In order to get the composition that I wanted, I placed my tripod on a steep, rocky path and had to steady it during the long exposures. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the fireflies ...

The bare facts are these: 76-second exposure at ... zoom set out toward the long end. This is important. You need the stacking effect of the telephoto to get more fireflies into the picture.

This misconception was likely due to time-lapse photographs in which fireflies seem to light up the forest. The camera uses a long exposure to capture much more light than can be seen in a single ...