ON THE COVER

This photograph of prom night in Casselton, N.D., is part of Dan Koeck's "ongoing exploration of what it means to live in North Dakota." He says he always thought a high school prom would be a good subject, but he also knew he might wait all night and not get a good shot. "There's a lot of instinct and reacting to a scene. In a situation like this, I try to blend in, let things happen and wait for the right moment." As he recalls, this shot was taken during a break in the dance, and the girls were reviewing the details of their dresses.

Koeck is a photographer at North Dakota State University. His work has appeared in exhibitions at the Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla., Plains Art Museum, Fargo, the Rourke Museum, Moorhead, Minn., the Northwest Art Center, Minot, N.D., and the Federal Reserve Bank, Minneapolis. He recently was profiled in Photo District News.