Congratulations to Tim Barnwell, a long-time friend of and contributor to Blue Ridge Country, for his book release! Read the press release below on his upcoming signing and learn more about Tim’s experience with the Parkway as well as the new book!
In celebration of the fall color season and the peak driving time for visitors to the area, Asheville, North Carolina-based photographer and author Tim Barnwell will present a program on his book, Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas: A Comprehensive Identification Guide to What You See from the Many Overlooks. Co-sponsored by Susan Mills and Friends of Parkway, the presentation will be held on Thursday, October 22, at the South County Library, 6303 Merrimon Road, in Roanoke. The approximately hour-long PowerPoint talk will be given in the library auditorium beginning at 7 pm. Topics include the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway, important facts about its 469-mile route through Virginia and North Carolina, attractions along the drive, and how Mr. Barnwell made the hundreds of mountain peak identifications featured in the book. The program is open to the public, free of charge, and will be followed by a book signing.
Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas is a 128-page book that offers visitors to the area a unique perspective of what they will see from more than 40 of the most spectacular overlooks along the 469-mile route of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the most visited unit of the National Park system. It is designed as a driving guide where travelers pull into an overlook and open the book to the corresponding page to find a color panoramic photograph of the exact view with mountains, towns, and points of interest identified. Information includes name, compass heading, distance, and elevation of each feature. It is also a useful guide for hikers or anyone who wants to know what they are seeing from locations throughout the mountains of Virginia and western North Carolina.
The text accompanying each image expands on the identifications, so that it is not just names of peaks, but includes information on nearby attractions including waterfalls, visitor centers, trails, craft shops, and museums. Additionally there are travel tips, maps, and interesting information about the geography, history, and geology of the region.
Until now, no one has identified this many places using photographs, the easiest way for visitors to relate to what they see. When he started his mountain identification project on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mr. Barnwell had no idea that it would take five years to complete, but the complexity of the endeavor and the requirement to find the clearest days possible to make the images, made it a monumental effort. The book is a truly unique project, the only one of its kind and scope in the country, and possibly the world.
Mr. Barnwell’s previous books include, The Face of Appalachia: The Appalachian Farm in Photographs, On Earths Furrowed Brow: The Mountain Farm in Photographs, and Hands in Harmony: Traditional Crafts and Music in Appalachia (all published by W.W. Norton/NY). Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas (ISBN # 978-0-9711348-3-6) is available at area bookstores or online from www.barnwellphoto.com and retails for $29.95.
For further information contact Tim Barnwell, 828-251-0040, by email at barnwellphoto@hotmail.com, or through his website, www.barnwellphoto.com
