Chasing Fireflies across the Cape

Every year I spend a huge amount of time working in the dark. Photographing the Milky Way, mountains and wild landscapes has become second nature. I love the stillness after sunset and the way the world feels different when the light fades. But this spring something entirely new pulled me in. A soft yellow pulse in the corner of my eye that stopped me in my tracks.

Fireflies.
In Cape Town.
And not just one or two, but entire pockets of glowing movement hidden in the forests and coastal valleys.

Last year at the end of October, Karl Storbeck and I were out looking for bioluminescence along Clarens Drive when we saw fireflies for the very first time. After spending years photographing the night sky, this felt like discovering a tiny secret tucked into the landscape. That moment gave us the idea of returning the following year with intention. A full project dedicated to finding and photographing fireflies across the Cape. We wanted to know how many areas held them, how they behaved and whether it was even possible to create meaningful photographs of something so small and unpredictable.

All photos from this project were created in collaboration between Karl and myself. Every outing, every idea and every successful frame is shared work.

Fireflies in Cape Town

Most people have no idea Cape Town has fireflies at all. They appear quietly each year from mid October into the end of November, depending on temperature and rainfall. Their peak activity seems to fall on warm, windless evenings once the first real heat of spring settles in.

They prefer damp areas with vegetation that holds moisture. Forested riverbanks. Shaded gullies. Coastal valleys near streams or seep lines. Once true darkness settles in, they begin to glow. Usually 20 to 30 minutes after sunset.

And then comes the surprise.
You only get about half an hour of activity. Sometimes less.

Once that window closes, the forest returns to full darkness and the fireflies simply vanish. That short burst of movement makes photographing them incredibly challenging. You cannot scout forever. You cannot waste time on a composition that does not work. You need your framing, focus and exposure locked in the moment the first flash appears.

Our Locations

Karl and I focused on three main areas around Cape Town. Each one offered something completely different and forced us to rethink how to approach each scene.

Hout Bay

Hout Bay gave us the highest density of fireflies. They drifted around damp pockets of forest floor and low foliage, creating beautiful swirling patterns. The challenge was the tight terrain. Thick canopy, narrow paths and uneven ground meant we had to work low and wide. Compositions had to be kept clean, and any slight movement from wind spoiled a frame.

We did manage to line up several scenes with Sentinel Peak in the background, which gave the images a stronger sense of place. The light pollution from Hout Bay was its own challenge and we had to constantly adjust angles, limit sky exposure and work around bright orange glow from the town.

Kogelbaai

Kogelbaai was the one place we expected to find fireflies because it was where we first saw them the year before. But knowing they were there did not make things any easier. The steep cliff face and constant passing headlights from the road behind us made long exposures almost impossible. Many frames were ruined by sudden bursts of car lights.

We ended up using shorter exposures to protect the firefly flashes and build the scene with multiple layers. We were incredibly lucky to capture a second bioluminescent phenomenon on one of the nights. The blue glow of the algae lighting up the waves in the background created one of the rarest combinations either of us had ever photographed. Fireflies drifting in the fynbos and glowing waves behind them. With the mountains of Kogelbaai framing the entire scene, these quickly became some of our favourite images of the project.

Newlands Forest

Newlands was all about mood. Tall pines. Deep shadows. Thick undergrowth. Here the fireflies drifted slowly between shafts of darkness, creating more isolated, delicate flashes. It was compositionally the hardest location. You had to predict where the fireflies would appear and set up before they arrived. Many nights we packed up with nothing.

The fireflies also arrived later in the season here. Several visits yielded no activity at all and we almost gave up on the location. When they finally appeared, the scenes were subtle but incredibly atmospheric. This is where we refined the technique of layered exposures, keeping the foreground natural and letting the fireflies add their own movement across multiple frames.

A New Challenge in Light

Photographing fireflies is unlike any low light work I have done before. They glow for a fraction of a second. They move unpredictably. They overlap, change direction, rise, fall and vanish without warning.

Exposure becomes a balancing act. Long exposures create beautiful trails but the insects often fly too close and blow out the frame. Shorter exposures give sharp single flashes but can feel empty or disjointed.

We experimented constantly. Single exposures. Layered frames. Short bursts. Higher ISO for density. Lower ISO for subtle scenes. We built compositions around strong foreground anchors and then let the fireflies create movement through 20 to 60 shorter frames.

On each image we spent roughly 15 to 20 minutes shooting. First a long exposure foreground layer of 30 to 60 seconds, then the firefly layers. Editing was careful and conservative. We wanted the final results to reflect reality. No added fireflies. No fake trails. No manufactured light.

Some nights we walked away empty handed.
Other nights the forest felt alive and breathing.

Why This Project Matters

This project changed the way I look at local nature. I spend so much time chasing dramatic light and big landscapes that it is easy to forget the quieter stories happening all around us. These tiny insects forced me to slow down. To observe more closely. To appreciate how much magic exists in the small details.

Working with Karl made the process incredibly rewarding. We shared ideas, adapted to challenges and built on each other’s strengths. A collaborative project always brings new thinking and fresh energy, and that was certainly true here.

Looking Ahead

The season is short but we are already planning to continue this project next year and expand it to new areas. There is still so much to learn. How temperature affects their timing. How different microhabitats influence density. How best to photograph them with minimal disturbance.

For now I am excited to share the images we captured and the lessons we learnt. Our full behind the scenes video on YouTube is now live (CLICK HERE) and covers the challenges, the techniques and the magic of watching the forest come alive.

Sometimes nature surprises you in the simplest ways.
Sometimes it glows for just thirty minutes.
But if you are ready, it is more than enough.