Photographer: Mike Yoder

Camera: Nikon D1X

Standing on a stone pedestal at a roadside park east of Lebanon, Kan., Smith Center High School seniors Mandy Linn, left, and Lance Allen are literally at the center of America on May 15, 2003.

Lens: Approximately 24mm

ISO: 200

Shutter speed: 1/250th

Aperture: f16

Time: 9:20 a.m. May 15, 2003

Three photographers on the Journal-World staff — Bill Snead, Thad Allender and I — participated in the “America 24/7” photography book project in May 2003. A national book, using images from thousands of participating photographers, was published last year. From that same project, books from each of the 50 states have now been published.

“Kansas 24/7” was just released this week and includes work by Journal-World photo staff members, including the cover photograph by Bill Snead.

It takes some luck to get a photograph in a book like this, but having ideas and planning results in success. Snead rented a pilot and a plane to capture some aerial photographs of Kansas farmland. He contacted people to set up the cover shot of Dorothy in the Land of OZ. Allender checked the schedule at the Mayetta Speedway to plan coverage of a night of summer racing.

When I started thinking of ideas, I recalled subjects unique to Kansas I had photographed before. Knowing that Kansas contains the geographical center of the United States, I arranged for two seniors from Smith Center High School to meet me at the stone pedestal marking the spot. The planning included contacting the school’s principal for permission, (he actually drove them from the school to the site on the day of the shoot), picking the time of day for the best lighting, bringing an 8-foot ladder so the subjects could climb on top of the pedestal, and setting up a battery-powered flash to add light.

The only thing I could not control was the wind and the unsightly flagpole on the pedestal. The photo turned out pretty much as planned. Even the wind cooperated by knocking off a cap in the published frame, adding a little chaos to the premeditated scene.