Firefly Photography

"The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug," Samuel Clemons (aka Mark Twain). I love this quote for a number of reasons. Although I first encountered it as a writer, and so appreciated the nuance it contains, I later exploited it as a teacher when my eighth-grade students were challenged to communicate an unlikely quote using the manual alphabet. The repetition within the quote helped students achieve success and gave all of us charged with transcribing the quote a sense of satisfaction for a job well done. Today, though, I come to the quote from a different direction.


Ever since the year heated up in April, we've been graced with the presence of dozens, nay hundreds, of fireflies dancing about the fields, forests, and ditches each day as the shadows lengthen. These feisty bugs don't even wait until dusk to appear, rather they begin to populate the woodsy edges of our fields before the sun has really even thought about setting for the day.

Today the quote comes to me simply because I've accomplished what had heretofore eluded me: photographing fireflies. When a dear friend was returning to Silicon Valley early last summer the challenge was made: could we capture her beloved fireflies with photography so that she could take them along with her? Until last night ... 

Sometimes I am technologically challenged, and at other times technology makes sense. Last night I finally figured out how to turn off the automatic flash on my camera, and voila! Firefly photos!

I wonder what tomorrow's revelation will be...