Jana Kinsman bikes across Chicago from beehive to beehive. She is the founder of Bike a Bee, a project where she plants bee hives in community gardens around the city, then services them by bicycle. When Chicago photographer Adam Alexander heard about Jana’s project, he got busy with his camera and set out to begin what he figured would be a pretty sweet photo series.
Within a few minutes of research I realized this could lead to a really visually interesting project. I contacted Jana, and within a week or so I began documenting the 2015 honey harvest.
Starting with eight beehives in 2012, Jana now runs 32 hives through Chicago’s south and west sides. Jana visits each hive to extract, bottle, and label the honey. She and her assistant often bike up to 15 miles a day during harvest season, which happens to be in the dead of summer. Adam says the most important part of his photo prep is some good stretching and hydration. He bikes along with Jana to photograph her process as it occurs.
Once the honey is all bottled and labeled, Jana saves some jars to sell to people in and outside of Chicago to continue funding Bike a Bee.
I’ve always been drawn to documenting stories of real people and the lives they live.
Adam says this project appeals to his photojournalism interest, which was a big part of his drive early on in his photography career. He has titled his documentation of Bike a Bee “Chicago Honey.”
The buzz surrounding the project has been pretty great for both Adam and Jana. Bike a Bee continues to grow, and Adam plans to photograph again when the 2016 harvest begins. He looks forward to also photographing more food and organic businesses that serve and advance communities in Chicago.
To view more of Adam’s work, visit adamalexanderphoto.com.