34 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 4/ 52020
Photurisfirefliesflash inasycamoretree; theycan produceabewildering diversity of flashes,even mimicking other speciesFT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 4/ 52020 35Ayearago,thephotographerSamuelJames
movedfromNewYork toacabin in the foothills
of theAppalachian mountains in southern
Ohio.HearrivedinMay,atthebeginning of
fireflyseason. He had grownupintheareaand
remembers seeing the insects“likeflashlights in
the dark”.Nowtheywereback.“It was clearthat
therewassomething specialgoing on all around
me,”herecalls on thephone.
Firefliesspend justafew briefweeks as adults.
Their lifecycle variesfromspeciesto species,
but often theyliveunderground or underwateras
larvaefor oneto twoyearsbeforetransforming,
momentarily,into insects.Their distinctive
bioluminescence isacourtship displayand a
means of communication; once theyhavefound
amateand ensuredthesurvival ofthe next
generation, theydie.
Jamestookthese picturesinthe Edgeof
Appalachia PreserveSystem,a20, 000 -acrearea
co-ownedbythe CincinnatiMuseumCenter and
the NatureConservancy,andasite ofexceptional
biodiversity.Thatsummer,hesawmanydifferent
fireflyspeciesin littlepockets ofwoodlandand
prairie.“Evenpeoplewho livein the area don’t
knowabout all of this,”hesays.“Youhavetogo
quite far off thebeaten path.”
Each night,hewent out with hisequipment,
choseaspottoset up and waited. “Patience is
reallyimportant,”he says.“It’sveryslow.”James
experimentedwith shorterand longerexposures.
With the former,hecould captureindividual
flashes: “Each little insecttelling itsownstory.”
Longerexposures,especiallylate atnight,created
almostabstractcompositions in whichthe
firefliesregister asswooping linesand swirls.IaskJamesabout the challengesofworking
likethis.“You’redoingalot of maths,”he says.
The“deepblue”oftwilight,forexample, lasts for
roughly10 minutesaday,soifhewantedto
capturethatprecise colourand also to shoot the
firefliesoveralongexposure,hehad to choose
exactlythe right10minutesin which to take
his picture. “You’regathering light with time,”
he says,“that’swhat photography is.”
There’sapoignancyto these images,for they
depictavanishingworld.Arecent study
publishedin the BioScience journal from Oxford
University Pressconcludedthat firefliesare
disappearingbecauseofincreasedlightpollution
and degradedsoil quality due topesticide use.
People in rural southernOhio talk about there
being fewer firefliesnowadays,Jamestells me.
He is interestedinfragility and ephemerality.
But hiswork also captureswhat feel like
moments of hope, or transcendence. The idea
of illuminateddarkness runs throughout; his
photographs of the NigerDelta showgas fires
and flareslighting up the night sky.
Jamesalso,somewhat surprisingly,created a
seriesofphotographs ofLeicester CityFootball
Club in 2015-16,the season theybecame the
unlikelychampions of the English Premier
League. That must havebeenvery different,
Isay.“Yes,”heagrees,but less so thanyou’d
think.Both areabout“choosing whereto
placeyourself. It’sabout pickingaspotwhere
something miraculousmight happen.”SamuelJamesisaphotographerbasedinsouthern
Ohio.Hisbookonfireflies,“IntotheNightAirs”,will
bepublishedbyFw:BooksintheautumnPhoturisfirefliesproduceadistinctivelow,slowglowing flash alongacreek