A Water Cycle Film Project
Inspired by the 71% of the planet covered by water, Blackburn Design has created WATER CYCLE, a new film project. The project follows different people who use a bicycle to help them further explore their relationship with water, in all its forms.
Chapter 1: River — Bikefishing for steelhead
In this first chapter, we follow Brian Ohlen, an avid fisherman and hunter from Montana. Brian also has a passion for cycling and he combined the two by loading his waders, tackle and rod onto his bike, to go in search of Steelhead along the rivers on the Pacific Coast from Canada to Mexico. The best Steelhead fishing happens to be in the dead of winter. Brian faced nearly constant rain, snow and ice for a chance to spend but a moment with one of these elusive creatures. Along the way, he found some beautiful quiet moments and the simple joys that life on a bike can bring.
Public access to rivers and streams is important. As Ohlen states in the film, “if we ever lost that access or lost our public lands, it would be the death of the West.” Blackburn has partnered with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to bring attention to the continued need to preserve this access. We encourage folks to participate and sign BHA’s pledge to protect public river access.
Join Backcountry Hunters & Anglers in helping to uphold public access to your public waters. Sign our stream access pledge.
RIVER was directed by Dominic Gill of Encompass Films. In 2006, Dominic bought a tandem bicycle, a heavy video camera and a plane ticket to the northern tip of Alaska. From there he spent two years pedaling south, inviting random strangers to join him on his tandem as he documented the journey on video. In 2009, he helped create an award winning one hour special about his journey entitled ‘Take A Seat’, and subsequently wrote a book of the same title. Since then he has blossomed into a talented film maker, has always been a fine human being and was a natural fit for this project.
Brian Vernor, a noted film maker and photographer, is providing art direction for the entire project. Brian has long been a Blackburn collaborator and will be making certain that each story in the project has a distinct point of view, while still holding close to the overall theme and vision. Look for more talented film makers to create the upcoming chapters of WATER CYCLE.
Chris McNally provided the amazing illustrations. G.C. Johnson & Acoustic Labs created the score.