Midway » bill weaver

A visit to Cortes Island

Jan Vozenilek — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:44:07 +0000

A walk on the shores of the remote and wild Canadian island of Cortes illustrates that plastic is polluting even the most remote and beautiful corners of our planet.

Midway Journey members Chris Jordan, Manuel Maqueda, Jan Vozenilek and Bill Weaver reunited in May 2010 to attend the Media that Matters conference in Hollyhock, Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Music by Christen Lien

Video by Jan Vozenilek

Midway Brushstrokes 2

Manuel Maqueda — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:29:57 +0000

In the midst of the tragedy of plastic pollution on Midway, Jan Vozenilek’s camera tuns, for an instant, to the triumph of life over decay.

During our journey, Jan would occasionally steal away from the group, and wander alone in the island with his camera. The rest of us would wonder where he was, and what kind of footage he would be capturing.

The scenes on Brushstrokes 2 speak of moments of intimacy, where the cinematographer is alone in the field, tuning into the pulse of the land, and letting its natural beauty tell an ancient story of survival and renewal.

In this short video lies a reverence for nature so profound, that our eye has to concentrate on the small details, and peek shyly through blades of grass, lest the direct contemplation of the greatness of it all be overwhelming. As we watch, we feel the emergence of that peculiar sense wonder that is often thought to belong only to childhood. A sense of awe and discovery that we are taught to suppress and forget as we grow up.

As time slows down, and the rays of golden light fall gently on the tortured landscape of Midway, subtle brushstrokes of natural beauty are painted over a canvas too many times torn and blotted by the blindness of man.

Video by Jan Vozenilek. Music by Vanessa LeBourdais.

Plastic Water

Victoria Sloan Jordan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:31:40 +0000

Scientists say that plastic now outweighs plankton 6 to 1 in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The lagoon of Midway Atoll is the perfect laboratory to witness all sizes of plastic slowly breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. A variety of plastic washes up on the beaches daily, but not before some local fish make a meal of it.

Video by: Jan Vozenilek. Voiceover: Victoria Sloan Jordan.

Music by Christen Lien

A visit to Eastern Island

Manuel Maqueda — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:48:36 +0000

Midway Atoll is actually composed of two small islands, Sand Island -which is the largest and the only one inhabited- and Eastern Island, slightly over one mile long, and separated from Sand Island by a narrow channel that provides access to the interior of the lagoon.

Matt Brown, Manager of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, took us on a tour of Eastern Island as he and two volunteers inspected three fresh water ponds occupied by extremely rare and endangered Laysan Ducks. Eastern Island is entirely crisscrossed by abandoned runways dating back to World War II, today almost unrecognizable under a layer of vegetation that grows through cracks in the pavement. While nature slowly triumphs over dilapidated asphalt, iron and cement, Eastern Island has not escaped the onslaught of plastic pollution, which is present everywhere.

Video by Bill Weaver. Cinematography by Jan Vozenilek. Voiceover by Chris Jordan. Interviewee: Matt Brown. Music by Vanessa LeBourdais.

Ghost Net

Bill Weaver — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:52:54 +0000

A day off for snorkeling turns into a mission to recover a ghost net.

Video by Bill Weaver, voice over by Chris Jordan. Music by Christen Lien.

The Best Gear Possible

Bill Weaver — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:09:02 +0000

Capturing high-resolution images thousands of miles from a camera store means having the best tools possible and a lot of redundancy. In this clip, Bill Weaver profiles some of the technology Chris Jordan has brought to Midway.

Video by Bill Weaver

The Power of Midway

Manuel Maqueda — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:53:54 +0000

Film director Bill Weaver talks about the ways the members of the Midway Team are bonded with one another, and with the power of nature that surrounds them on Midway.

Music by Christen Lien www.itsnotaviolin.com

First Dead Albatrosses

Bill Weaver — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:02:06 +0000

On his first morning on Midway, Chris begins searching for the remains of albatrosses that have died from ingesting plastic. It didn’t take long to find his first photographic subjects.

-Bill Weaver

Voiceover by Chris Jordan