The drama of the Honeybees book

This month I've been working on the fourth book in the Homemade Living series for Lark Books that is about raising honeybees.  I could imagine that this involved photographing the hives, the extracting process and of course photos of the food for the yummy recipes that author Ashley English would include, but I had been in a bit of denial when it came to getting up close and personal with the bees. I was told by the editor, Nicole, that I would have a bee suit ordered just for me. Ashley claimed that her bees were "chill" - but that kind of reminded me of  a pet owner claiming that their pet was always well behaved just after they peed on your rug. " I do not have a phobia of bees, or anything like that" I explained to Nicole as the day of the close ups arrived, "but I am not Kumbaya with them either". I decided to just not think about it when the visions of hundreds of bees dive bombing me invaded my imagination, and just show up for the shoot wearing all white as directed.

I arrived at Ashley's house with the appointed attire, looking like I was ready for a hazmat situation. I wore big snow boots (despite the summer heat) and duck taped them around the top, as well as around my wrists. No one made fun of me nor acted like I was the least bit ridiculous. It was when Nicole mentioned that I could use my macro lens to get close up, not realizing that that meant getting right on top of the bees to get these close ups that my anxiety was hard to miss. Anyway, the end of the story is that it was fine, and Ashley's bees were chilled out and paid very little attention to me, despite our size difference and my invasion of their space. After a few minutes of being close to the hive the fear was dissipating as I got a few inches from some of the bees on the screens of honeycomb and started seeing actual personalities in these insects, almost like I could imagine that they were talking about me.

So, with a wave of relief flooding over me, I said "That wasn't bad at all!" - I felt victorious as though I really hadn't been afraid to begin with. Chris and Ashley looked at each other, then down at their feet, and Chris said "Lynne, you were bug eyed when you first put on that bee mask".

So much for my bravado.

Rancho La Puerta - Three Words That Spell Paradise

I must have the best teaching "gig" in North America - teaching photography classes at the heavenly Rancho La Puerta in Mexico. "The ranch" is like no other place I know - providing dessert beauty, perfect temperature, the aromas of herbs and flowers that wave past you constantly as you walk the grounds, freshly picked and prepared organic food served in a beautiful setting by friendly local people, beauty around every curve - where to begin? How about waking up at 5:30 am to meet a group of people for a 7 mile hike up Mt. Kuchumaa, stopping along an awe inspiring view of the valley below to eat breakfast, all to make it back to the ranch in time for a yoga class? Okay, to some of you that may not sound like paradise, but you'd be welcome to sleep in and just go straight to your delicious breakfast which includes homemade breads, cereals, jams and fresh fruits. Then you can lounge away the whole day with a book if you like, get a massage if you must! This year I brought my dear friend Karen Deans, artist and owner of woodentile.com - she not only offered great companionship but helped me present "Self Expression Through Photography". Even the room where we did the presentation was beautiful - the Oak Tree Pavilion (below).

On top of all that relaxing and eating, I met some really interesting people at the ranch, as always. Among them was the guest chef for that week, Kathleen Flinn, author of "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry". Kat taught a wonderful hands-on cooking class that I was lucky to be able to get into, and we had quite a few post-dinner fun times together back at her "casita". Deborah Madison, chef and cookbook author, as well as environmental activist, was also at the ranch with her sister Jamie, and I was fortunate to sit between these ladies at dinner and hear some great stories!

While it was a great week, it was a difficult re-immersion back into the real world, as happy as I am in my world for the most part. I am already looking forward to going back June 11th, 2011! I'll be teaching digital photography classes again and would love to see some familiar faces. I even have a $250 gift certificate for a first time ranch goer.

Here's the Interview

As I mentioned I was pretty nervous about being interviewed on TV without a 'start over" button, but it went okay I think, despite my stumbling on the last question. So hard to think fast when you're nervous! Hopefully I'll do better next time if I'm fortunate enough to have a next time.

If you'd like to see the interview on WLOS it is on youtube. Please be kind....

