New Zealand Visual Artist Based in Christchurch New Zealand.

Final Hand-in of Beekeeper Project.

Well! That’s it. I’ve literally just uploaded my final end of year workbook and reflection. Last night was the exhibition in the ARA design block, 3rd floor Photography. The turn out was great and really good to see the class hang their work after 3 years. My journey was 4.5, with 2 years at Ilam Fine Arts UC, and 2 at ARA Institute with a 6 month break in the middle. Most voiced how quickly the years have passed, but I feel totally different to that reality. The past 4.5 years have been a long, full-time and financially challenging time for me. Paying my way with work outside of studies has worked out well though, and combined with how much the studies have developed not only my own morals and ethics as a photographer, but also the work I now call my art, has been utterly profound and I value it highly.

I feel so grateful of some of the insights of the world, and how photography fits into it, with the help from some amazing teachers and students along the way. I’m tired. Oh so tired. After a relentless and challenging year of research and image making, it’s now time to rest up and enjoy some downtime. During the past 3 weeks, my routine of ‘wellness’ has been challenged as the project completion consumed my days. I can now breathe and be present once again with the earth, family and friends. The coming years ahead look rocky and un certain. I’m happy to be able to take a back seat and refocus my energies into 2022. Will I do a masters? Will my commercial work dry up? Will everything not change much at all? Who knows.

On a more positive note, last night I was awarded the prize of ‘Academic excellence in Photography’ at ARA Institute! I’ve never won anything like this before and feel so joyful! The award means a lot to me at 47 years old, and miles ahead in grades to my first Degree in Biochemistry back in the mid to late 1990’s. Of course I’m a different bloke, and my devotion to learning is greater than as a young student, but honestly, it has been just as challenging, but on another frequency. So much has changed in the world since graduation in 2000, that it’s difficult to fully comprehend and share the highly philosophical narratives within an arts based degree in 2021. But I made it though and with such an award added to my achievements, I’m super proud. The award also has a decent cash payment too. Wow what a bonus!

What I’d like to share with you all is my final reflection of the beekeeper project. I can then officially chill out. Writing about each portrait experience is what I believe elevated my work to the highest grades and enabled a really extensive and thorough final reflection. Here it is. It’s quite lengthy. A big thanks to my teachers, family, supporters of my blog and instagram feed, and of course the Beekeepers. I really appreciate it. One last thing….what’s happening with the beekeeper book? The hand-in was really a proof and there are a fair amount of tweaks to do before I’m happy to put up for sale. I guess it will be ready in the new year now, and limited to 99 signed copies. Anyway, end of degree vibes!

Final Reflection

My project aim was to document the people behind beekeeping in the Canterbury region of New Zealand and the environments in which they operated. Early plans were to create cohesion between the images with posed questions to the beekeepers. I believe I achieved the goals of the project.

Documenting a range of beekeepers of all ages and cultures was important to me for this vast project. Early on the abundance of middle-aged white males was apparent, and I had to spend additional admin time and scope to widen my audience to ensure I got to document a true representation of the community. 

Admin was a difficult process from the start with this project, and quickly out grew a simple word document with contact details. I utilised a customer relationship tool called Capsule CRM that allowed me to add all details of ‘leads’ and accompanying notes with calendared prompts to follow up. This software was central to the success of the whole assignment. Without this tool I would have not been able to manage such a vast group, from initial contact though to shoots and model release. 

Did I manage to represent the diversity of the beekeeping community? Yes, I feel that I did. I captured both male and females ranging from 20’s to 80’s. Some diverse cultures, and hives in urban settings to high country. It took persistence and hope. I had both.

Early anxieties included a reservation to shoot subjects due to this process being so unfamiliar to me outside of ‘prescribed’ commercial image making that I’m accustomed too. I also had to dig deep and trust my process that moved from hand holding the TLR’s onto a tripod with cable release. Compositional challenges were apparent too, and central to creating images from the start that would work across all images at project completion. On top of these worries I had inner conflicts surrounding what film to use. Colour or black and white? 

Thankfully as I captured more subjects and developed the two types of film, I not only felt more comfortable with subjects and the images that I was making, but using a cable release was a great way to connect more with the subject/s. As for monochrome vs colour, it became clear that my coloured work was simply better aesthetically than the monochrome images. After several class critiques and feedback towards this reality, I trusted colour process more and for the complete project invested in this primary with monochrome as more of a backup. I’m happy with the results.

From the start I wanted to keep the process simple so that I could focus on the subjects and their environments. I wanted to explore the aesthetics of beekeepers and their world through a series of photographic images, and feel I did exactly that. I applied the same process to all keepers from the initial contact email, time of day to shoot (mostly), and height/ angle of camera on the tripod. Repetition was key and paid off well as the collection of images grew. The biggest hurdles became making time in the best light, and travel which is I good place to be I guess vs problems with photographic cohesion and style. I’m happy with the end results.

Aside from the process of photography, I had excessive travel and the physical development of every roll with digital scanning. The time and energy I invested was relentless from week one. At times I was very tired and found that I needed a break from image making. I also had school holidays to accommodate. Thankfully using the CRM enabled me to back off when 

 

needed, and then simply follow up leads once I had the energy/ focus again. It worked really well. Warning signs that I needed a break included boredom and making simple mistakes during the chemical developmental process. I listened to these signs throughout the assignment and thankfully it worked well.

Artists who have inspired my goals for this project include Alec Soth and Glenn Busch, Diane Arbus, August Sander and Duane Michals all of which capture people on large format film. I also found their aesthetic and process compelling in the sense that they simply had subjects stand and look at the camera. This process in my own work blossomed as I spent more time shooting. I guess I see it as both subject and photographer stripping away the façade and agenda for a second or two. Having a cable allowed me to stand away from the camera and upright- looking the subject in the eyes. I was not hiding and as vulnerable as the subject. The results speak for themselves.

I’ve been getting more and more into art books this year too and recently of note is a book by Anne Noble “ In Conversatio; In the Company of Bees”. It looks at the astounding practice of leading photographer Anne Noble, set against the issues of ecosystem collapse and climate change and examining what an artist can do in response. Its creative focus is on that most important insect, the European bee. Reminiscent of an artist book in its extensive visual content, its appeal is to a wide readership curious about art, ecology, science, literature and their intersections. It is not just a beautifully designed book, it also speaks to me!

I’m feeling very similar to Anne, in that I’m falling for the bees, and their wonderful place within our environment. Simply watching their behaviour and colonies develop is so compelling. Anne’s passion definitely motivated me mid way through the project to continue. Very inspiring.

