Filming Glow-in-the-Dark Critters | Best Job Ever

being a wildlife cameraman it’s a whole
discovery of technical knowledge I’m
working with Paul Merrick who is a
grantee of the National Geographic
Society dr. Merrick studies millipedes
and we’re headed out to film them in
their natural habitat they actually are
quite difficult to find during the day
but at night they’re actually very easy
to find and this isn’t an accident these
millipedes are actually fluorescent
which is what we normally think of as
glow-in-the-dark they’re glowing
carapace is actually a signal to
predators that hey I’m not good food
don’t eat me the first time I saw one I
did a double take because there isn’t
supposed to be light on the forest floor
in the middle of night it’s just a
really cool and bizarre phenomenon in my
mind that was no way to be too close to
them so at times when we were filming
the lens was only an inch or so from the
millipedes one of the cool things about
this work is that every assignment has a
challenge and so often they feel
impossible at first in this situation it
was learning a lot about spectrums of
light and sensitivities of camera
sensors and I had to figure out
electrical power for setting up lights
in the woods basically you’re just
trying to solve problems and create
solutions to see things that you
wouldn’t otherwise be able to
when all’s going well all systems go you
just feel like really you’re on this
magic carpet ride from the underworld