Bois d'Arc, Texas

Transcription

[music] >> I GUESS FIRST TIME I EVER CAME DOWN THIS CREEK I WAS PROBABLY 11, 12 YEARS OLD. >> THIS IS BUBBA GRAVES. >> MY GRANDFATHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO DEER AND TURKEY HUNT IN THESE WOODS. >> AND THIS IS HIS YOUNGER BROTHER RUSSELL. >> WE'D COME DOWN EVERY SUMMER AND CATCH FLATHEAD CATFISH AND SOME BLUE CATS. >> THIS CREEK IS A BIG PART OF THEIR HISTORY. BUT SOON THIS CREEK WILL BE HISTORY. >> I JUST HAVE A GREAT CONNECTION TO THIS CREEK. AND IT'S JUST SAD TO SEE THAT DESTROYED. >> I THINK IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS UNFORTUNATELY THAT PEOPLE WILL APPRECIATE IT MORE ONCE IT'S GONE. [music & wind in trees] >> RUSSELL GRAVES HAS ALWAYS LIVED IN A SMALL TOWN. THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE HE'S EVER WANTED TO LIVE. [school bell rings] >> THIS INCREASED BY EIGHT INCHES, FROM YEAR ONE TO YEAR TWO. YOU WITH ME? GROWING UP IN A RURAL SETTING REALLY INFLUENCED MY CHOICE OF PROFESSIONS. YOU KNOW WE'VE GOT THE DEER AT THE SCHOOL LAND. IT JUST SEEMED LIKE A NATURAL TO ME TO BE A SCHOOL TEACHER. SO WHO WANTS THESE ANTLERS TO MEASURE? I KNEW I COULD LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN AND LIVE IN A RURAL AREA. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. MAKE SENSE? MY NAME IS RUSSELL GRAVES AND FOR THE PAST 16 YEARS I'VE BEEN A TEACHER AT THE CHILDRESS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IN CHILDRESS, TEXAS. [camera shutter clicks] I'M ALSO A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER. [dynamic music] [footsteps through grasses] GROWING UP IN A RURAL ATMOSPHERE LIKE I GREW UP IN HAS HAD A HUGE EFFECT ON WHO I AM AND IT'S DEFINITELY INFLUENCED MY BRAND OF PHOTOGRAPHY. EVERYTHING I LOOK AT, I LOOK AT THROUGH THE EYES ULTIMATELY OF A COUNTRY BOY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I AM. [music] IN THE EARLY DAYS WHEN I'D SEND PICTURES OFF, I'D GET REJECTED SO FAST THAT THE PICTURES ALMOST BEAT ME BACK HOME. FROM THERE JUST A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR AND JUST TRYING TO WORK HARD TO GET BETTER AND EVENTUALLY THINGS STARTED WORKING OUT PRETTY GOOD FOR ME. EARLY ON I WAS MOST COMFORTABLE TAKING PICTURES OF OBJECTS THAT COULDN'T TALK BACK. YOU KNOW WILDLIFE AND CATTLE AND LANDSCAPES AND JUST REALLY NATURE IN GENERAL. AS MY CAREER'S EVOLVED, I'VE GOTTEN INTO TAKING PICTURES MORE OF LIFESTYLE SHOTS, PEOPLE IN THE OUTDOORS, PEOPLE HUNTING, PEOPLE FISHING. [camera shutter clicks] >> RUSSELL NOW DOES COMMERCIAL WORK FOR CLIENTS LIKE REALTREE AND SHE SAFARI CLOTHING AND JUST RECENTLY, THE MUD BROTHERS. [aggressive music] >> YEAH, I'M A STUNT HUNTER SLASH SUPER MODEL. INSTEAD OF HUNTING WE DO STUFF LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME. IF IT WAS LEFT UP TO RUSSELL, WE'D NEVER HUNT. >> YEAH. BUBBA'S GONNA BE FILMING WITH THE VIDEO CAMERA. I'M GONNA TRY TO SHOOT SOME STILLS OF THE BIRDS, AND THEN WE'RE CARRYING ALL THE GEAR TO TRY TO ACTUALLY KILL A TURKEY. [turkey calls] >> NOW RUSSELL IS COMBINING VIDEO WITH HIS STILL IMAGES, PARTNERING WITH HIS BROTHER TO PRODUCE A SERIES OF WEB BASED VIDEOS THEY CALL... [music theme "Hunt Junkies"] >> AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO DO IS REALLY TRY TO MIX A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT MEDIUMS INTO ONE. EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDS LIKE A TRADITIONAL HUNTING SHOW, WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE IT MORE ABOUT THE STORY AND ABOUT THE PERSONALITIES BEHIND WHAT WE'RE DOING INSTEAD OF JUST GOING OUT AND HUNTING. >> YEAH YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET CAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO HUNT FOR SOME DEER. >> WE REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'VE EXCELLED IN THAT REGARD. [car goes by] >> THE GRAVES BROTHERS GREW UP NEAR BONHAM, TEXAS IN RURAL FANNIN COUNTY. THEIR HOME WAS ALWAYS OUT IN THE COUNTRY, SO SPENDING TIME IN THE WOODS JUST CAME NATURALLY. BUBBA STILL LIVES PRETTY CLOSE TO WHERE THEY GREW UP, AND RUSSELL MAKES REGULAR TRIPS BACK TO VISIT FAMILY AND TRAIPSE THROUGH THE WOODS. >> LISTEN, JUST PADDLE ME STRAIGHT. JUST KEEP ME IN A GOOD STRAIGHT LINE THROUGH HERE AND I'M JUST