The regions that I visited enabled me to explore the beekeepers in their environments fully. I had no idea at the start of the assignment that beekeeping was so reliant on the seasons. Early images were captured during the winter and autumn months in which the bees are basically hibernating in their hives surviving the cold weather. It was not until Spring and right near the end of hand in (late November) that hives were being tended to for colony growth and honey production for he warmer months ahead.

As luck would have it, this reality actually worked in my favor as I set out to shoot portraits of keepers in their homes and ‘happy places’ first, than onto subjects wearing suits and amongst the hives as it warmed up. The series document this well and makes for a great experience within the final book too. You see the faces of these people who get up daily against all odds, and keep bee colonies alive, and then see them hard at work about half way through the collection and book.

The seasonal aspects bring me to my final comments with regards to the project as a whole. The research ‘questions’ simply did not fit the characteristics of this unique community. 

They were dry and clinical. Boring and generic. They were also going to be time consuming and I opted to not bother the beekeepers more than I already was with regards to the image making and their valuable time. Once the season kicked off, most commercial keepers work from 7am to 9pm, and there was no way any time could be allocated to my annoying inquisitions. So I decided to leave them alone and in 2022 alongside the continuation of this project towards a book, ask for anonymous essays instead. I can visualise a hardback book filled with half stories and essays, and then photography. 

Anyway, for this project and final hand-in, I turned the planned questions towards myself in the forward of the book. I believe it works well and adds some insights to the experiences I’ve had spending time with such a warm and inviting community. I’m happy with how this ‘cohesion’ evolved and played out. I’m also happy with using my 35mm auto focus camera with 70-200mm for close up hive imagery alongside the more staged 120 TLR’s. Scanned at 5000 DPI and converted to 6×6 the 35mm images look brilliant.

Time management went exceptionally well for this project alongside ‘life’ and ‘other work’, as I started it early using the CRM. I can’t actually fault how well this project developed into the final prints and book. Honestly I’m struggling to find any negatives at all. I guess the relentless cost associated with film and chemistry had me struggling through my wallet, and the travel costs also were difficult to manage on occasions. This is more naiveté though, as I did not consider this reality.

What would I do different? Not much actually. I would love to continue with this project into 2022 and make a book as discussed. I would like to travel further afield and meet more ‘alternative’ beekeepers who live off grid or manage hives topless. With covid hysteria and discrimination against unvaccinated, this is a major unknown moving forward.

If I was to create further projects using the template ‘learnt’ from this project, I would consider using digital equipment to keep costs down, or invest in only black and white as it’s much cheaper. I can’t really find anything that was problematic overall and that I would do  differently as a whole. 

Overall, I feel that I captured the people behind the beekeeping community in Canterbury New Zealand and the environments in which they operate. Through the insights I gained I brought this narrative together with a book and series of prints. I’ve enjoyed every moment of the project and I feel my work showcases that too.

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Sophie, David, Jeff and Maia.

I’ve captured David’s portrait at his home previously, and it was time to see the hives he manages at ARA Christchurch this week. After clambering out of the window, we got to see the active hives in a great sheltered spot between a beautiful tree and the ‘U’ building roof, where David teaches cooking skills. It’s fascinating where hives thrive isn’t it? I’m really happy to be able to add an urban location to the growing collection of hive imagery that has taken me high into the mountains, into peoples back yards, and now on top of city developments. I have another urban hive shoot lined up this week.

At a totally different environment at Amberley, I then captured Sophie’s portrait from Mount Lyford Honey surrounded by open green paddocks and trees. I’ve now documented the six staff at Mount Lyford Honey, and Sophie’s happy place is with her amazing horses and dog. I actually dropped one of my cameras when with Sophie, and the back popped right open! On developing I lost 3 images from the shoot with David, but due to my obsession with ‘backing up’ with black and white, not all was lost fortunately. Hive photos of the crew working at Mount Lyford will now have to wait until the new year, with the end of this week signalling the final image taking of the university hand-in, and development/ scan.

Then focus then switched back to urban hives with Jeff, who has been hiring ready to go hives across Christchurch for many years. The hives we got to spend time with were on top of Ballantynes department store in the central city, and the light was on our side and lit the scene well, rather than being behind! I finally got to spend time with a Maori beekeeper too and her name is Maia. We actually met twice as the first time the light in her the yard where the hives lived, was to harsh and the highlights combined with dappled shadows, was simply yuck! The second visit was near sunset and it was pretty flat, but gave us a beautiful lens flare with golden light. Maia is officially the last beekeeper portrait go the ARA project. I’m so tired that I can’t really even think straight. Shooting film has definitely been a full-time process, and the grind has been real over the past 4 + months. I’m deep into the copy for the book now too, and also printed a selection of images at ARA for the end of year exhibition. I’m pretty delirious to be honest. Emotional too.

I’m happy that we are at the end of this stage of the project, and looking forward to a break into 2022. The hours invested in this project have very quickly started to build up to the 400 required for the project. I’m really happy overall. Tick tock…. I’ve truly LOVED capturing everyones portrait, but its now time to rest and make sense of what’s happening here in my beautiful New Zealand.

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Perry, Lindsay & Christchurch Beekeepers Club.

I attended the Christchurch Beekeepers Club hive day on the weekend (and added a few images below) and it was really interesting to see some very experienced beekeepers, such as Gordon talk about setting up and maintaining hives. One thing is for certain, that owning a hive takes a lot of work to maintain it, and keep the colony healthy. There are so many diseases and opportunist parasites that can reap havoc if the colony is sick or weak. It’s a hobby that takes some devotion. One speaker caught my attention as he spoke about what causes swarming in a hive, where the queen and all her followers leave looking for more space, and just how to avoid it. Lindsay also talked about how he is often called to swarms, and how he gets them back into hives where they can be safe and productive once again.

We chatted afterwards and it turns out that he is a hive inspector. His role is to check hives for disease mostly, and then give the a certificate of health to beekeepers who can then legally own and maintain hives. It’s an annual event that safe guards and traces disease throughout the New Zealand hive community, and that makes total sense. Through such inspections ‘hot spots’ of disease are known across the islands and helps a cause of action to remedy it.  Lindsay was visiting Kaikoura on Monday to inspect some hives for a fellow called Perry, who had 15 hives spotted at the base of, and top of some high country there. I asked if I could join them and document it, and with Perry’s consent I drove down Monday to see the hives and Lindsay in action. It has been a long time since I’ve visited Kaikoura, and I was excited to join them.

