The marketing team at Asheville’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has commissioned a gorgeous time-lapse video of spring in the mountains in all its glory:
A bit of the background story from Del Holston, online relations manager at the Asheville CVB:
It has certainly been a labor of love for everyone involved. About three months ago (when spring was only a promise) the marketing team here at the CVB knew we wanted to capture the essence of the mountains in full bloom, and we wanted something visually compelling to tell that story. While a time lapse video is nothing new, the technology for capturing that type of imagery has vastly improved. I had the good fortune to meet Jared Kay, an Asheville native and local photographer, who also owns and operates Amplified Media. … Once I saw a couple of his time lapse nature shots, I knew I had found my guy — and he definitely delivered on our vision.
Filming took place from April through May, and as beautiful as spring can be in Asheville, it also comes with unpredictable weather. We fought through a lot of incredibly rainy days/weeks. Many times, Jared was up on a mountain trail before dawn [attempting] to capture the perfect morning sunrise, and it didn’t always work out. He also got caught in rain storms while in the middle of the forest — not fun when you’re hauling photography equipment. He kept at it though; he was very passionate about this project. Each shot in this video took anywhere from 30 minutes to six hours to complete, and in the end I believe he captured about 38 quality shots.
The music was another challenge. I spent weeks listening to local music, trying to find the perfect song to complement this video. I polled Asheville’s Facebook fans for their local favorites and systematically went through each one until I got to Shannon Whitworth‘s name. Once I came across her track ‘Spring is Here,’ I got chills. It had everything I was looking for — a little bluegrass twang, a smooth female vocalist and it was about spring — trifecta! Shannon is a local musician and she was very gracious to share her song with us.
As soon as I saw the final project I couldn’t wait to share it with the world. I think it’s a true testament to the beauty of our Blue Ridge Mountains and it reminds me of why I chose to live here. I think people from outside our region will see this and want to experience it for themselves. I also think they’re going to be incredibly jealous.
The title for this post comes from The Cold Mountain Poems, by Han Shan (translated by Gary Snyder).
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