GONNA FILM ALL AROUND, OK. >> THIS FLOAT TRIP DOWN BOIS D'ARC CREEK ISN'T JUST ANOTHER PADDLE IN THE PARK. IT'S A TRIP TO DOCUMENT THE LAND AND THEIR MEMORIES. IN A FEW YEARS BOIS D'ARC CREEK AND MUCH OF THE LAND THAT SURROUNDS IT, WILL LOOK A LOT DIFFERENT. [water sprinklers] AS TEXAS GROWS, SO DOES THE NEED FOR WATER. AND AS THE NEED FOR WATER GROWS, CITIES ARE LOOKING FOR THAT WATER WHERE EVER THEY CAN FIND IT. TO SUPPLY THE FUTURE WATER NEEDS OF ITS CUSTOMERS, THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT IS BUILDING A 533-MILLION DOLLAR WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR NEAR BONHAM. TO DO THAT, THEY'LL BE DAMMING UP BOIS D'ARC CREEK. THAT WILL IN TURN FLOOD 16,000 ACRES OF FANNIN COUNTY LAND. >> A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S DOWN THESE WOODS. YOU KNOW I'VE SEEN RIVER OTTER, WHITE-TAILED DEER, TURKEY. IT'S SAD THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOSE THIS. >> THIS IS A BOIS D'ARC TREE. THE ROOTS ARE ORANGE IN COLOR AND THEY'VE GOT THIS PAPER THAT HANGS OFF OF EM. I DON'T KNOW THE BOTANICAL REASON FOR THAT BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN NEAT. >> RUSSELL IS CAPTURING IMAGES FOR A DOCUMENTARY THAT HE AND BUBBA ARE PUTTING TOGETHER ABOUT THE CREEK AND THE WOODS AND HOW THEIR LIVES HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS LAND. >> THIS IS A STORY ABOUT HOW A CREEK, MUDDY AND I SUPPOSE INSIGNIFICANT TO MOST, TRANSFORMS. THE TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS NOT ONLY TO THE LANDSCAPE, BUT TO PEOPLE AS WELL. >> WE CAME INTO THIS PROJECT TRYING NOT TO BE TOO POLITICAL ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF COURSE WE'VE GOT OUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE WATER ISSUES THAT CONCERN THIS PART OF TEXAS AND THE LOSS OF HARDWOOD BOTTOMLANDS, BUT ULTIMATELY IT BECAME A PERSONAL PROJECT. WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS CREEK MEANS TO US AND WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE COULD PRESERVE ITS LEGACY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO US FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT. >> HERE LET ME SHOW YOU THIS. WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN HERE, ALL THIS WAS STILL WOODS AND THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST THINNING THIS. >> THEY GOT THE IDEA FOR THE DOCUMENTARY WHILE THEY WERE SHOOTING A HUNT JUNKIES EPISODE. THE WOODS WHERE THEY HAD GROWN UP, HUNTED, AND FILMED MANY OF THEIR PROJECTS, WERE BEING CUT DOWN BEFORE THEIR EYES. >> FOR NOW THOUGH, THE WOODS ARE DEAD. SITTING ON WHAT USED TO BE 200 ACRES OF OLD TREES, I CLOSE MY EYES AND LISTEN FOR THE SOUNDS OF WILD TURKEYS, CROWS AND OWLS, BUT NOW SILENCE FILLS THE GAP. >> THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE DOMINOS THAT HAVE FALLEN ALL ALONG THIS BOIS D'ARC CREEK BOTTOM. THEY'VE GOT A RESOURCE THAT'S WORTH MONEY AND BEFORE THEIR LAND IS BOUGHT AND CONDEMNED BY THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER AUTHORITY, THEY'RE COMING IN AND SELLING THEIR TIMBER, CLEAR CUTTING ALL THE TREES, WHICH IS REALLY CHANGING THE FACE OF AN ECOSYSTEM THAT'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD. >> IN THE LATE FALL OF 2009, BUBBA AND I LAUNCHED ONE MORE TIME TO FLOAT THE FINAL PART OF OUR CANOE TRIP. >> RUSSELL AND BUBBA GRAVES HAVE SPENT MOST OF THEIR LIVES AS PART OF THIS TEXAS LANDSCAPE. FOR THEM, THIS FILM PROJECT IS AS MUCH ABOUT THE FUTURE, AS IT IS ABOUT THEIR PAST. >> WE'VE BEEN COMING DOWN TO THIS BOTTOMLAND SINCE WE WERE LITTLE BOYS AND SO MUCH OF OUR LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT DOWN HERE. IT'S HARD TO SEE AND KNOW WHAT'S COMING AND KNOW THERE'S NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT. OUR PROJECT HAS NEVER BEEN AN ACTIVIST SORT OF FILM. THE PROJECT IS WHAT IT IS AND THE LAKE IS WHAT IT IS AND THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT THAT TWO PEOPLE CAN DO. BUT ULTIMATELY IF WE CAN JUST SHARE OUR LOVE OF THIS AND LET PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW CULTURALLY AND HISTORICALLY AND NATURALLY IMPORTANT THIS BOTTOMLAND IS FOR THIS COUNTY AND THESE TYPES OF BOTTOMLANDS ARE TO TEXAS, YOU KNOW MAYBE THAT'LL CHANGE MINDS IN THE FUTURE. [music]