ARTIST PAUL PETCH

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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