Archive for February, 2008

“West Virginia Skies”: My West Virginia, Show 4

Monday, February 11th, 2008

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CLICK TO WATCH “West Virginia Skies”
NOTE: Individual photos in the “West Virginia Skies” audio sideshow can be purchased at www.cnphotostore.com

The rolling mountains get all the glory and good press in West Virginia - the place is nicknamed “the Mountain State,” after all. But let’s not forget how cool and flat-out gorgeous the skies that hang above those lovely mountains often look. That’s especially true as sunset comes on and the skies above these hills slide from blue to orange, and then to gold, bronze, pink, purple and other hues from the pastel-colored rows of a Crayola crayon box.

In the latest installment of the audio slideshow series “My West Virginia,” we feature a series of 30 photographs titled “West Virginia Skies.” You’ll see mountain skies from across West Virginia, as well as some urban skies above downtown Charleston. The slideshow is set to a soundtrack of a resonant performance by Roane County musician David Bing. He performs the mountain fiddle tune “Yew Piney Mountain,” a song with what Bing describes as an “archaic” sound and which he performs on a Harold Hayslett fiddle.

Hayslett is a 90-year-old South Charleston instrument maker who has handmade nearly 150 fiddles, violas and cellos, many in whole or part from West Virginia’s trees. He was featured on the show 3 in the “My West Virginia” audio slideshow series.