Showcasing “A Year in Asheville”

Posted on by Jon Elliston

In the fall of 2007, Asheville-based writer and photographer Marty Weil set out to document a year in the life of Asheville by taking a picture a day then posting it to a Web site (www.a-year-in-asheville.com). Along the way, he missed a few days, but when he completed the project this September, he had uploaded some 340 snapshots of people, places and events in the city.

What to do next? Weil decided to self-publish his favorite pictures from the project in a book, A Year in Asheville, which is newly available. Featuring about 200 photos, the collection offers an unvarnished sampling of the scenes you can encounter in the city on just about any day.

“I just sort of wandered and took pictures of whatever I stumbled upon,” Weil explains. “The style was sort of vernacular photography, which is more candid than artsy. It’s to capture the spirit of the moment as I strolled through town on a daily basis.” That’s the photographer’s favorite way to encounter the city and its residents and visitors, he says. “I tell people, when they come to town, ‘Just let Asheville wash over you.’ That’s what I wanted the blog and the book to feel like: Like you were just there at the moment, because that’s what I love about Asheville.”
Soft cover and hardback editions of A Year in Asheville can be purchased online at www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/433375. Weil will discuss the book at Pack Memorial Library’s Lord Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 25.

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About Jon Elliston
Former Mountain Xpress managing editor Jon Elliston is the senior editor at WNC magazine.
View all posts by Jon Elliston →

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2 thoughts on “Showcasing “A Year in Asheville””

  2. martyweil

    Thank you. I’m overwhelmed by Jon’s article about my book and the outpouring of good wishes. It’s a holiday miracle! Thank you all for your interest in this project–it was a labor of love.

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