Bees, Birds and a Schnauzer: One of our Most Unusual (but Favourite) Shoots to Date

When you think of a strong bond between a pet and their human, you might typically imagine a dog or a cat, but one of my recent shoots proved otherwise. I had the pleasure of photographing Diane together with her country clan - Pippa the Schnauzer, two chickens and her wondrous hive of bees.

When I arrive at Diane’s home, I’m instantly greeted by Pippa the Schnauzer. She’s incredibly friendly, wagging her tail so much she looks like she’s doing a happy little booty shake. Initially it’s quite hard to take her photograph because she just wants to come and sit on my lap, she’s quite the hostess, but eventually I manage to capture her expression as she peers up at me through her signature Schnauzer brows. Pippa spends her days pottering in and out of the garden, so it’s not long before we head outside, where I get to meet two more happy ladies.

Diane’s chickens came into her life when she responded to a local campaign on Facebook to rescue 12,000 deep litter hens. They were going to slaughter because, at 13 months old, they were deemed ‘too old’ for the egg industry. Diane rehomed four hens, naming them Victoria, Cherry, Ginger and Tracey. Three of them were named after types of cake and then the fourth, after the lovely lady that organised the rehoming.

“They settled in wonderfully and to our delight their personalities came through. 8,000 hens were rescued. They continued to lay well for another year before sadly two passed away. The remaining two have stopped laying now but continue to enjoy life, feeling the sun on their back and the earth beneath their feet!”

While in the garden, we just watch the chickens go about their daily business, exploring the flowerbeds and pecking their way around. We’re stood near Diane’s vegetable patches when she notices there’s some carrots ready to pull up. As I watch Diane prise the carrots from the soil, she tells me to keep a close eye on the hens, or should I say her little helpers. They were quite cautious around me and my camera before, but suddenly the chickens are right beside us. They seem almost giddy, pecking at the earth to see what treats have been unearthed for them. I can’t believe what I’m seeing - talk about pest control.

“The chickens love to have company, and they come running when I’m gardening and turning the soil over. They particularly love to get in the greenhouse, the soil is finer in there and maybe there are more bugs to be found. It’s funny to watch them scratching the soil and then stepping back to pick out the treats they have revealed. Such characters, they don’t differentiate between scratching up weeds, plants or bulbs, it’s all about finding that juicy bug!”

Diane manages to have a little cuddle break with one of her birds, and all the while she coos with contentment (the Chicken, not Diane). Since two of her ladies passed away, Diane can’t be sure which is which, but I like to think that she had a cuddle with Tracey (one of the best pet names ever). As Tracey sits in Diane’s arms, she could easily be a cat or a lapdog. Diane strokes her and comforts her with kind words and the odd clucking noise. They’re both so in tune with each other. And as they sit together amongst drying Lavender from the garden (for Diane’s honey), I can’t help but stare Tracey right in her beady eye. Despite growing up around chickens as a kid, I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to one before and I can’t help but study Tracey’s face. It’s a surreal moment, she looks almost human and I swear I can see a smile.

It’s time for Diane to introduce me to the bees and it’s part of the shoot I’ve been anticipating the most. Diane has kept bees for many years but recently she had to give up her hive due to developing a severe allergic reaction to their stings. In the end it wasn’t worth the risk, so instead she gets to offer a helping hand to her neighbour who also has a hive.

“Unfortunately, as happens to a lot of beekeepers, I developed an acute sensitivity to bee stings. Whilst continuing to keep bees I underwent 3 years of desensitisation treatment. However, I’m still at risk of a severe allergic reaction if I get stung so I’m having a break from actively keeping bees myself. As secretary of my local beekeeping association I’m still involved, and feel I’m continuing to ‘do my bit’ to support our wonderful honey bees.”

This is the first time I’ve been lucky enough to be so up close and personal with a hive of bees and I can’t wait to see them at work. Diane only has one suit so she opens the hive first, then hands it over to me so I can get a little closer with my camera. The hive practically roars and as Diane watches me from afar she can sense that the bees are getting slightly agitated. With each snap of the shutter, the bees whir and their collective buzz becomes pretty intense. So we decide to give them a break from the camera and Diane puts the suit back on. I don’t know if it’s her presence or the fact that I (a noisy stranger) am now backing off, but they seem instantly calm and their angry buzz has dialled down to a gentle hum.

As Diane checks the body of the hive, I get a little braver (as do the bees) and I edge a little closer capturing Diane in her happy place. At this point the bees were getting quite close to me, but I didn’t seem to mind, the sight was so stunning the possibility of getting stung seemed irrelevant (or was terribly stupid of me). And after all the drama with my noisy camera, it seemed I had been accepted. Maybe they realised how in awe I was of them so they thought, “Go on then, you can take our picture.”

“Beekeeping is a wonderful hobby. Bees are totally fascinating creatures and are a constant source of wonder and respect. To open a hive to the calm hum of up to 50,000 bees all going about their daily tasks under the guidance of one Queen bee is an amazing experience. The sweet smell of the hive is just wonderful too. Bees work so hard to make just one drop of honey - it is precious liquid gold! Wild bees are very much in decline so it’s imperative that we have beekeepers who sustain healthy colonies, continue to learn and profile the ongoing plight of the honey bee. I feel very privileged to be part of this.”

You can visit Diane’s Facebook page here Cross Hills Honey where you can keep track of her bee keeping and honey making.

We end the shoot by retuning indoors where we find a sleepy Pippa all cosy and curled up in her bed. She had lost interest earlier in the garden while we photographed the chickens. Diane tells me that she’s a bit cautious around them and whenever the chickens are free-ranging in the garden she chooses to ignore them.

As the shoot comes to an end, Diane cuddles up to Pippa. It’s clear to see how gentle Pippa is, all she wants is to be close to Diane. Sadly, it’s believed that Pippa started life on a puppy farm, and mothered quite a few litters of puppies. She is such a sweet and calm girl, it warms my heart even more to know what she’s been through.

“Pippa is such a sweet little girl. She had a hard life before we found her so she deserves joy and peace now. Seeing her so happy and healthy after the sad and frightened little dog she was when we brought her home brings me joy every day. We love to go for walks, when the lead comes out she runs around in excited circles and can’t wait to get out and start sniffing!”

I leave Pippa happy and sleepy (and also probably quite relieved that the shoot is finally over) on the couch with her mum. It will be a shoot to remember. It didn’t feel like ‘work’ at all, but instead was a lovely afternoon getting to learn about the magic of bees, while also witnessing the power of pets and the incredible bond they manage to cement with us.

If you want to freeze-frame the bond you share with your pet, or perhaps you want to gift a shoot to a loved one and their little pal? Get in touch emily@petstories.co.uk or visit our packages page for more info.