Iowa State is honoring the work of a 20-year veteran of the Journalism Department with an exhibit of his work.

From now until Oct. 15, the Gallery in the Memorial Union will be featuring an exhibit with photographs taken by Journalism Professor Bill Gillette. The exhibit, “Los Manos de la Tierra,” is a series of photographs taken by Gillette in the Zapotec Indian Village of Yatzshi in the Oaxacan state of Mexico.

Gillette said he has returned to the village several times since his initial visit. He said he plans to return to the community again to show its members more than 300 photographs taken of them.

Gillette said he enjoys visiting the village because of its ancient history including a church built in the 1560s that predates the Spanish conquest of Mexico. He said the village will be changing soon because it is planning to build a better road to connect with neighboring Oaxaca City.

“The photographs are of a way of life that is vanishing,” Gillette said.

Gillette credits part of his rapport with local natives to the fact that he has been able to establish connections to others who are familiar with the area. He said two Ames residents connected with ISU have been helpful in making connections.

Gillette said he was introduced to the village by Ricardo Salvador, an assistant professor of agronomy, whose father was born and raised there. Salvador’s graduate assistant Gina McAndrews also recently lived in the village.

Travel opportunities, Gillette said, attract him to photography. He said he has traveled in various areas of the world including Europe and Asia, where he did a magazine story on the problem of world hunger.

Gillette’s plans for the future include going back to Mount Everest and traveling in Peru and Bolivia.