West Virginia 24/7

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Summary: The Library Journal, October 2004
Review: Book Briefs section: The series abounds with unique imagery and some surprising choices. The bottom line is that [the state books] will likely be as popular [as America 24/7], if not more so. Large public libraries should order the entire set.

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Summary: From the Parkersburg News and Sentinal
Review: Monday, November 22, 2004

By CONNIE DALE

PARKERSBURG - Paul Frye knows exactly what he was doing during May 12 to 18 as do many other photographers around the state. The reason - they were all taking pictures in hopes of being published in the new 24/7 series of state books by DK Publishing.

On shelves now for the Christmas-buying season, Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen are poising themselves to break more publishing records after the resounding success of "America 24/7," a photography book depicting a nation telling its own story.

Frye, 49, of Belpre poised himself carefully behind his camera in Parkersburg City Park during the Relay For Life luminaria ceremony to capture a photo that producers chose from thousands for the amateur section of the West Virginia book.

After Frye turned away from the luminaria along the pond, he spied the word "Hope" spelled out with luminaria on the hill at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Again, Frye's photo was chosen for the book.

"I like the type of near-to-far images a wide angle or fisheye lens can give. So I really thought I might have a chance with the photo of the luminaria bags," Frye said. "It shows close up the names on the bags and the lights against the night sky and then you realize there are hundreds of bags in the circle."

Frye was pleased to find they chose two of the seven photos he was allowed to send to the project.

Originally, the project was "America 24/7" to which Frye was submitting his photographs, but he was not chosen for that publication.

Smolan and Cohen are the original creators of the "Day in the Life" series and have been responsible for the most successful photography books in history, including bestsellers "A Day in the Life of America," "A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union," "Christmas in America" and "America 24/7."

Both men envisioned the use of the latest technology in telling what Americans were doing during a designated time period. Digital photography and computer technology allowed the harnessing of thousands of local photographers across all 50 states and more than 3,000 professionals, including 36 Pulitzer Prize winners.

"West Virginia 24/7" showcases some of the most compelling photographs in the series, according to a press release by DK Publishing. The introductory essay by Brad McElhinny of Charleston documents a state with a strong sense of place and pride, while at the same time celebrating the little moments that together form the essence of daily life in the state.

Frye, a nuclear medical technologist at Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital, has been a local photographer since his young days at River High School when he was shooting for the yearbook. He enjoys his work in front of the technology at the hospital and finds his photography hobby very similar to the hospital work in which he takes images of gamma rays in the body detecting cancer or heart blockages.

He has spent about a year and a half using digital cameras and enjoys the control the photoshop technology gives him in enriching photos on the computer. Frye uses both Nikon and Canon digital cameras and knows he needs to settle with one or the other, but hasn't made the decision just yet on which to stick with.

Frye over the years has taken wedding photos, senior portraits and the like, but really enjoys photography as a hobby. He had little time to prepare for the "America 24/7" project since the photos had to be shot during May 12 to 18, and he found out about the project on May 16 through Tech TV, he said.

He could have chosen to shoot something on either side of the river, but heard from someone at the hospital that the Relay for Life luminaria ceremony was beautiful. Frye, who has to remain within close range of the hospital to be on call, has a love for night photography, so he chose the Relay ceremony.

Although a little disappointed the professional photographers were notified in advance of the upcoming book and some even were given a camera to shoot, Frye didn't let that stop him from entering. The book devotes four pages to the amateur photographers and is 140 pages.

Frye likes to have stories to go with his photos and has a special story for the "Hope" photo. A woman who works at the hospital asked to have a print of the "Hope" photo because "hope" was the last word her mother said as she died of cancer. "It's the little things that can make something great," Frye said.