I've been wanting to get some shots of clusters of bees for a band video that I'm working on. I've had some friends help out but the videos didn't have the (lack of) quality to match what I've already shot and I wanted to get my own. A friend suggested contacting his bee mentor at Boston Area Beekeepers Association. Much to my delight, I saw there was an upcoming presentation at our local Audubon spot, so I signed us up not only to get a few seconds of footage, but to learn about these amazing critters!
We got there and enjoyed an extremely informative presentation before heading to the hives. As you can see, it's a very high-brow and serious program.
There were about twenty of us, lots of youngsters included. I'm not sure I'd have had the wherewithal to do that as a kid. Hell, Andrea and I were both a little nervous ourselves but were made to feel safe by the folks leading us. We were all suited up in bee-proof outfits that seemed pretty secure. We went to the hives and bees were buzzing all around, as bees do. The person whose hive we were going to look at gently smoked the area and bees started to go to the porch of their hives.
Andrea was very close. I was quite proud of her. Things got pretty wild as more levels were taken out and there was plenty of bee buzzin'!
Honey!
A waxy hive topper!
Being a tough time of year for bees, they started getting a little perturbed and were flying about and a little girl there started to freak out when a bee landed on her nose (through a bee hat)... she didn't get stung, I don't think, but it seemed like a good time to leave the bees alone to do their bee business.
But we had a lovely time and learned a lot of things that we'd never known. The instructor was very good and knowledgeable and easy to understand. It was a great opportunity for us to learn about new things and I was accommodated by the hive keeper to get some good shots! Like this sneak preview!
Hear the song on the RumBar Records bandcamp page here!
I recommend seeing a Boston Are Beekeepers Association presentation if you can. Good stuff!
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