When I first arrived they were suited up and checking out some hives just off the coastal road near Goose Bay at a strawberry farm. Walking towards them I could see a fellow patting his head, and flicking a branch around as if he was trying to warn off some bees. As I got closer the pissed off bees were onto me, and I could feel the anger! Unlike last time this happened when I started swatting them, and I got stung, I took the advice of Kevin, to curl into a ball face down on the ground when being attacked. I did i exactly that and after a few ‘head butts’ and rapidly buzzing around my head, the bees flew off.  I then had time to suit up. I was like WTF Perry! haha. Apparently a bee had got into his suit and stung him, and I had caught the event unfold the moment I arrived. Now suited up I was quite anxious still, as it was another borrowed suit, and clearly had some repairs to the face mesh. Maybe I was a bit paranoid having seen a bee get into yet another Beekeeprs suit? After about 10 minutes and no sign of any bees getting into my suit, I mellowed. We then left that site and headed upwards in a great little 4WD.

Perry’s family has a holiday home in Kaikoura, and it comes with 700 Hectares of bush, and boy oh boy was it lush and rich with New Zealand flora! When we got to the high point, the hives were literally over flowing with bees and they were showing signs of swarming. Several hives had heaps of bees covering the outside, signalling that the space inside was not much. It was super foggy and quite humid-warm- with absolutely thousands of bees flying around as they opened up the hives to check for disease. I mentioned to Lindsay that this job was not for everyone as it’s quite the experience being inside a huge loud ‘swarm’ of pissed off honey bees as you rummage through their home. From what I’ve heard, commercial beekeepers struggle to find photographers due to the remoteness of the work, and also working with the bees themselves. For the faint hearted I guess, it is quite scary. Thankfully I’m pretty comfortable being remote and with the hives, and aware that the images I’m capturing are quite unique in the sense of documenting what Beekeeprs experience day after day. I feel my imagery is more for the Beekeeprs and a celebration, than commercial work that is about the product ultimately. It’s an ongoing privilege to spend time with Beekeepers too, and appreciate it very much.

Perry must have taken 5 boxes of honey back home to Christchurch on Monday, and after tasting some, I can share that it was utterly beautiful. Pure ‘bush’ honey from bees who are surrounded by flowering natives from Manuka, to Kanuka to Beech Trees and more is divine. At one point the fog lifted and the sun broke through to reveal some peaks and sky. It was beautful. Boy oh boy was it hot in that suit though. I was not even lifting the 40KG boxes, or on my knees working though rack after rack, but felt very hot and uncomfortable during the day. A few times I had to walk off about 500M and just sit in the shade with my vale off. It’s quite intense when your hot and amongst such active hives, and the more time I spend with beekeepers, the more I appreciate just how physically demanding the job is. It must be brutal on hot Summer day for sure. The bonus of the fog though, even though it sacrificed views to the ocean, was just how well it showcased the sheer numbers of bees flying about due to it offering a ‘white background’. I feel that I caught images that showcases just how intense it actually is right in the middle of a giant ‘cloud’ of bees. The close up images of hive ‘comb’ and the larger peanut shaped cells, for the growing the queen bee in, are crops taken from my 35mm camera.

Overall the day was great, and It was pretty nice too, being called the young bloke at 47, with Lindsay in his 60’s, and Perry mid 70’s. I hope I’m as active and passionate as these guys in 20 + years time. Haha. Cheers fellas from the experience and good yarns.

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Foothills Honey Hives.

I spent half the day with Laura from Foothills Honey and we visited several hive locations towards the hills of the Southern Alps, and the light was pretty good. I know I talk about light a fair amount, but when it’s diffused behind clouds or within the last hour of the day it’s mostly nice and even, flat and the subjects don’t have to squint. I met more Beekeepers from the crew at Foothills, that’s about 20 in the peak of the season, and again I was fascinated with their process and hard work. Beekeeping is simply a physical job with no short cuts to the results. Laura spoke about the colonies being pretty strong this year, and the yield this season may well be a good one. We spent a fair amount of time in the ute between locations, and most of what we spoke about is not really beekeeping related at all. It was simply a great chat with a like minded soul that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I cherish more and more during these strange times, where I see a lot of division over popular culture heading onto 2022. One things for sure though, I’m now shooting less rolls, as I’m becoming quite selective towards the types of photos I’m looking for. I’m ticking off ‘portraits where I can see the face’ – ‘portraits in hive suit’ – ‘flora’ – ‘landscapes with hives’.

On the weekend, I also visited a ‘hive day’ for the Christchurch Beekeeping Club and the turn out was fantastic! There must have been 60 + people of all ages, and apparently this was a small turnout! I’m also going to visit the North Canterbury Beekeeping Club next weekend where I expect I’ll get to see more presentations from experienced beekeepers, and experience a great feeling of community – just like on the weekend. I handed out a few fliers to interested people, but with the project spilling into 2022, I’m not really looking for more portraits right now, so keen to take it slow when it comes to mustering up subjects. The more time I spend with beekeepers, the more I feel like its a community that’s for me. I’ll have no worries setting up my first hive next Summer I’m sure with so many friendly people willing to help. I volunteered to help with an image bank for CBC moving forward too, so that will be fun, and the least I can do to give back to the community. It will all be digital of course.

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Southern Alps Honey.

I caught up with Ben and Leah, and some of their crew a few days ago from Southern Alps Honey. This husband and Wife team mostly work alone and manage more than 1000 active hives located in some beautiful locations from Rakaia Gorge to areas close to Mount Somers. On this day there were some staff helping out, and watching the bunch get into the zone and work through the hives was a fascinating experience for sure. It is a very physical and repetitive process, with hive boxes weighing in at 40 KG peak honey flow. The seasonal change is still a tad volatile so we were not able to get deeper into the mountains with recent floods, tree fall and boggy paddocks and trails. Their 4WD actually got stuck on the way to meet with me and they had to be pulled out by the generous farmer. I could not help as my Toyota van is rear wheel drive and gets stuck on wet grass, never mind mud! The two locations we visited were still stunning and set against gorse (or Ulex Europaeus) and beech trees, that both provide resources for the honey bees. Gorse is actually a weed introduced by settlers that seems to thrive in the harsh conditions of the South Island, but has become a vital part of the honey bees life as its bright yellow flowers flourish nearly all year round. Beech trees are native and offer honey dew, a sugary bi product of the Beech Scale Insect, that honey bees adore.

