DamNation Film Stills: Moutainfilm 2014
Ben Knight, DamNation Film Still
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Inspired by renowned Earth First! activist Mikal Jakubal, [who painted giant cracks on dams in the eighties] two artists discuss whether or not the tips of the scissors should be a little pointier. The abandoned Matilija Dam in Ojai, California [pictured] blocks the migration of California Steelhead, degrades water quality and starves Ventura beaches of sediment. Photo by Ben Knight
Ben Knight, DamNation Film Still
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Entombed for a century under reservoir sediment, a long forgotten riverbed was revealed as the Elwha River began to retrace its steps following the Elwha Dam removal on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Photo by Ben Knight
Ben Knight, DamNation Film Still
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Skateboarder Jary Metcalf carves the walls of a dam’s massive overflow drain in southwest Colorado as friends keep watch outside for the authorities. Photo by Ben Knight
Ben Knight, DamNation Film Still
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DamNation co-director Travis Rummel stands amidst an ancient old growth forest that had been clear-cut when the Elwha dams were constructed. These cedar stumps had been unknowingly preserved for nearly 100 years under sediment and recently revealed as the dams were removed and the reservoirs were drained. [Travis is eying a remote controlled camera being flown by pilot Nick Wolcott] Photo by Ben Knight
Ben Knight, DamNation Film Still
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In a historic descent, a group of boaters pass through the former site of the Condit Dam on Washington’s now free-flowing White Salmon River a year after the removal project began. The Condit Dam had blocked this section of river for 100 years. Photo by Ben Knight