28 Apr Commercial Photography – Beekeeping at Echoview Farm
I was hired by Orbital Socket (an ad agency based in Charlotte, NC) to create a series of photo stories for an advertising push for their client Echoview Farms. This was a multi-day project that involved a variety of locations including Wicked Weed Brewery, Appalatch Clothing Co, Fonte Flora Brewery and others. The goal of the project was to promote awareness of Echoview’s partnerships with other regional businesses.
The beekeeping shoot at Echoview was one of my favorite parts of the entire project. I was able to get up close and personal with the bees (wearing a full beekeeping shirt and headdress)… It was incredible, AND a little scary. My hands were free without gloves so I could operate my camera, and I was inches from thousands of bees without getting stung once. A few bees even landed on my camera and hands.
The beekeeper told me that the bees could smell fear, and that in order to not get stung I would have to approach their hives as a sort of meditation. I did get stung once… but ironically it was at the very end of the shoot, after I had put my camera away and taken off all of the gear. I was a good 150 feet away from the hives, about to get in my car to drive home, and a be came out of nowhere at full speed and flew directly into my right nostril. It stung me INSIDE my nose, and then flew/fell away. Crazy… I’m not making this up I swear. Is there any deeper meaning there? I’m not sure… 🙂
One of the things that was most striking to me about the experience of being in the middle of the hives was the sound. Being surrounded by thousands of buzzing bees was an eerily beautiful experience. It was equal parts unnerving and blissful… hard to explain. In some ways I felt like I was a part of the hive collective for a few minutes. Very cool. It changed my perspective on honey. 🙂