Leah and Ben lived in Australia for sometime where Leah worked as a nurse, and Ben a helicopter pilot. After returning to New Zealand they built the business from scratch over a 7 year period to where is is now and a full-time commercial operation. Both are really knowledgable and passionate about their beekeeping, and I learnt an absolute heap about what it takes to operate commercially, to understanding stages of the colonies process through the seasons. Due to the colonies struggling with the crazy weather patterns in the region, Ben and the crew were adding litres of sugar syrup to purpose made ‘feeding trays’ within the hives to provide food and a boost to increase the numbers in the struggling colonies. A first in many years by all accounts. See the high tank on the back of the truck with what looks like a fuel pump? That’s the sugar syrup dispenser. This procedure is all about timing, as levels of syrup, (known as C4) if found in the final product is an issue as it’s not classed as natural NZ honey. Another discussion surrounded relatively new legislation governing what constitutes Manuka honey now, and how it has impacted the industry immensely. It’s not the first time that I’ve heard about it either whereby during the introduction of the legislation, honey stockpiled for 2 years unable to be sold, while they worked through the new guidelines. Sadly, industry wide this caused the cost per kilo of honey to drop from $14 to sometimes as little as $2. Add covid supply chain issues, and the largest export market, China dictating the pricing too, it’s a tough business now to make a living. I also asked if Ben had noticed any decline in the bee colonies over the years, and the answer was that global warming and the erratic weather has been the biggest contributor to their hive decline, and the relentless need to re-build colonies.

Then disease such as Varroa Mites and American Foulbrood also play a role in the bees decline, and can strike at any time.  New Zealand apparently has very strict policies when it comes to hives infested with disease, and often the sick colonies get burnt- hive and all. Interestingly, other countries such as the USA treat colonies with antibiotics instead. Yuck! Overall, Ben informed me that New Zealand honey bees are sort after globally due to good genetics, and their ability to great honey producing colonies, and compared to the USA and other countries, our honey is still relatively free of pesticides too, that globally is now the largest killer of bees. Sadly, disease and pesticides (amongst other factors) result in a phenomena called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) which is a major issue for bees moving forward. I found this essay from https://www.evergreen.edu by Bryanne McNamar that explains CCD really well.

Southern Alps Honey’s hives are located quite far from the Canterbury Plains too, that see a lot of pesticide spraying, so their honey is naturally low in pesticides too. I’ve been fortunate to taste a lot of raw bee honey comb since I started this project (my favourite) and Southern Alps Honey has been the richest, darkest, and most intense flavoured to date! So good.

Due to restrictions getting to the more scenic locations and the light just being horrid, I’ll have to revisit Southern Alps Honey again over the Summer to capture the hives and operations against the mountains. That’s all good though, as this project has only really started after 4 months, and like beekeeping itself, the photographic process can’t be rushed or forced. Mother Nature dictates both outcomes. One pleasing outcome of working on more hives now – is that the images are showcasing just how many bees are present at these sites, and it’s still early in the season! I can only imagine the experience of standing in the middle of hives stacked 7 high multiples by 10- 20! I’m now wearing a suit by the way after being stung on the face, and it’s a much much better experience all round. A necessity really. There is better safety of course, but it also allows me to navigate and capture more angles, and the process. It’s utterly mesmerising being amongst so many bees!

Whats coming up next? I’ve been working though a list of images I feel will work well and compliment the series. This list mostly includes the flora that the honey bees love, and others are more still life and the equipment. I was stoked to finally capture the stunning yellow flowers of the Gorse, as well as the Beech trees that are so vital, to Southern Alps Honey’s hives, and South Island bee keepers in general. It’s great to tick off these types of images, as they do really compliment the portraiture and in situ hives. I’m trying my best to wind this project down for hand in by the 22nd November, but I’ve got some interesting leads at the last minute that I feel will add to the series. I’ve got some urban hives lined up in the city,  and I’m still chasing a location with a mountain view too! I’ve also been passionately looking for a Maori beekeeper portrait, and I’m very excited to finally have one lined up, after looking since the project started 4 months ago. I’m also starting to write the ‘essay’ to accompany the imagery in the book, and have plans to head off in my camper-van and chill in the back to write it. I feel this is the only way it will get done with too many distractions at home. Wish me luck! One other worry is that I’m running out of Kodak Portra coloured film, and with the prices increasing by 20% (that’s 50% in the past 2 years) It’s a bit of a rush to get a good stash purchased and put in the fridge, to safe guard shooting not just in the coming months, but also next year. Thankfully black and white Ilford HP5 is still affordable. Worst case, that will be the film of choice, because I’m not going to abandon this process! Finally, this set I feel represents the working hive  best to date, as I’m getting to know the ‘work place’ and commercial routine of beekeepers better. All of which would not be possible without the generosity of the people I’m spending time with.  Thank you for your time and passing on your knowledge to me.

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Some Updates – Beekeeping Project .

I had a catchup with Wendy, one of my tutors for ARA yesterday and we went through some concerns I have with regards to the project. Initially I had none as such, but I guess some of the admin work is becoming problematic. I’ve been using Capsule CRM for managing the people involved with the project and its has been a life saver to be honest. So so good. The issue I was discussing surrounded getting model release in the least annoying way. I started the day Googling for a model release plugin to simply install here on my WordPress site, and was stunned to find NONE! What I did find were multiple plugins that allow you to create embedded forms- and with some custom tweaks, including digital signature add ons- you ended up with a link you can send to people and they fill it out.

The trouble is that these ‘website form’ solutions are either $200 + per year (yes that’s not a typo) or the cheaper ones have terrible design and usability. This matters to me. I spent the whole morning into lunchtime looking for a solution where I could send a link to the subjects- and they take seconds filling it out- and then it gets sent to me as a PDF. In the end I opted to design my own model release as a PDF that’s stripped right back, and very clear with regards to what I’ll use the images for. I then hooked it up with an online service PDFfiller, that allows me to add interactive test input boxes, and a digital signature to sign it off. The only downside is that its an expensive service upto $40 per month. The good side is that the first month is free and only charges you if you continue past the first month.

I’ve spent two full days this week working out a method to release images simply, as well as personalising emails to invite each beekeeper to free up the images to use. Some would prefer a visit with paperwork I’m sure, so I’m catering to that too. The goal of this final project is to prove that I’ve done 450 hours of work, and trust me, that ain’t going to be a problem! I’ve been busy on this project from week one, and blogged about every portrait or hive visit. I’ve decided to made it into a A4 PDF book for submission, but also a perfect bound book that I will submit as part of hand in too. Physical is just better and I’m going to make a book like this for every major project moving forward for my own reference. FYI I’m using Angus Donaldson for my printing needs here in Christchurch, based on such great results on the They Are us zine.  that they printed. In fact, with this, and a project surrounding lockdown that will be made into a book, plus the beekeeping book design for hand in, I’m spending a fair amount of time designing at the moment. I was a freelance graphic designer from 2001 – 2008 and book design has always been my favourite process, and in 2021 I’m using the fantastic Affinity Publisher software rather than being held at ransom by Adobe. Honestly, I actually prefer it to Indesign! It’s brilliant to use.

