Retired photographer Mark Whiddon enjoys success with beekeeping hobby
Dressed in his protective jacket with its veil covering his face , beekeeper Mark Whiddon seems oblivious to the honey bees buzzing around him as he pulls a rectangular wooden frame from a beehive box , a thick layer of dark golden fluid filling the honeycomb . Working with bees flying around his face and hands – sometimes landing a sting to his skin – is almost second nature to Whiddon after seven years as a beekeeper . “ You are 100 percent going to get stung at some point even with protective clothing on ,” he said later in a telephone interview . A local photographer for 46 years , Whiddon retired a couple of years ago , closing his well-known studio , Mark Whiddon Photography . An avid hunter , fisherman and gardener , he also loves to read and do woodworking . Beekeeping seems like a natural fit to these other hobbies .