Midway » midway atoll

MIDWAY V – Equipment prep humour

Jan Vozenilek — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:09:01 +0000

Chris Jordan provides a tour of our cutting edge video gear from our hotel room in Honolulu.

MIDWAY V – Live stream is now broadcasting

Jan Vozenilek — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:03:28 +0000

We have just setup a live-stream through www.livestream.com Please visit for a broadcast of some of our past short films and feel free to comment, ask questions and leave your feedback. The link is here: www.livestream.com/midway

midway on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

We will be doing a LIVE broadcast from Midway Island during our visit. Please stay tuned for the exact date and time.

MIDWAY V – Chris Jordan checks in from Honolulu

Jan Vozenilek — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:59:26 +0000

MIDWAY V : pre-trip check-in

Chris Jordan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:02:58 +0000

Dear Friends,

Here we go again, schlepping a small mountain of photo/video/sound recording gear back out to remote postage-stamp-sized Midway Island that has captured our hearts and imaginations in its powerful vortex. This time, if all goes well, we will witness and film a beautiful sight: the hatching of 300,000 baby albatrosses from their eggs. The adult albatrosses lay their eggs right on the ground, and as you know, they have no fear of humans, so we will be able to watch the little silver fluff balls emerging from their eggs from super close up. We are decked out with high-resolution camera and film gear with close-focus lenses, and lots of umbrellas and warm clothes, as the weather on Midway this time of year is stormy, wet, and cold.

Funding-wise, for this leg of the journey we are grateful to Koerner Camera in Seattle, the Compton Family Foundation in California, the Pax Natura Foundation in Salt Lake City and Aqua Hotels in Honolulu. And as always, big love for the fab peeps at the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the island, all of whom have gone far above and beyond with their kind support of our vision.

Our A-team this trip includes Midway veterans Jan Vozenilek (Director of Photography for the film), Joe Schweers (Lead Camera and wildlife cinematography specialist), Jim Hurst (sound engineer, jib-arm expert, camera tech, and MacGyver-of-all-trades), Victoria Jordan (team poet, line producer, and my indispensable companion and soul mate).

We’ll be on the island Feb 2-16, and we plan on making lots of short behind-the-scenes videos to share with you during this trip, so stay tuned. Wish us luck, and looking forward to checking in from Midway!

~CJ

MIDWAY IV – A dream of a dying Albatross

Jan Vozenilek — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:20:23 +0000

Here is a short clip from our most recent trip to Midway. It combines footage of a dying albatross with a scene of a baby fairy tern being fed and protected by its mother. We call it “A Dream of a Dying Albatross (Return to the Mother).” The singer is Baaba Maal, from the “One Giant Leap” album; much love to him and his peeps (and BTW that whole album is killer; check it out if you don’t have it already).

We will be returning to Midway again in February 2012 to film and witness hundreds of thousands of albatross babies hatching from their eggs, which our friends on the island say is one of the most beautiful sights on planet Earth. Our film is progressing well, with several exciting announcements coming soon. Stay tuned! ~Chris Jordan

MIDWAY – film trailer

Jan Vozenilek — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:50:56 +0000

Our new film trailer is now live. You can also view it in high resolution on our new website: www.MidwayFilm.com

MIDWAY JOURNEY III – Chris Jordan final day summary

Jan Vozenilek — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:28:46 +0000

Chris Jordan checks in on the eve of our last day on Midway Island before our departure.

Midway Journey III – Poem: Courtship Medley à la Albatross

Victoria Sloan Jordan — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:50:47 +0000

At this moment on Midway Atoll, the juvenile albatrosses are in the throes of their courtship dances. Their nonstop rave is the main source of all the buoyant motion and noise on the island as they seek a bond before flying out to sea to feed for the remainder of the summer. In this poem I’ve attempted to capture the sights and sounds of this ecstatic dancing season.

Courtship Medley à la Albatross

It begins with a prance dance,
a tiptoe head-bob waddle
and a wing fluff. Then, fake a preen,
shake out a sideways
head-breaking shriek,
a chair-leg-floor-scrape scream,
and sidle into a crooked raga
with fast and furious tabla drums,
and applause, applause, wait –

it’s a drill-hammer fixing
a squeaky door behind the beak,
a flanking feather-grab tease
to a show of chocolate origami wings,
quick switcheroo to a bass kazoo,
throw the head up high, trumpet
to blow the clouds from the sky,
it’s a match, it’s a mate, a pact
to hatch an egg, raise a chick,

then bid adieu until next season,
dancing days forever over
in favor of a lifelong bond.

~Victoria Sloan Jordan

photo: kris krug

MIDWAY JOURNEY III – Open Hearts, Broken Hearts

Jan Vozenilek — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:03:04 +0000

It’s the mid-point of our current journey and Chris Jordan checks in from an albatross-covered field on Midway Atoll to share the abundant sights and sounds, as well as the realization that all albatross chicks here likely have plastic in their bellies.

