting one in focus while the firefly was emitting light proved much more challenging that I initially thought. The light was fading and while the sunset was a fantastic backdrop it really made manual focusing difficult.
The rain began to fall and before long I was pretty wet. At this point I decided to drive the two blocks back to the office and grab our 100mm macro and 5D to see if I could get something even better than what I already had. When I returned the rain had picked up so I put on my rain gear and went back to work. At this point, however, it was much too dark to focus on anything much less a little bug. I packed it up and went back to the office.
Scrolling through my take I was excited to see the frame above. While the bug itself is cool it is the deep red sunset that really makes the photo. I'm sure I got a few laughs from drivers as they watched me lay on the ground as the rain began to fall but this photo makes it all worth the effort.
-JCE
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