August 16, 2009: BUZZ! Shortest Photography Road Trip Ever

I was in Greenville, North Carolina to drop off one of my works for a show at the Emerge Gallery. On the way back to Raleigh I decided to take the rural scenic route back home.

As an architectural professional with a client in the area, I was familiar with the region and rediscovered an abandoned house near old US-64. It would be the first stop on a nice little trip back so I did a couple of shots outside…and a few shots inside. About 15 minutes into shooting inside of the house, I was attacked by a swarm of wasps and got stung 6 or 7 times. I had only been stung once before in my life, maybe about…13 years ago, so I had no clue how I was going to react over the next couple of hours.

Though my long-term reaction was in question, there was little doubt as to my short-term reaction. In shock, I dashed out of the barn, took off my shirt that the wasps were clinging to, flailed my arms around and yelled profusely in combinations of swears and curses I never uttered before. With my adrenaline flowing, the mayhem and disorientation lasted what seemed like five minutes, though I’m sure it was more like 15-30 seconds. I was stung on my arms, chest, back, and top of my head.

(Maybe I should’ve taken the fly-swatter on the floor as some sort of hint…)

Of course, since I was literally in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t a person to be seen for at least two miles and witness my delirium. Needless to say, my little photography trip was over. Thankfully the only reaction I had was some nausea and gagging within 10 minutes, then some typical swelling and irritation at the sting sites. Most of the effects were gone within 48 hours.

I think I’ll try this trip again…like…during the winter.

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