I have a couple of weeks to put it all together now, and I started the beekeeping book design today. Instantly I was faced with the reality that in an ideal world I would love to have the more personal portraits of Beekeepers suit-less juxtaposed to them suited up. But due to the seasonal reality of beekeeping, and time frame for hand-in, that is not likely to happen now, but definitely over the period of the next year. Beekeepers are very busy now too and up early- finishing late- and I don’t want to get in the way this side of the year. In one way it’s great to see the layout speak to me this way as I’m adding images to pages, but it also means I have to work a formula for the book based on the series of images I do have, that are mixed portraits and working at hives. Thankfully I have time. Thankfully I understand this part of the process.

I’ve been getting more and more into art books this year and recenlty of note is a book by Anne Noble “ConversātiōIn the company of bees”. It looks at the astounding practice of leading photographer Anne Noble, set against the issues of ecosystem collapse and climate change and examining what an artist can do in response. Its creative focus is on that most important insect, the European bee. Reminiscent of an artist book in its extensive visual content, its appeal is to a wide readership curious about art, ecology, science, literature and their intersections. It is not just a beautifully designed book, it also speaks to me! I’m feeling very similar to Anne, in that I’m falling for the bees, and their wonderful place within our environment. Simply watching their behaviour and colonies develop is so compelling. I’m positive next year that I’ll set up a hive so that I can spend more time observing bees and making more art surrounding them vs the keepers. I guess that’s what this book has highlighted to me that my work is ongoing and surrounds the people of beekeeping in Canterbury, rather than the bees themselves, and that’s OK. Yet, if I start Masters next year, It’s likely that I’ll continue with the focus on with bees and environment-and that in-between art and science place. I’m now inspired to add some close up abstract imagery into this current body of work. I’ve applied for some funding to continue Masters into 2022- so fingers crossed. The image below by the way is of Lisa, a student being taught by the wonderful Kevin Gate on 35mm that is not my preferred format- but it surprised me. I’ve also attached some images from Anne’s wonderful publication.

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Students and Hives.

Once again the ever so helpful Kevin arranged a hive visit yesterday, and I got to meet 2 student beekeepers Lisa and Tegan (who Kevin is teaching), and a Alison who recently completed the beekeeping course at Otago Polytechnic last year and owns the hives that sat against a beautiful line pine trees amongst beautifully long green grass. I could not help but notice that her eye was super swollen, and apparently the day before while working on ‘hive 5’ a bee got into her suit and went for her eyes. OUCH! What a portrait it made though. It might be one of my all time favourites! I got the Yashica 635 out for the first time in a while too and captured a few rolls of HP5 alongside Portra 400 on the Yashica D. I’ve not shot to much black and white over the past months as I’ve honestly fallen for colour throughout this beekeeping project to date. As for the black and white results from these rolls, I absolutely love them. It’s quite clear that Ilford HP5 manages the hot highlights of the day better than Portra, and even when its exposed a stop over. I never thought the ‘in action’ hive imagery would look so good in monochrome to be honest, but I guess it de-clutters the scene from multiple random colours and clipped highlights to simply tones.

At one point, it felt like I was witnessing a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey as they all worked together slowly to not stress the bees, and looking like astronauts repairing vital machinery in space. HAHA. The white suits do make beekeepers look like astronauts though, and look so good too against the dark trees and grass. Let’s talk about Portra 400. After hundreds of rolls, I’ve got to admit that in my opinion, is a tad overrated. During the bright light of the day it struggles so hard, and seems to be so contrasty these days. I’m not doing anything different during exposure or development, and I’m finding that I have to de-saturate Portra 400 upto -25 in Lightroom and drop contrast too. It’s like the film is now more like Ektar in some way and way over saturated. Maybe when I shift to Portra 160 for the brighter parts of the day, (still waiting more than 7 weeks from Walkens who have limited 5 rolls per customer now) it might clean up the images? Don’t get me wrong, when it all comes together with Portra the results are absolutely amazing, but it does require so much post processing. Way more than digital if I was honest. But at the end of the day, what other colour film do we have to choose from now with the demise of Fujifilm400? Maybe I’m trying to get the Fujifilm400 aesthetic? Compare these images below with that of the last hive shoot– and you will see the difference in saturation and contrast.

Talking of mood, working with Kevin who is full of care and compassion for the bees and people he spends time with is a privilege. He’s such a great guy and with an illness slowly decreasing his ability to do what he loves, it’s such a privilege to be part of his story these days. I can’t wait to gift him a book and a framed print as a huge thank you. He is so chilled out and at peace with these beautiful creatures it’s fascinating.  Honestly, most people that I’ve worked with on this project have been so nice, grounded and present- it’s really uplifting for ones spirit. I really appreciate their time. I opted to go suit-less yesterday again, as to date it has worked well for me, but I noticed something interesting yesterday as they opened up ‘hive 5’. The behaviour of the bees changed from slowly ‘chilling’ outside the hive in a ball like shape to the bees flying faster and from what seemed side to side metres from the hive. They also seemed to swarm around the upper body of the beekeepers.

I took notice of this change of behaviour and stepped back well away from the hives, and I guess in this moment I started to display fear. I then noticed what seemed to be bees flying into me- but put it down to the strong-wish winds on location. I moved further away and was happy to wait until the hive was closed and the final group photo. I then felt a bee buzzing close to my face and Instinctively I panicked and started to try and swipe it away. It got pissed off real quick and then stung me just above my left eye. It’s the first bee sting I’ve had and boy did it hurt! The crew helped remove the sting ‘barb’ and put some cream on it. Thankfully after 30 minutes I had not swollen up or faced breathing difficulties, so I’m not allergic to bee stings, but 24 hours later its pretty puffy, hot and not looking to good. The student told me that during the course they learnt that bees will go for the eyes when they attack due to them glistening. The best thing to do is not panic, but hunch over looking at the ground, or roll in the grass apparently. The flying into me was actually a warning the bees display, and it’s a gentle ‘head but’ to warn you off. Apparently, bees are also attracted more to dark colours and yesterday I was in black with a black face mask. After some reflection on just how much the bee sting hurt, and their fascination with our eyes, I’ll be wearing  at least a face vail on location with hives moving forward, as some colonies are just simply aggressive in nature and I can only imagine the results of a swarm attacking. Actually, I can. It would be life threatening! Lesson learnt I guess.

