Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Trail Conservancy records, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
By Lauren Stepp
A century ago, the mountains of Western North Carolina were still being introduced to the wider world. George Masa was one of the people who helped make that introduction.
Born in Japan, Masa came to the US in the early 1900s, spending time in the Pacific Northwest before eventually making his way east. In Asheville, he worked at the Grove Park Inn before building a photography business and embedding himself in the region’s social and civic life.
George Masa on Shining Rock. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville
Masa soon became known for his striking photographs of the southern Appalachians—images that captured both the scale and spirit of the landscape at a time when conservation efforts were gaining momentum. He hiked deep into the mountains carrying heavy equipment, documenting places many people had never seen firsthand. His work helped build support for what would become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian Trail, and he became a respected figure among hikers, writers and local leaders.
What has remained less clear is the story of the man behind the camera. “For a long time, there were just a whole lot of unknowns about Masa,” says Asheville-based filmmaker Paul Bonesteel.
Bonesteel has spent more than two decades trying to better understand Masa’s life. He first began researching the photographer around 2000 while gathering material for an earlier documentary, The Mystery of George Masa. That project raised as many questions as it answered, and the story stayed with him. Years later, while working on a book with coauthor Janet McCue, Bonesteel returned to the research with renewed urgency.
“We were able to uncover new chapters in Masa’s life—things we really didn’t know before,” says Bonesteel. Those discoveries are at the center of Bonesteel’s latest documentary, A Life Reimagined: The George Masa Story. Released this spring, the film draws on decades of archival work, including newly uncovered handwritten letters and expanded material that help fill in long-standing gaps.
Among the most significant breakthroughs were revelations about Masa’s early life in Japan, his time in the Pacific Northwest and the experiences that led him to Asheville. They offer a more complete picture of a man who was not only an artist but someone who deliberately reinvented himself, leaving parts of his past behind while forging a new identity in America.
The film also reframes Masa’s legacy, highlighting his contributions to conservation and the challenges he faced, including racial hostility and the ways his identity may have complicated how his story was recorded and remembered.
“We live in such a beautiful place, and it’s a huge responsibility for all of us to do our best to look after it,” says Bonesteel. “Stories like Masa’s are inspirational and instructive—they show why that responsibility matters.”
A Life Reimagined: The George Masa Story is available to stream on the PBS app. Learn more at GeorgeMasa.com.
