Hudson Valley Photographer Captures Breathtaking Photo of Glowing Fireflies

A Hudson Valley photographer captured the world illuminating around him.

Julian Diamond, a photographer from Millbrook New York, is known for his breathtaking photos of nature around the Hudson Valley. His social media accounts are filled with photos of sunrises, sunsets and beautiful shots of landscapes around the region.

Hudson Valley Fireflies Are The Star of The Show

Throughout the warmer months, Diamond gets a front row seat to a unique photo experience. We all know that when the days get longer and hotter, the fireflies (or lightening bug whatever you call them) come out to play.

Diamond has been sharing incredible photos of the illuminating bugs in some of his favorite spots across the Hudson Valley.

Stunning!

We reached out to Julian to pick his brain a bit about how he captures the fireflies in such a unique way. He tells us:

"For photography, long exposures are crucial. It's important to create as much contrast as possible between firefly slashes and the background scene, so I typically wait until at least an hour after sunset before starting to work."

Diamond also recommends a device with manual exposure settings and going with high ISO and wide-open aperture adding " your shutter speed will need to change as the twilight fades but start with 10 seconds and see what happens."

The photographer adds that fireflies are sensitive to light, so he avoids flashlights and headlamps. Another thing to avoid if you're trying to photograph fireflies? Bug spray.

Millbrook Photographer Goes Viral

Julian Diamond's name may sound familiar. If you remember in June of 2021 we experienced a "once in a lifetime" Ring of Fire solar eclipse. Diamond mapped out how he would take a photo of such an epic event and his plan, plus the outcome went viral. Take a look:

Read More: HV Photographer Goes Viral with Perfectly Executed Sunrise Photo

Even back then Julian told us that the Hudson Valley serves as his main source of inspiration saying:

"Natural and semi-natural settings have always been my focus as a photographer. I clearly don't mind images that show some human influence, whether it be a fire tower, or a bridge, or an old barn. After all, that's a big part of what I feel makes the Hudson Valley such a unique place to be a visual artist: we're living at the interface between an enormous metropolis and relatively untamed wilderness."

You can check out more of Julian's work on his website JulianDiamondPhotography.com.