Thirsty Millipede

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi guys. Rare for me to venture in here, as I very rarely photography the smaller things...and when I do it's mostly because of a lack of the "bigger things" :t3.
Nevertheless, wanted to share this one here.

I was staking out a Cape Fox den when it started to drizzly lightly and the foxes ducked underground. These guys didn't mind, and actually relished the droplets of water forming on their bodies...they began to drink them up. Shot with my favourite "macro" lens, the 500mm f4 :w3.

In South Africa, these guys are affectionately called "Shongololo" (say that 10 times fast!) :bg3:

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 @ 1/500 SS @ ISO-1250
Please, don't be gentle :eek3:

[Jonathan Ashton]

Morkel, I won't be gentle! First I would have taken the shot as you had, I presume you used a tripod or bean bag. Having got one in the bag I would then have tried to get the one in the background out of the frame, or if that was the one drinking I would have coaxed the other one out of the frame, if they had both been drinking I would have waited a little longer to see what happened, i.e. if at all possible and not to the detriment of the subject(s) I would have tried to isolate one. I wasn't there of course and what I suggest would not necessarily have resulted in success, could be both may have scooted off!
I particularly like the pose of the one in the foreground, depending on your ethics you may wish to consider cloning/patching the one in the background. Hope this helps?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks Jonathan.

Perhaps I should have clarified a few things about the shooting conditions:
1. This was taken in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Kalahar desert)...a not-getting-out-of-car zone due to lions etc.
2. Thus this was taken from an SUV, beanbag over open window.

I am personally a fan of OOF animals in the BG if it's discernable or the same species...though I think it would have been better if they weren't bisecting each other so to speak. :e3
I've got a few of just the front one - might post sometime...

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Morkel. Good to see you here in Macro and good use of the 500 mm "Macro" lens! I saw some of these cool millipedes (or ones very similar) in Kenya. In the US they are often used in children's "petting zoos" as they are slow moving and harmless. The behavior you describe is very interesting, and you have good sharpness on your main subject - plus good DOF at f/5.6 with that lens. The second millipede is not bothering me. You might tone down the whitish bit of plant material along the right side of the frame. You might also consider removing some of the brightest white tiny bits of of debris on the millipede's head and body (a minor point). Overall, this is very nicely done!