Wildlife & Nature 3rd Place

Searching for stars near my hometown of Pollachi, India, I was led to the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The further I moved away from the towns and their lights, the darker it got and the more I could see stars and fireflies.

I was fascinated by the hundreds of fireflies flashing at the edge of the forest, but recalled hearing stories of trees laden with fireflies deep in the forest. So, in April 2022, I set out to a remote area of the reserve with forest officials. Flashes of green started appearing at twilight and as the place grew dark, millions of fireflies started synchronising their flashes across several trees. The flashes would start in one tree and continue across other trees like a Mexican wave.

Such large congregations of fireflies are very rare, and this series captures the phenomenon of fireflies turning an entire forest into a magical carpet of yellowish-green light. The images were created by stacking several photographs.

Sriram Murali is a Natural History Filmmaker, a Dark Sky Defender and an IUCN Firefly specialist. He uses photos and films to raise awareness on the wonders of the dark and the ill-effects of losing it. His current interest includes studying and documenting fireflies in India. He is also the co-founder of ‘Wild and Dark Earth’, a non profit organisation based in India with a mission to conserve nocturnal habitats.