Photographer Blake Little is gearing up for the release of his new photo series, “Preservation,” which features models covered in honey.

Blake Little “Preservation”

Little, an established photographer who works on his own art series as well as photographing celebrities from time to time, has been working on “Preservation” for over two years, after being inspired by a 2011 shoot he did with honey. Little was inspired to shoot with honey after working with a man who reminded him of a bear.

“I had him climb a tree. I had him eat from a big tub of honey and it was on his hands, dripping. I didn’t even think I would use the photograph, but when I saw it afterward there was something about the honey on the body. It looked like it was preserved – like insects in amber,” Little told People.

Inspired by the image, Little reportedly put out an ad on Craig’s List, looking for models for an “art project.” Little only described the shoot and revealed the fact that models would be covered in gallons of honey after meeting the models in person.

Little reportedly photographed over 80 models for the series, all of different shapes, sizes and genders – he even included a shot of a one-year-old baby and a dog. It was important to Little that his series feature as wide a range of people as possible. “The honey has a way of democratizing people – to transform them in a universal way,” Little said.

Behind the scenes video (contains nudity NSFW):

“[Blake Little’s series of photographs] freeze the human form, preserving it not in proverbial amber, but rather – and unexpectedly – in honey, another natural substance millions of years old,” reads the Preservation Book Foreword.

The book will be released on March 7.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.