What next? Hopefully the recent news of COVID spreading back to Christchurch does not cause to many problems moving forward over the next 4 weeks. I’ve got more hive locations in mind and next week some spotted around the stunning Southern Alps. Fingers crossed! I feel that after this coming week and the range of hive images I’ve already got, it’s time to call it a day for this project at ARA. That means I have about 3 weeks to put it all together and tidy up loose ends, that ultimatley means I’m not going to be rushing. The tasks ahead include, conceptualising the book design for hand in, the accompanying prints, and the curation for exhibiting (dependent on COVID). I’m also going to have to sort out model release of the images, and what words will compliment the images, if any. I also foresee as I move into the final weeks, and past the academic hand in of this project in a few weeks, and independently working on this project and a book for 2022, I’ll be using less colour film overall. When I say less, I mean applying a conscious effort to shoot less colour and be super selective to what scenes command colour, simply due to the rising costs of Kodak Portra film (apparently 20% more in 2022!). I could for example spread a single roll over 4 portraits, with 4 frames each and utilise black and white more as its far more cost effective. Totally achievable. In other news, I’ve also applied for a scholarship to move into Masters of Creative Practice at ARA in 2022, and I may well continue onwards with another body of work surrounding bees. Fingers crossed.

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Hive Photography Begins.

Things have started to move into another gear as I head towards end of term and the completion of my 4 year of studies. With the beekeeping season only now really starting to push forward to honey production, I’ve spent the last week organising shoots on location at hives to complement the portrature captured over the past months. Previous images were predominantly beekeepers at home, suit-less and no hives in sight,  but now I want to create a series of images of subjects at the hives working on them. With only 4 weeks left of term, this set of images are vital to being the series together, and I’m feeling a bit anxious to be honest with what looks like a lot of image making left to do. I’m confident it will all come together though!

Anyway, hobbyist Kevin, who I’ve spent time with previously at his home, was kind enough to show me some of his hives on the weekend and I was a bit rusty to be honest! It had been at least 4 weeks since I last captured a beekeeper, and it took a while to get my head back in the game. I shot one roll of 120 Portra 400 and 80% were under exposed for my liking. Fortunately the 2 images that were keepers were exposed well, but I must get a dedicated light meter, as using an app is so hit and miss (you’ve heard this many times before!). I also shot a roll of 35mm Portra 160 and yet to develop it, and what I’m hoping for with the 35mm camera, are some close ups of the trays and colonies etc, to accompany the more staged images. I’m using a Canon 620 body from the 1980’s and modern EOS lenses, and in particular the 70- 200mm 2.8. I may also borrow a macro lens from school for some super close ups. On reflection of 120 hive images caught this weekend that do a great job of sharing work on the hives, I might not even include any 35mm images. Let’s see.

The following day Kevin invited me to more hives that him and Lorraine take care of. Both were so kind to show me the inner workings of a hive and what stage the season is currently at. As we head into the warmer months and optimal honey production, queen bees need to be placed into hives, along with checking for parasites and disease. These guys also had ‘pollen patties’ yesterday too, for hives that needed a boost to get the colony going. Fascinating stuff. I’m loving being out on location with generous beekeepers, and hope to be heading to the Alps in the coming weeks with a commercial venture.

My biggest gripe currently though is the time of day that these next series of images have to be captured- during the middle of the day. Hives are not opened below 10 degrees as the cold is bad for the colonies, hence midday workings. Unfortunately this means that it is the harshest light of the day and I’m pretty obsessive about shooting in the best, even lighting conditions. Yesterday for example was mixed harsh light due to the tree cover- and after 2 rolls-  I literally got a 5 minute window at the end where the burning sun went behind some clouds that provided the light I was after. Saying that, overall the collection is good. Maybe this light actually adds something to the set as a whole? Maybe I’m being to much of a perfectionist? Maybe I don’t like change? Maybe I’m being averse to the extra work involved managing difficult light? Regardless it sure does add another layer of fucks to the process. HAHA.. breathe.

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Bealey Spur Track.

On the weekend I headed out to Arthurs Pass to ground myself amongst some giants on the Bealey Spur Track. The last time that I did this track was in maybe 2012. The trail is rated as difficult, and was rooty, steep and greasy as it passed through beautiful and majestic forest, swamp and barren loose rocky ridges. The trail finishes at the Bealey Hut that was built in 1935 and sleeps 6 if that’s your thing. Last visit was during a snowy Winter, and I feel that this Winter I’ll visit again and meditate with the huge fire place that’s the highlight of this historical hut. I chatted with trampers on route, felt the warmth of the Springtime shift and got a good dose of Vitamin D. It felt fantastic to bag some peaks too.

I ended up walking past the hut though some very boggy ground, and up to a stunning ridge line surrounded by snowy peaks and valleys. At 1545M and 5pm I decided to head back and not get caught in the dark. A good move too, as the decent on 3 hour climbing legs was challenging and on the steep, rocky and Rooty trail, that took a further 2 hours to get back to my van. I made a good call on this tramp too, by taking my poles, that helped both up and down. I could have done with more food though as it ran out by the time I got to the high point. These images capture the scale of the wonder, as well as the topography of this region as part of a wider project spanning 2021/ 2022. I’m loving shooting more black and white again too.

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The Past Two Weeks Etc.

I’ve enjoyed the holidays and putting the ARA study project on ice for a few weeks. The downtime from the pressures of image making  has been great, and I’ve spent some time working on a new zine, as well as capturing images that I want to vs the intensively process driven work of the past 4 months. Years ago I would get anxious during times of ‘downtime’, but not these days where I now know that a break always yields results instead of creative burn out – or even worse ‘getting bored’.

I’ve been investing a fair amount of time and spare cash into photobooks once again, and I’m now more of a fan of experiencing art through books/ zines / prints than ever before. I really dig that books in particular, by design, offer the very best way to consume the artist’s messages and the wonder of their visions. Time with my head in a large printed photobook vs scrolling through a curated onslaught of adverts and the ever increasing disappearance of all history with the latest homogenisation of ‘trends’, is bliss. Like all pop culture the internet is now no more than a tool to engage consumption, and quite frankly It’s a pretty traumatic or manipulative experience overall online these days. We can’t get enough of it though right?!?

When Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web 31 years ago he thought he’d created an egalitarian tool that would share information for the greater good. But it hasn’t quite worked out like that has it?

From what I’ve observed, you can’t trust most content online anymore, and if you dare to have opposing views on any ‘popular’ topics, even though they are factually driven, you best be prepared for abuse, rather than intelligent discussion. With excessive censorship too, is there really a future for the internet other than controlling the masses? I quit Facebook and Twitter about 6 years ago now due to the power it held over societal decision making, and I highly recommend it. As for discussion, offline these days is best, and much better for ones mental health.

Anyway, deep breath…. and tomorrow I head back to school and onto the bee keeping project again, with the final push to the last week of November. It has taken four years to get to this point. I’ve stocked the fridge with Portra 160 in both 120 and 35mm for the sunny days at hives, and peoples ‘happy places’ – as I call it, and have a good plan. Sure it will be hectic pulling the project together in the final weeks, but I feel like I’m on the right path, and I can’t wait to make some artefacts to celebrate Canterbury Beekeepers, and their community.

Here are a selection of photos from the past two weeks and it has been great spending time outdoors under the sun with family, friends and Mother Nature. I was also fortunate to catch up with a good friend Danny as he passed though Christchurch on route Northward. We met back when we worked in a shared creative space on K Road Auckland, back in 2013. Ness also wanted some commercial imagery of his tattoo business, too, and I could not resist a portrait on film! The exchange will end up as more ink on my body, as I plan to get new art on my legs.

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Beekeeper Project Update.

I’m heading towards the end of term at ARA in late November, and the beekeeping project has come along way since starting about 4 months ago. I thought I’d share the images that I feel will sit well in the zine/ book and also as part of an exhibition in the coming weeks, as part of my final hand in. Of note is that i’ve decided to carry on with this fascinating project though 2022 as the beekeeping season is only really starting. The end goal is to publish my first book too outside of university studies, and I feel it warrants more images from locations across the Canterbury Region.

I had to do a Powerpoint presentation a few weeks ago to share my progress at school, and it goes into more detail with regards to the goals of the project, images I’ve made, and specifics outside of this post. You can download the PDF of the presentation here on my Google Drive (50MB) for your own perusal, if you are interested. Some key details from the talk are;

19 Beekeeper Portraits. 14 Male & 4 Female. 4 Hobbyist & 9 Commercial. No questions asked yet. No working hives yet. Key to success is Capsule CRM.

I’m happy with the number of beekeepers that I’ve documented, especially considering the COVID lockdown that really halted progress. The community is mostly made up of males, but I’m connecting with more female keepers too, so hope to balance the collection more in the last month, and more drastically next year. The question/s that I originally had planned, have changed considerably as I’ve spent more time with the subjects from all sorts of backgrounds and professions. I honestly feel like simply asking ‘Tell me something that you want to share with your imagery’ and associate it with their portraits and connect it all together to make the final artwork for my photography degree.

The reason for no working hive images is twofold. The season is not really in full swing yet so working hives are minimal, and I’ve consciously focussed on portraits of beekeepers without their ‘suits on’ at home or in a place they like to spend time. In the last weeks of term, with the days warming up, I have plans to add a set of beekeepers working on hives, from back yards to mountainous locations. I’ve decided to utilise my 35mm camera that has auto focus for the close up, and as the beekeepers ‘work’ on the hives. They will accompany the 6 x 6 work that I will continue to employ for staged portraiture.

The foundations of this project has been admin heavy, and I guess is the key to the success of all series driven work. Capsule CRM has been my main tool, and it’s so easy to use, while continuing to manage my work load perfectly. Anyway, here are a selection of images that I’ve chosen that I feel represents the varied beekeepers that have been so open and accomodating to date. I can’t wait to pull this all together in the coming weeks, and also continue with this for another year, to share the faces and stories of Cantabrians behind the New Zealand beekeeping community.

I’ve got one week of holidays left and will be ramping up image making in the coming weeks to then design the zine/ book and decide what prints I will exhibit for my final handing of this 4 year journey! I’d like to thank tutors John and Wendy for their continuing support and feedback, and the beekeeping community who have continually shown me warmth and sincerity.

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Foothills Honey.

Foothills Honey at Okuku are a Canterbury crew headed by James and Sister Laura, and compared to the majority of commercial beekeepers has a younger work force. I was invited to their office and production area to meet the crew as they came back to ‘base’ after a day out with the hives. While the Winter light was easier to manage, being flat, the brighter Springtime conditions do yield interesting results as I document the change of seasons.

I’ve been invited to head out with the crew as they work on the hives in the next 3 weeks, that will require me getting suited up. I can’t wait! When it comes to being out in the warmest part of the day in the coming weeks, as I document work on the hives, I’ll maybe need help with a scrim to help diffuse the harsh midday light. The photographic process is in a constant flux based on light, and I guess my commercial experience is going to come in handy with regards to avoiding harsh blown out highlights.

Saying that, watch this space, as it’s a new experience/ process for me on film as I generally avoid the harsh light of day. I’ve also decided to utilise my 35mm auto focus Canon setup for closer and more active image work on the hives alongside the 6×6 TLR’s to ensure I get the process captured in the most natural way. It will also be good to get some closeups of the hives and bees!

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Beekeeper Gerard.

Gerard was kind enough to invite me to the North Canterbury Beekeeping Club’s AGM a few months ago where he is the president and I met some beekeepers – and since documented them. This week I ventured out to Gerards beautiful Eyreton property where he keeps himself busy with all sorts of projects- with beekeeping being very prominent.

Gerard has all the equipment to harvest and extract honey, as well as an ingenious bee wax melting tool, that facilities candle making. His home is a green paradise with so many trees and plant life, and a handful of hives scattered throughout, and it turns out that Gerard was a Physics and mathematics teacher prior to retiring. In a few weeks I’m going to attend a hive day and connect with other keepers as we head to the finish of this project at ARA in late November. I’ll be continuing the project in two 2022 though FYI as I want to document a complete season and more diversity.

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Lucy.

I’ve photographed Lucy quite a lot and every time, making images is such a great experience. Lucy is a masseur, and we often exchange massages for photos, and this visit she was keen to capture her with ‘Peach’ the cat at home amongst the beautiful plant life, that her mum is obsessed with. I took a handful of images before the little tiger decided that life was better away from the camera. If you want to trade portraits- let me know.

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Yashica MG1- First Roll.

