Amid the atmospheric forests of Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture, Kazuaki Kōseki calls on fantastic forest employees in his series Summer fairies. Pulsing like tiny light bulbs in the night air, the artist describes hemebotaru– fireflies – as ‘artists painting light on the forest’.
Fireflies are a popular summer phenomenon in Japan, when the insects are mainly found near waterways. Koseki, who lives in Yamagata, had heard about the firefly populations in the region’s forests, and he was determined to see them for himself. He grabbed a detailed map and hoped that research into their habitat would help pinpoint a likely location.
“I drove my car deep into the forest to the end of the forest road and started walking deep into the forest alone at night, without moonlight,” Koseki tells Colossal. After walking for about half an hour and resisting his instinctive fear of the forest at night, he saw a single yellow winking light.
“The silhouette of the forest became faintly visible,” says the artist, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, “the countless lights continued to glow. It was like a starry sky was twinkling.”
Koseki shoots multiple exposures in a single frame, superimposing the glowing orbs and parabolic flight paths of countless fireflies over landscapes of trees, waterfalls, forest creatures, and distant horizons.
Discover more of Koseki’s work on his website And Instagram.
