Q&A with Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen
Project Directors of America 24/7

More than a million photos were taken during the course of the week, and the very best are featured in this first amazing book, America 24/7. We hope these images will amuse, surprise, amaze and even disturb you.

Why did you decide to embark upon this ambitious undertaking?
(Rick Smolan): We live in an image-driven world, and many Americans feel that the images manufactured by Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the government don't really tell their story. We realized that the advent of digital photography could change all that. For the first time, we could simultaneously solicit and receive, via the Internet, a million photographs from thousands of communities across America. For the first time, we could give any American with a digital camera a forum to present images of their own lives and communities in pictures, essentially unfiltered. We hope this wealth of imagery will be regarded by future historians the same way we look at the Farm Security Administration photos of the 1930s; a definitive look at a time and place.

When are the books available? Where can I get a copy? How much does it cost?
(Rick Smolan) America 24/7 retails for $50 and is available online and at book stores nationwide beginning October 27th, 2003. The 50 state titles, priced at $24.95, will be available in September of 2004.

What's a Custom Cover? How Do I Get One?
(David Elliot Cohen) America 24/7 will make publishing history with it first ever "custom covers." This simple, inexpensive process allows book-buyers to personalize their copy of America 24/7 with their own cover photo. Each copy of America 24/7 provides simple instructions for submitting a digital photograph to www.america24.7/customcover.com. Approximately one week later, the customer will receive a glossy high-quality dust jacket identical to the America 24/7 jackets sold in stores, but with their own personalized full-color cover image. Custom covers are $7.95 + $2.95 S&H.

Why is the custom cover unique?
(Rick Smolan) Custom Covers represent an industry first. This first-ever "mass-personalization" of a retail book has never been possible or even attempted before. By personalizing their own book, people feel like they are really a part of this initiative. Besides, what grandmother wouldn't want a glossy photo of their grandchild on the cover of America's #1 illustrated gift book?

Who are the publishers, and why were they willing to invest so much money?
(David Elliot Cohen) DK Publishing (New York and London) loved the series idea, and given our previous success with the bestselling "Day In The Life" series and other photography-based books we've created, DK was willing to invest upwards of $10 million in the series. The first printing of the book will be an unprecedented 500,000 copies. Barnes & Noble has already ordered more than 40,000 copies and is hosting 60 simultaneous book signings at their stores throughout the country on October 27th.

How was the project organized?
(Rick Smolan) Even though America 24/7 involved tens of thousands of people shooting more than one million photographs in the course of a single week, new digital technology provided by our corporate partners (including Adobe, Snapfish and WebWare) allowed us to organize this event with a tiny 12-person staff in record time. America 24/7, which we believe to be one of the most compelling photographic books of our time, was designed, written, proofed and printed in just over 8 weeks time.

How were you able to produce this book in weeks vs. the average 18 months for such a book?
(Rick Smolan) The answer is: "Internet Time." Our team of 25,000 professional and amateur photographers shot their pictures in May. We needed 500,000 copies of the finished book in every bookstore in America by Oct 27th. In the past, photographers sent us packages of film that had to be developed, edited and captioned. This process took weeks. This time around all the photos were shot on digital cameras and every digital image arrived via the Internet, pre-edited, captioned and identified by the photographer. Amateurs transmitted their images via Snapfish's photo hosting site. Digital production tools like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and InCopy streamlined the entire book production process. The color corrected images arrived at our printer on LaCie hard disks.

Doesn't automating the process reduce the creativity?
(Rick Smolan) Quite the opposite. The new digital technologies eliminate much of the drudgery and allow our designers and writers to be more creative. From taking the photos with Olympus digital cameras, to receiving and editing, via the Internet, to instant layout and production, all these tasks were automated so we could focus on making a stronger, more compelling book.

