Last year a swarm of honey bees landed right behind Maxwell Monty’s backyard, so he searched the internet looking for answers on what to do. He came across the Swarm Hotline via portlandurbanbeekeepers.org. He called the number and within 10 minutes a super enthusiastic beekeeper named Mandy called me back. Luckily she lived pretty close and came right away. He asked if he could film her catching the bees and she was totally down.
After filming the bees, he came back with this absolutely gorgeous footage of bees in slow-motion. He figured there had to be more he could film of Mandy and her beekeeping. So when the next swarm season came, he contacted Mandy asking her to do a little documentary on her process. This is the result.
The Swarm Chaser from Maxwell Monty on Vimeo.
It’s a joy to find someone so passionate about their work, whether it be in photography, painting, crafting, woodworking or bee-keeping. Mandy’s infectious and inviting personality drew Maxwell Monty in and kept him wanting to document her process even more. There is still more of a story to tell, but for this swarm season, this will do for now.