‘Paris of the Plains’ video is a love letter to Kansas City

When hobbyist photographer Tim Lair set out about a year ago to take pictures of Kansas City, he expected to be happy with 10,000 views of his time-lapse video.

Lair never thought his project would quickly go viral and be played more than 300,000 times in less than a week — and the number keeps rising.

“I’m not really great with words,” said the 24-year-old Blue Springs resident. “Going into it I just wanted an excuse to go out and take pictures, but it ultimately became my love letter, if you will, to the city.”

The video, “Paris of the Plains,” has been popping up in people’s social media feeds since it was posted Feb. 28 on Vimeo.

Lair, a systems engineer for Cerner Corp., is a big fan of the city, having grown up in Independence. He plans to move to Kansas City this summer.

“The video is comprised of time-lapse sequences shot in and around Kansas City of various events that Kansas City is known for, as well as just some of the more scenic and unique areas some people don’t see that often,” he said.

In an email interview, Lair explained his approach to making the video.

Q: What spurred you to create the video?

A: I’ve always been a big fan of KC. I might have lived in Independence growing up, but KC isn’t far of a drive. In 2013 when Sporting Kansas City won the MLS cup, it kind of put us on the map as the “Soccer Capital” of the USA. It was what seemed to me to be the start of all of these “Best Places to Live in the USA” putting Kansas City high on the list.

I read a lot of those stories and saw a whole bunch of “flyover country” and “why is KC on this list?” comments. So I wanted to give a small glimpse to anyone who’d watch the video of how awesome and beautiful the city is.

There are a lot of cool venues, events, etc. in the KC area that a lot of people don’t ever get to see. I wasn’t able to capture near enough of what I wanted to.

What is your favorite part of the video?

My favorite part of the video would probably be the sequence of Game 6 of the Royals’ World Series game. I got there an hour and a half before the game and started driving around the stadium to find the best vantage point. I ended up shooting from the same spot as about 10 other photographers, so I got to meet a few of them.

What is your least favorite?

My least favorite would probably be the shot from Kaw Point looking at downtown from across the (Missouri) River. I had originally planned on staying until well after dark to catch the stars coming out. Unfortunately a guy came along with his dog and the dog was sniffing around the camera while I was talking to the owner and he knocked the camera off of the dolly it was on. So I had to pack up and leave without getting the full shot.

What do you wish you had in the video that’s not there?

I definitely wish there was a sequence at Sporting Park. Anyone who knows me knows how much of a Sporting fan I am. I’m a season ticket holder and don’t miss any of their games. I’m hoping to get into contact with someone over there that will let me shoot sometime this season for Part 2.

For those who watch the video, what do you hope they take away from it?

I hope they see spots of KC they’ve never seen before and I hope they go seek out those places and see them in person. Some of these shots don’t do the view justice. There’s a reason one of the most popular outlooks of the area is from Liberty Memorial. There’s just something about that view when the sun is setting. It’s unreal.

You used local musician Zane Callister for the soundtrack. How did you find him and why did you pick him?

This is actually a really long and awesome story in and of itself, but the short version is, I spent a few months listening to a lot of music from a lot of local artists. I happened upon Zane’s music one day while I was just shuffling through a playlist online and did a Google search and he was from KC.

He ended up being friends with a few people I grew up with, and the rest is history. The video really wouldn’t have been as great without his music, it’s just so good.

Anything else people should know?

I’m working on Part 2 already, so expect that sometime in the near future. Keep in mind that it took me a year for the last one, though.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 3:36 PM.