What role did your corporate partners play?
(Rick Smolan) Even with DK's generous support, the technological infrastructure of America 24/7 would have been too expensive and complex without corporate support. Our projects have been described as the "Olympics of Photography," and like the Olympics, we offer companies the opportunity to showcase their tools and technology to the world. America 24/7 looked for corporate partners that could help in every step in the process and include: Adobe, Epson America, Inc., Google, JetBlue Airways, Lexar Media, Olympus America, Snapfish, and WebWare Corporation. Additional support was provided by: Digital Pond, FileMaker, Apple, Camera Bits LaCie, Now Software, Preclick, Outpost Digital, Xerox, Microsoft, WoodWing Software, net-linx Publishing Solutions, and Radical Media.

Why should people be interested in this project?
(Rick Smolan): We have produced photo documentaries for more than 20 years, capturing The Soviet Union at the birth of glasnost, China on the verge of Tiananmen Square, and Vietnam just as the trade embargo with the U.S. was lifted. We hope and believe that the America 24/7 series will be the definitive visual document for this generation of Americans. The images are timeless and contemporary, local and national, and we hope that America 24/7 will be an instant collector's item.

How does America 24/7 compare to your previous best-selling projects like "A Day in the Life of America"?
(David Elliot Cohen) America 24/7 is by far our most compelling, far-reaching body of work. Never before has a country been documented so thoroughly by so many talented photographers, nor is it likely to happen again. Digital cameras level the playing field allowing us to host a true "democracy of images". In addition to our top professionals, the digital photography revolution opened the process to students, photography enthusiasts and basically anyone with a digital camera. America 24/7 captured a true representation of America from a wide cross-section of Americans.

Why did you decide to produce America 24/7 this year?
(David Elliot Cohen) This year, digital cameras will outsell film cameras for the first time, and digital photography is growing at 40% a year. We thought this tipping point in the history of photography was an auspicious occasion to produce what we hope will be the watershed event of the new digital photography age.

How many amateur photographers made it into the book, vs. professionals?
(David Elliot Cohen) The work of 32 students and 30 amateurs appear in the book. A few amateur images were good enough to be featured as 2-page spreads. This was an amazing opportunity for aspiring photographers to be discovered. Their work was reviewed by photo editors from top publications such as Time, Fortune, Newsweek, The Washington Post and The New York Times. A few even got professional assignments from these top publications.

Did the photos meet your expectations as far as the quality, subject matter, diversity, etc.?
(David Elliot Cohen): In most cases, when photojournalists are asked to choose their own stories, they tend to focus on edgy, controversial topics, and that's what we've learned to expect. But instead, most of our photographers, pro and amateur alike, focused on a very nostalgic, almost mythic America; a land of proms, little league, rodeos, young ballerinas and just sitting out on the porch. In a sense, we think America 24/7 took the pulse of the nation. In a post-September 11 world, surrounded by tumultuous world events, many of our 25,000 photographers turned inward, looking for images that reflected core American values.

How did you choose the images for the books?
(Rick Smolan): We brought 36 editors from top publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, Fortune and National Geographic to San Francisco to review the hundreds of thousands of images submitted. The editors worked in groups of three, and each group was responsible for four or five states. Each editor would individually review a photographer's work. Then at the end of the day, the group would get together to exchange notes and pick the best work. We asked the editors to really think about the state books and try to achieve a balance of stories and subject matter in each book. Then, David and I chose the very best pictures for the national volume.

What else is in the book?
(Rick Smolan) There are six 750 word essays that introduce each of the book's six chapters. The essays are from award-winning writers and thinkers including Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler, National Book Award winner Charles Johnson Butler, Time and PBS essayist Roger Rosenblatt, National Book Award finalist Naomi Shibab Nye, a Palestinian writer, and bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver.

Once this is wrapped up, what's next?
(Rick Smolan): Over the course of the next year, we really have our work cut out for us. We received so many amazing images that we couldn't hope to fit them all into the national volume, so we are thrilled that we'll be able to showcase these images in the state book series. We are currently editing, designing and captioning 50 books; one for each state. All 50 books will launch on September 27, 2004.

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