Meet Bethany Karulak-Baker, a 38-year-old commercial beekeeper, resides in the charming town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Together with her husband Perry and their children, she operates Outlaw Apiaries, a thriving raw honey business.
Imagine this: Bethany arranged a Photoshoot where she had thousands of bees resting on her tummy. But here’s the twist – she’s allergic to bees!
The photoshoot had a deeper purpose than just being shocking or visually pleasing. It carried a poignant and heartbreaking backstory about Bethany and her family.
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A year ago, Bethany suffered an extremely traumatic miscarriage, leaving her broken-hearted and filled with self-blame. The thought of her baby being alone inside those hospital walls haunted her. After battling depression, she became pregnant again but kept it a secret due to fear of experiencing another loss. The pandemic made it even harder, adding isolation to her worries. However, amidst the darkness, her family came together and provided immense love and support, becoming a silver lining in her journey.
Inspired by their experience, Perry and Bethany embarked on a unique photoshoot, involving their beehives ‘bearding’ around Bethany’s eight-month-pregnant stomach. Allergy concerns arose, but with doctor’s approval, they proceeded, despite Bethany’s local reaction that caused itchy welts lasting up to six weeks.
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Finding the perfect photographer was no easy feat for Perry and Bethany. After ten attempts, they finally found Brooke Welch, whose talent and artistic sensibilities aligned perfectly with their vision for the photoshoot.
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Handling the bees proved to be another challenge. Bethany explained, “We safely attached a queen bee to my belly using a cage. To ensure the bees’ comfort, we needed ideal weather conditions—cloudy and cool. We carefully selected nurse bees, the gentlest ones, and placed them on my belly to create the ‘beard’ effect around the queen.”
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The bees adorned Bethany’s stomach for around 30 minutes, creating a mesmerizing scene for the photoshoot. Despite the substantial number of bees, totaling around 10,000, Bethany was fortunate to avoid any stings.
So, you see, this photograph represents more than just a woman with honeybees on her belly It symbolizes something much greater. Bethany finally says that “My only hope is that one day my children will look at this photo and see the warrior inside of me.”
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