First Bees

This annual photography contest on the subject of beekeeping is held by the Town Council of Azuqueca de Henares to raise awareness of its environmental and sustainable development initiatives related to cultivating bees. At the urging of urban beekeeping advocate Toni Burnham, Focal Flame Photography founder Clint Thayer photographed a very significant beehive - likely the only beehive in the world with its own security detail. This hive was established in March 2009 on the lawn of the U.S. White House and is tended by White House carpenter and amateur beekeeper Charlie Brandt. Thayer's photograph showing the sunlit hive surrounded by magnolias with the White House as backdrop helped share the significance of beekeeping in unusual urban settings, and was chosen as one of the top one hundred out of 746 contest entries.