Megan Livie upon arrival at Woolly Egg Ranch. In her hand is a California Sister Butterfly, and being a new transplant, it was the first Megan had ever seen.

Photographer and SFAI student Megan Livie visited my apiary at Woolly Egg Ranch during the Paradise Fire in November to take photos for a class project.

Megan had decided to focus her photo essay on bees for the class. In Megan’s words,

“I approached The Bee Project with curiosity and fear. The purpose of this project was to get over my fear of bees. When I was 13, I nearly died of an allergic reaction to a bee sting. I had been stung by bees prior to this, but I never reacted - this made the experience traumatic. Since then, I have gone through five years of desensitization shots (weekly or bi-weekly). There is a 90% chance that I am not allergic anymore, but I have not been stung since.”

When we arrived at the Ranch, the winds had been blowing smoke over the Bay area for a day or two, but we hadn’t yet seen the worst of it. The photo I have here of Megan is the last time I’d see her whole face, and we quickly donned our masks and set up the hill to the bees.

The following photos are from Megan’s project. You can find her own writing about the experience at her website, http://www.meganlivie.com/thebeeproject/

Jennifer lights her smoker at the top of the hill under the eucalyptus grove

Jennifer’s sweetheart misses his creme brulee torch, but its the best way to light a smoker

Photographers love to take photos of smoke

Jennifer opening hives in the mating yard

Jennifer shows Megan how this hive is not doing well s a result of varroa mite infestation

“Ok Megan, are you ready for this?” Jennifer shows off for the camera.

Jennifer takes a peek at a top bar hive before opening

Getting creative- Normally Jennifer blows on bees to get them to move, but here she places her hand gently on top to get the bees to move

The best part about this project is seeing Megan’s work and reading her blog post. “By photographing bees, I have connected bees with beauty and peace. I can safely say that I am no longer afraid of bees. “

Beekeeper's Notebook

Smokey Days at Woolly Egg Ranch