I was walking out of the Domes’ garden when a buzzing sound lured me to a mysterious white box. Black and yellow winged warriors crowded a caved hole at the corner of the box where they landed and took off from their daily flight routines. My curiosity caused me to ask the Domies to help me open the boxed hive. I was so eager to see how the bees worked together to harvest their honey. Several hundred bees were squeezed tightly between waxed slides and each tiny insect worked meticulously on its specific area. As I was photographing this family of bees, I began appreciating the dedication to their hive. When we lifted a waxed slide up, we moved too fast – the bees rose together and began aiming to cover the bodies of the people in their area. One bee managed to get tangled into my coat sleeve and stung my hand while I panicked to let it escape. I felt the pain from that one little bee-sting for two days.
I shot this picture with a shutter speed of 1/400 to capture the bees in a still moment. My aperture was set at f5.6 with an ISO of 100 to show the bees on top in focus while hiding the bees that follow down into the blurry darkness of the box.
– Sarena Grossjan
