Rory Wills, fourth-year wildlife biology student and macro photographer, has made a quick impact at the HBRC since being hired this spring. Rory was brought on board during seasonal hiring and has excelled as a new beekeeper and resident macro photographer.
“I was looking for summer job with work revolving around insects, and the opportunity presented itself,” said Rory. “I thought it would be a perfect fit for my skill set”.
“I’m loving it so far,” said Rory. “It was a pretty steep learning curve at first, but once you start to get the hang of it, it’s awesome working with the bees everyday”.
Working just off the arboretum, Rory has had the opportunity to flex as bug photographer and can be often seen taking pictures during lunch, and before and after work.
“I’m quite into bug photography”, said Rory. “It’s been a really cool opportunity to take pictures of the bees and inside the beehive”.
Recently, Rory was sponsored by the Olympus camera company and his photos have appeared on BBC Earth’s Instagram.
“It’s pretty cool, I’m definitely getting some opportunities I never thought I’d get photographing insects,” said Rory. “To have a camera company reach out to me ask me to do stuff with them is a dream come true”.
Rory’s interest in insect photography is relatively new. While on a trip with the U of G Wildlife club in 2019 he met a bug photographer with some interesting gear and upon seeing his photos Rory decided to try out bug photography.
We are very grateful to have Rory on the team and in the yard as a beekeeper and photographer. You can follow Rory on Instagram @rorymacro. Rory’s work is featured throughout our website and has brought visual life to our bee education articles. Thank you, Rory for everything you do at the HBRC.
If you would like to help us help bees, consider donating to the cause or registering as volunteer. To read more about our team at the HBRC click here.
