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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2007-04-04
China: A Will To Rise
Brooks Institute documentary class to premiere multimedia show and gallery exhibit in Santa Barbara on April 14, 2007
By Bill Sallans, Brooks Institute of Photography
Photo by Bill Sallans
A cormorant fisherman in Huang Long Xi, Sichuan, China.
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The crisp chill in the air at 6:30 a.m. was the first wake-up call for me as we stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac in pre-dawn Beijing, China. After a 12-hour flight from LAX, my sense of time and place was skewed. I hit my mental snooze button and sat watching the sunrise from the terminal window with 15 other students while waiting for our connecting flight. My second and final wake-up call happened during our flight from Beijing to Chengdu when I found myself eating airline food ... and liking it. I was in China and it was the first of many tasty meals and good times. There was no turning back.
I had spent six months planning for this trip, along with my classmates at Brooks Institute of Photography, as part of the overseas documentary trip the school offers, which is led by visual journalism instructor, and SportsShooter.com member, Joe Gosen. For this journey we traveled to the Sichuan Province and municipality of Chongqing for five weeks. We spent the first 10 days or so in the capital of Chengdu, exploring the city and working on short-term projects and getting acclimated to the culture. After that, we all went our separate ways, some of us by ourselves and some of us in small groups, pursuing our larger projects and stories.
It has been said that, "Sichuan is harder to get into than heaven." Before railway systems connected Sichuan to the rest of China, the region was geographically very remote due to the mountains that surrounded it. Before plains, trains, and automobiles, rivers were the easiest way in and out of Sichuan. These rivers are Sichuan's lifelines. The rivers enabled trade from the land of abundance to the rest of China and the rest of the world. Because of this, I spent most of my time exploring river life.
The moaning of freight ships bellow as they pass through heavy traffic at the docks of ChaoTianMen in the heart of Chongqing. ChaoTianMen square is where the swift and silt-filled Yangtze and the calm and ever-curving Jialing Rivers meet. A good portion of Chongqing's economy is supported by the booming shipping industry.
Photo by Rebecca Teal
Bill Sallans at the Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, China.
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There are countless rivers in Sichuan and Chongqing, and each serves a different purpose and each has a different story it could tell. On one such winter morning in Huang Long Xi, the early morning fog clouded a rickety bridge over a quiet river. The scene was peaceful and it was surreal for me to think that this was once a bustling port town in ancient pasts, but is now a historic stop for tourist. However, the area still provides for local fishermen. As the fog lifted, I began photographing a fishermen setting and pulling his nets for little minnows. He was methodical in his approach, without any apparent hurry but he soon had a bucket full of minnows.
I also photographed fishermen who fish without poles or nets; they use cormorants. Cormorants are duck-like birds that can swim underwater and catch fish. These fishermen have trained these birds, to an extent, to catch the fish for them. With clipped wings and string tied around their necks to stop them from eating their catch, the birds dive from the edge of the boat and bring back the fish. The fishermen divvy up the day's catch as the cormorants watch and hungrily squawk. This is the only sound that is left of the once bustling port of Huang Long Xi.
Watching these men fish using these traditional techniques was such a contrast to the rapid changes that China is experiencing. Looking at the way China's changes are effecting river life is just one of the examples how China is balancing tradition with change.
I was just one of 16 students experiencing China for the first time. Like the rivers of Sichuan, each of us has our own stories to tell, from the bustle of the big city to the tranquility of the Tibetan plateau. Upon our return, we all collaborated to create five different ways of showcasing our work collectively. We produced a multimedia AV show, a DVD, a book, two print gallery shows, and a Web site.
We will premiere our multimedia documentary project at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Saturday, April 14, 2007, at 7 p.m., followed by a gallery show at the Brooks Institute of Photography Cota Street campus. We will have our book and DVD for sale on opening night, as well. If you cannot make it to our opening, then check out our Web site http://documentary.brooks.edu/china to see our work.
On Saturday, April 21, 2007, we hold a repeat screening at the Brooks Institute of Photography Ventura campus and host a gallery show with different pictures than the Cota Street gallery. All events are free and open to the public.
Brooks Institute of Photography students in China with instructor Joe Gosen.
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SHOW INFO:
Brooks Institute of Photography's China documentary class proudly invites you to the premiere screenings of its multimedia project titled, China: A Will To Rise. The events are free and open to the public. A gallery exhibit and reception will follow each presentation where copies of the book and DVD can be purchased. For more information you can contact the receptionists in Santa Barbara and Ventura at 805-966-3888.
Santa Barbara Premiere - Saturday April 14, 2007
Multimedia Presentation - 7 p.m., Lobero Theatre, 33 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
Gallery Exhibit - 8 p.m., Cota Street Learning Center, 27 East Cota Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
Ventura Premiere - Saturday, April 21, 2007
Multimedia Presentation - 7 p.m., Ventura Campus Screening Room, 5301 North Ventura Avenue, Ventura, CA 93001.
Gallery Exhibit - A student print show will be on display throughout the evening.
Sneak Peak - In conjunction with the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization's 1st Thursday events, Brooks is hosting a sneak peek reception at the China documentary students' print gallery on Thursday, April 5th from 5 – 8 p.m. at the Cota Street Gallery, 27 East Cota Street.
Bill Sallans was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He is a 3rd year advertising major at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA and graduates in September 2007.
Related Links:
China: A Will To Rise
Bill Sallans' member page
Bill Sallans' personal website
Joe Gosen's member page
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