First, if you have not yet seen the previous posts from this series, you should definitely check them out! The first post has a butterfly shot, and the second post in the series has my current favorite spider photo! Some really awesome stuff you don't want to miss.

I've been wanting to find a millipede to photograph for some time now. As we started our first photo hike through the Kanawha State Forest I quickly saw one of these black and gold millipedes - I have yet to find a common name for them, and doubt everyone will want me to call them Apheloria virginiensis repeatedly. Though I could... a couple years of owning and operating a tropical fish store and hatchery has gotten me pretty fluent with scientific names.

After spotting one, it became quite easy to find many more - they were almost everywhere. I spent multiple attempts trying to capture a good image of one of these guys to little avail. I quickly had to reassess my impression of millipedes as slow and cumbersome critters. These little buggers could sure run - it was pretty difficult to get good focus.

But I tried...

... and tried and tried and tried some more.

Which is why I'm not going to really critique any of these shots. I basically feel at best all I managed was either a record shot or worse - a poorly focused record shot. I spent so much effort trying to track these guys as they ran along the ground, and whenever they did stop I couldn't get them at a good angle to produce a nice photograph (and trying to adjust anything around them - like moving a stick or leaf - caused them to start running again).

With their bright markings, we were pretty cautious about disturbing them too much and didn't want to handle them at all, and it turns out that was a very good idea since they are reported to secrete a cyanide compound as a defense, that while not necessarily deadly would have caused a lot of discomfort and possible injury. In general, remember that bright markings on insects and other animals can often indicate that it is poisonous.

So that will be the lesson for today's photos - have a healthy respect for your subject. Whether for your own safety or for the better well-being of the subject, keep that respect at the forefront of your mind - ahead of even getting that prized image. Especially if you are not familiar with your subject, such as this case, remember to give your subject its space and only observe, and you'll be fine. You might have to go back later to try for another shot later, but there are much worse possibilities.

- Bill