MIDWAY JOURNEY III – Chris Jordan checks in

Jan Vozenilek — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 09:31:31 +0000

Artist Chris Jordan checks in from Midway Island as he discovers a tiny plastic-filled albatross chick who died in his nest.

MIDWAY

Jan Vozenilek — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:41:53 +0000

We are at a mid-way place. On a remote and isolated island in the middle of the Pacific, twelve-hundred miles northwest of Hawaii.

This is a moment in time, a chance to witness and understand our role in an astonishing environmental tragedy. This is a place that provides context. Here, reflected in the beauty of the Albatross, is an unfolding horror. Yet it is a horror in which we see our own lives, a snapshot of our impact on the planet that challenges us to consider how to move forward.

Join us, on a breathtaking and emotional journey, into the heart of the Pacific, and into the heart of ourselves.

Production of the feature film “MIDWAY” continues through 2012.

Cinematography by Jan Vozenilek and Joe Schweers

Click here to view the trailer in HD
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GudEuDTrSLU&hd=1

MIDWAY JOURNEY – Education Outreach

Jan Vozenilek — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:07:39 +0000

Chris Jordan and Jan Vozenilek share their experiences on Midway with students at Penticton Secondary School in British Columbia – Canada, and announce that Emily Chartrand, a grade 11 student, will be joining the expedition on their next journey to Midway Atoll in March 2011.

Working with Emily, the Midway Team is expanding its education outreach program, to connect with high school students in Canada and the United States. Starting on Sunday March 20th, Emily will be providing daily reports on her blog:

http://emilysmidwayjourney.blogspot.com/

Video by: CHBC – Global TV – Kelowna, BC
Reporter: April Lawrence

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – First Flight

Victoria Sloan Jordan — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:40:56 +0000

Cinematographer Joe Schweers offers a lyrical portrait of the fledgling albatrosses as they respond to their instincts and the wind.

Filmed and edited by Joe Schweers
Narrated by Chris Jordan
Music by Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Bottle Caps

Jan Vozenilek — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 02:17:00 +0000

John Klavitter, the acting manager of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife refuge has spent almost 9 years on Midway Island. In this short film, he not only takes a closer look inside one of the dead chicks, but also shares his personal views and connection to the Albatross.

Camera and editing: Jan Vozenilek
Sound: Joe Schweers
Music: Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Junk Food III – Looking into the Mirror

Chris Jordan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:36:51 +0000

Chris Jordan peels back the ribcage of a decaying albatross chick to reveal yet another belly-cargo of plastic. The ever present bottle cap is joined by a ballpoint pen cap, fishing float, and other assorted plastic junk from the human world that albatrosses forage from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, mistaking it for food.

Video by Jan Vozenilek
Written by Victoria Sloan Jordan
Music by Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Junk Food II : Our First Dissection

Victoria Sloan Jordan — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:55:26 +0000

Stomach contents of another dead baby albatross are revealed as Chris Jordan cuts the bird open with scissors from a dissection kit provided by US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Filmed by Victoria Sloan Jordan
Music by Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Midway Brushstrokes III

Jan Vozenilek — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:20:09 +0000

Young Laysan Albatrosses look wizened and world-weary in their grizzled down, but they have only just begun to test their wings on the wind and water, and the success of their journey remains uncertain.

Jan Vozenilek captures the presence and vulnerability of the fledgling birds of Midway in this next installment of his Brushstrokes vignettes.

Filmed and edited by: Jan Vozenilek
Written by: Victoria Sloan Jordan
Music by: Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Junk Food

Jan Vozenilek — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:22:41 +0000

Brace yourself for this short video of the horrifying contents of the stomach of a dead baby albatross on Midway Atoll.

The island will soon be covered with tens of thousands of carcasses like this, as the plastic-filled birds die from starvation, dehydration, and choking.

Video by: Jan Vozenilek

Music by: Christen Lien

MIDWAY JOURNEY II – First Impressions

Chris Jordan — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:38:21 +0000

Dear Friends and Followers of Midway Journey,

Thank you for your patience as we have taken a few days to find our bearings and connect to the Internet. We are astonished and delighted to find ourselves back here again on remote Midway Atoll. The tiny island is now covered with several hundred thousand fledgling albatrosses inhabiting the paths, walkways, roads, meadows, and even the runway.

It’s hard to describe the complex mixture of feelings that arise in the presence of this incredible abundance of wildlife, especially as we are keenly aware of the devastating effects of the plastic that fills the stomachs of a huge percentage of these young birds. One purpose of this leg of our journey is to witness their annual die-off, which will result in thousands of plastic-filled carcasses covering the ground as we saw when we visited here last September.

We’ve already begun to acquaint ourselves with the new stories that this chapter of our journey holds, and we look forward to sharing them with you over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for joining us in this process.

With warm regards from Midway Atoll,

Chris, Victoria, Jan & Joe

Video by: Jan Vozenilek Vimeo.com/JanVozenilek

Music by: Christen Lien itsnotaviolin.com

See the area where this video was filmed on BlooSee’s satellite imagery.

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