We seem to have many more fireflies in our area of Arkansas this spring than other years, so I am interested in trying to photograph them. I love night photography and particularly love Milky Way shots. I have found very few tutorials or youtube videos on firefly photography, and those I did find are using a huge variety of settings combinations. If anyone has experience with firefly photography or knows of a really good tutorial on the subject, I would appreciate you sharing with me. Thanks in advance.
You might contact Kevin Adams. He lives in NC near the Smoky Mts and does firefly trips. Although he may not be doing one this year. But I'm sure he would be glad to share what setting to use.
Kevin Adams Photography | 336-870-4283 | kevin@kadamsphoto.com
www.kadamsphoto.com283 Inman Branch Road
Waynesville, NC 28786
Thank you. I'll check this out. And, I'll follow up on the other suggestions.
AR Farm Gal wrote:
Thank you. I'll check this out. And, I'll follow up on the other suggestions.
I played around with this last night. Blended 13 photos in PS. The fireflies looked pretty good, but the background was terrible. Work in progress. I didn't think it would be as difficult as I'm finding it to be.
Interesting topic. I have one friend who took John Putnam's Great Smoky workshop last year and raved about it.
MDI Mainer wrote:
Interesting topic. I have one friend who took John Putnam's Great Smoky workshop last year and raved about it.
I would love to do the workshop, but they are cancelled for this year. :(
wdross
Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
AR Farm Gal wrote:
We seem to have many more fireflies in our area of Arkansas this spring than other years, so I am interested in trying to photograph them. I love night photography and particularly love Milky Way shots. I have found very few tutorials or youtube videos on firefly photography, and those I did find are using a huge variety of settings combinations. If anyone has experience with firefly photography or knows of a really good tutorial on the subject, I would appreciate you sharing with me. Thanks in advance.
We seem to have many more fireflies in our area of... (
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When I was in South Carolina visiting my son and granddaughter, I tried some shots. Fast shutter speeds only produce little dots of light. You really need a tripod to take long enough shots to develop a background in the dark along with the streaks of the lighting bug's light. I did not have a tripod along on this trip and so my "successful" shots were few and far between. Pick a good background and treat the shoot similar to shooting fireworks but at a much slower shutter speed. I have seen some very successful lighting bug shots, but mine are not some of them. The next time I am in South Carolina in the summer with a tripod, my shots will be much better.
wdross wrote:
When I was in South Carolina visiting my son and granddaughter, I tried some shots. Fast shutter speeds only produce little dots of light. You really need a tripod to take long enough shots to develop a background in the dark along with the streaks of the lighting bug's light. I did not have a tripod along on this trip and so my "successful" shots were few and far between. Pick a good background and treat the shoot similar to shooting fireworks but at a much slower shutter speed. I have seen some very successful lighting bug shots, but mine are not some of them. The next time I am in South Carolina in the summer with a tripod, my shots will be much better.
When I was in South Carolina visiting my son and g... (
show quote)
Thanks. I have been using a tripod and tried several different exposures. I can do great star and Milky Way shots, but these fireflies have such tiny points of light that it's tricky getting it right. I experimented with stacking the images, but I'm not proficient in Photoshop and think I'm maybe missing a step or something.
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