I’ve just had the light seals repaired on my recent acquisition, a Yashica Mg1 rangefinder 35mm camera from the mid 1970’s and took it for its first proper roll at Hagley Park. I’m becoming more and more obsessed with trees and their wonder. Once upon a time I would ride my mountain bike or blaze past trees while running and not really notice their glory. Yet as an avid walker, with the slower pace, I’m now overwhelmed with their presence. Doing a loop yesterday of Hagley I mediated on the light and forms which surrounded me, and this camera just feels great for this type of work. I’m really happy with the way the images look, feel and portray the wisdom of these elders that surround us.

I’ve also been using a new film from Rollei- RPX 400 for both 35mm and 120 recently. It’s cheap, gritty and so far lovely to develop and scan. The ability to pull back highlights or over exposed frames is pretty spectacular too if I’m honest. Actually, for 35mm work I much prefer this film to my usual Ilford HP5 now. This series of images are going towards a larger project as I capture more trees in Hagley over coming months after spending what seems like an eternity trying to work out how I could share my love for this Christchurch park though photography.

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Beekeeper Robert.

I met Robert at the North Canterbury Beekeeprs Club (like many I’ve captured!) and he was kind enough to invite me and Thomas to his home to capture his portrait with his dogs and chickens. We chatted about family mostly and Robert helped suggest some more leads within the Beekeeping community to help me capture more diversity. Some chat about technology unfolded, and seems to be a topic in the community that divides. For example, technologies such as automatic weighing sensors underneath hives indicate optimal honey extraction vs traditional methods of checking by hand. It’s these types of electronic methods and approaches that commercial ventures, not all it seems, can utilise for better yields of Honey. Or liquid gold, you could say.

During the development of one roll of three, I unfortunately removed the ‘light sealing funnel’ from a development tank and the whole roll was instantly ruined. It’s never nice when you loose images and especially when they were the ‘kookiest’ of the set. Robert would be game to re-shoot this set I’m sure, but part of me believes what is meant to be is meant to be, and re-shooting is not true to the natural progression of the project. I’m pretty happy with the set regardless.

Yes, this is twice within a week I’ve messed up during the development stage, and I disrespected the process, so it disrespected me I guess. I declared that I would stop developing in the evenings and went ahead and did exactly that while tired once again. I’ve now swapped things around, and moved development 100% to the following day, and scanning negatives if required into the evening. I’ve learnt my lesson. Next week I’m going to slow things down more. Anyway, next week I’m going to photograph a husband and wife operation near the Southern Alps, and they employ all casual staff who are Mums. I may have hit a jackpot for documenting more females within the community, and I’ll share more about this later.

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Megan and Steve – Mount Lyford Honey.

This photoshoot was in two parts and my Wife Amy, and Son Thomas came along for the experience. We headed to Megan’s Amberly home first on route to Mount Lyford Honey where we met her Daughter Sophie who is also a beekeeper (who I’ll be photographing soon), and her five + dogs. We then headed to meet Steve, Megans partner, who owns the Mount Lyford operations, and based in Lyford. We got there quite late and the light was perfect, but fading fast, so we got straight to it, with views of Mount Lyford who really put on a beautiful display for us with no cloud covering her peak.

We captured around the property, inside the honey packing operations, and finally in Steves living room and a truly magnificent mirror- a giant Piranha. We chatted about all sorts of bee talk and mostly surrounding the technologies in the industry as well as how not disturbing the bees during honey extraction not only keeps them alive, it also improves the yield. By all accounts it can take upto 2 years for a colony to settle, grow and be happy enough to then produce excess honey outside of the amount required to sustain the colony.

Mount Lyford Honey prides itself on the fact their honey is 100% natural and derived from the available flowers, rather than feeding the colonies refined sugar. A practice that apparently is very common within the New Zealand beekeeping community. After I capture Sophie, who is a keen horse rider, I would have documented the complete crew at Mount Lyford Honey, who have all been brilliant to get to know and spend time with. Thanks for organising everything Megan! During the development of one roll, the ‘funnel lid’ of the Paterson tank fell out when I was pouring the chemistry back into the bottle. The light thankfully was not direct from above and leaks were manageable during post editing. The negatives were mostly OK but I lost a few images due to fogging and a crazy contrast shift, that breaks my heart. It was a mistake that could have been avoided too if I had simply the next day, as I was very tired. I must slow down and respect the developing process more.

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Will I Get Side Effects?

An exploration and observation of COVID 19 anxieties and fears related to lockdown and the 2021 New Zealand immunisation program. The text to voice recording is a small sample of resources and information found at https://covid19.govt.nz.

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Rakaia Gorge Track.

The Rakaia Gorge Track is about an hours drive from Christchurch and I’ve walked this beautiful hike maybe 5 times now. I’ve been craving some wilderness time since lockdown, and as much as I love Hagley Park and the walk to it along Papanui Road, I would be happy to never take that route on foot again after more than 150 KM.

We are blessed to have such stunning parks in Christchurch and the rolling Port Hills, but the mountains are where I feel most freedom and a profound connection to Mother Nature. The Rakaia Gorge Track was a good introduction back to hikes with climbs, with the Southern Alps literally shouting to me with their sweet sweet winds. The sun was shining, birds singing and people on the track were happy and open. The hike lasted about 4 hours with some detours, tree hugging (yes I’m a hippy at heart), and meditating on the light at the main attraction- the stunning Rakaia Gorge. It was a shock to the legs though after so much flat. The burn was real.

To walk amongst Earths wonder is a grounding experience for me, and always utterly profound the wilder it gets. During a deeply forested part of the trail, I stopped with the sun glinting through the wisdom that surrounded me, and I had an overwhelming realisation that everything was going to be OK. Mother Nature is fighting back and being even closer by her side moving forward is the right path. If you actually stop, look and listen next time you are surrounded by her wonder, you too will feel this realisation too.

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Beekeeper Rod.

Rod is a beekeeper at Bee my Honey and lives in Lincoln on a beautiful lifestyle block, with the hives, Wife and three Daughters. I took my Son Thomas with me on this shoot and he hit the jackpot with horses, dogs and alpaca to spend time with as we waited for the light to get better. We had some interesting chats about all sorts of subjects including social media use and how it effects our kids, through to a period when Rod went to the states and returned some years ago to face some dramatic loss of hives due to parastic invasions. What was apparent spending time with Rod is his love for his family, outdoors and the animals he cares for. A great combination.

Interestingly, I captured a selection of images in this set using Cinestiill 800 which traditionally is used for night time image making. The results were great and looked similar to that of Fujifilm 400H in my opinion. What a shame though it is $30 a roll :/ A pack of Portra 800 for this project is going to be more cost effective for sure.

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