"Biltmore - A Modern Twist" Opening: Smooth Sailing

Whew. What a week leading up to the opening of the new series I created for the Biltmore Estate - "Biltmore - A Modern Twist". It was a great week including my appearance on WLOS and signing prints at the grand opening of the Antler Hill Village at Biltmore, culminating in my opening reception at the wonderful Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village. I was so pleased and appreciative that so many people came there to support me. We all enjoyed the hospitality of the generous folks at the Corner Kitchen who poured complimentary Biltmore Wine and served a constant stream of delicious appetizers. My photographs are hanging in the same room where the Obamas dined a few short weeks ago! If you haven't tried the Corner Kitchen, I highly recommend it.

The series will be on the walls through the fall, so please take a look when you're in the area. Most of the images are upstairs but will be moving around as I bring some downstairs and rotate in new images for the ones that have sold. All of my images are available unframed and in custom sizes and you can order directly through me. If you'd like to see some of them they are on website.

Here are a few photos of guests taken by a variety of people - my daughter Jessica Siler and friends James Sasso, and Dot Griffith.

I'm Not Going to be a Star, but I Will Be On TV.

Thursday morning, May 20th,  I will be on the morning segment called MY40 on WLOS to talk about my upcoming show of a new series of images of the historic Biltmore Estate. The series is called "Biltmore - a Modern Twist" and is the result of my becoming a licensed artist of the estate last year - here is a sneak preview. You can see more of the images on my website at www.lynnehartyfineart.com as well as in the new Traditions store in Antler Hill Village on the estate. I will be at Traditions Thursday May 20th from 12-4 signing prints as part of the grand opening of Antler Hill Village.

Join us for the opening reception Sunday May 23rd from 5-6:30 at the Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village.

"Biltmore - A Modern Twist"

I am very excited about my upcoming show at the Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Forest that showcases my latest series of "tweaked" photographs: "Biltmore - a Modern Twist". I started working on this body of work last year with what started as a "spec" job and turned into a wonderful relationship.  I began work on these images knowing that there might be some interest from the Biltmore folks, but also that it was possible that not only would they not be interested in selling the prints, they might not give me the required permission to use them at all. But, alas, all went well and I became a licensed Biltmore artist, which basically means I have their blessing to photograph all of the estate, inside and out, and sell the images wherever I am able. I probably don't have to state the obvious - but I will - the estate is a one of a kind gorgeous place to shoot inside and out, so it is not an unpleasant assignment. The people that I work with in the marketing, PR, retail and licensing department are professional, enthusiastic, and consistently helpful - they have made the whole process a easy one. Being able to walk behind those strongly enforced ropes in the house was fun, I admit - it brought back childhood memories of wanting to break out of those oft required lines the teachers always made us walk in.

What was interesting to me about this series vs. the ones I've created of icons of other towns, is that since the entire house is basically beige, there are hardly any colors to tweak; rather, I have to create them from scratch in Photoshop. The result is a color palate that is different, and more cohesive as a body of work, than the previous series. It is fun to make these whimsical images of such historic icons and architectural accents of the Biltmore Estate. I look forward to continuing the work and creating new images throughout the year.

I will be signing prints on May 20th as part of the grand opening events at the newly opened Antler Hill Village, preceded by a very early TV interview on WLOS the same morning between 7am -8am (no small thing for this other-side-of-the-camera-phobic photographer). The opening will be at the Corner  Kitchen (YES, the same place President Obama dined in last weekend!) from 5-6:30 on May 23rd. Come join me for a glass of wine and yummy appetizers if you can.

My next show will be at Asheville Community Theater in July - stay tuned.

Blurbs

Thanks to good friend and creative design wiz, Russ Shuler, I now have a hard bound book that serves as a mini-collection of my colorful series of images depicting Asheville and a few from the new series I created for the Biltmore Estate: "Biltmore - A Modern Twist". You'll be hearing about the Biltmore series soon, but for anyone who might like to take a look at my book you find it online here at .http://www.blurb.com/books/839577