Bee Documentary

I put together this short documentary for a Digital Media Production class where we learned how to shoot and edit video.

I met Carl Johnson, the beekeeper, while taking a certification course for teaching English as a second language. Carl brought in a jar of honey for everyone in the class one morning and after getting to know him, I thought he'd be a good subject for my upcoming project.

I went out to his bee hives in Northern Virginia on two occasions and did two on-camera interviews with him. I learned much more about Carl than I was able to include, spending hours with him showing me around and telling me stories about his life.

Carl worked as a Registered Nurse for 24 years before being able to retire and pursue his dream of keeping bees. As a nurse, he worked 20 hour days and had a day off every month, he says he never needed a calendar because everyday he knew he had to be at work at the same time.

He worked in Cambodia during the reign of the communist leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot. Pol Pot was on a mission to "cleanse" the country, in the and about 2 million people were killed. Carl worked with the Red Cross and was the director of what he calls as a "MASH operation," treating severely injured victims in the war zone.

Carl loved his work, and was able to retire about six years ago and start keeping bees. He runs such a successful operation that he has been contracted to manage other people's bee hives. After I learned that Carl's sister, Carla, sells his honey in the German pastry shop she owns, I stopped by the pastry shop and did an interview with her. They're an interesting family.

If you're ever in Arlington, Va, I recommend stopping by Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe to pick up a jar of Carl's local honey. It's an enormous bakery filled with every delicious treat imaginable!

His next dream is to go over to Thailand and help with the country's honey operation, and teach English on the side. He calls Thailand that most beautiful place on Earth, and was lucky enough to have spent some time there while he was with the Red Cross.