Alabama 24/7

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Summary: From the Decatur Daily News
Review: Photography book showcases Alabama


By Abby Foster
DAILY Staff Writer

NEW YORK - Alabama is a land of contradictions, Robin DeMonia writes in her preface to Alabama 24/7, a recently published book. These contradictions are evident in this new coffee-table edition featuring photographs from across Alabama.

One photograph depicts David DeMent in Helena, playing Frisbee with his dog.

The book also delves into the reason photographers made their shots.

"I just wanted to throw Frisbees to the dogs to meet girls," DeMent said of his reason.

Another photos shows waiters racing .7 miles balancing a wine bottle and a full wine glass on their trays.

DK Publishing began selling its America 24/7 State Book Series last month, a book issued for each of the 50 states.

During one week in May 2003, according to authors Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen, more than 25,000 photographers, both amateur and professional, took digital pictures of everyday life - children and adults playing, working, in joy and in sadness.

The authors sifted through the images and compiled a book for each state in an effort to convey the meaning of life in America, no small task.

Whether the collection of photographs accurately describes life in Alabama is something readers will have to determine on their own.

"We posed a series of questions to Americans in every state: Tell us - in pictures - who you are, what you care about, who you love, where you work and what you do every day," said the authors.

"We believe these books portray a more accurate and more human portrait of American life than Americans - or the rest of the world - are used to seeing on the evening news," said Cohen.

Photographers from The Birmingham News took a majority of the photographs.

Some are from the Mobile Register, and three were taken by amateur photographers.

The Alabama book includes a picture from Huntsville, but bypasses Morgan, Limestone and Lawrence counties.

All 50 books came out on the same day, the largest simultaneous publishing venture ever launched by a trade book publisher, according to DK Publishing.

The initial press run was 800,000 copies.