--- description: Jeff Minton photographed this week's TIME cover story, which documents the history of the American Dream. title: Behind the Cover: Capturing the American Dream image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ef2ab3825b1b29e/69879ec63c163919834539d1/dreamcover.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind the Cover: Capturing the American Dream by [Feifei Sun](/author/feifei-sun/) ## Feifei Sun Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 21, 2012 11:30 AM CUT  The cover photograph for the July 2 issue of TIME, photographed by Jeff Minton. The cover photograph for the July 2 issue of TIME, photographed by Jeff Minton.Photo Illustration by Jeff Minton for TIME by [Feifei Sun](/author/feifei-sun/) ## Feifei Sun Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 21, 2012 11:30 AM CUT On Tuesday, residents made heated arguments about "Google buses" and whether they symbolize efficiency or inequality To define the American Dream in words is simple enough: “the perennial conviction that those who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded with a more comfortable present and a stronger future for their children,” writes Jon Meacham in this week’s cover story. To capture the American Dream in one image is a trickier task. “There were so many ways to show the American Dream, from imagery of people coming over to America by boat and seeing the Statue of Liberty to the dot com era and everything in between,” says Jeff Minton, who photographed this week’s cover. “Ultimately, we went with a more simple approach—showing the perfect lawn, and letting the viewer imagine the broader implications that the picture might represent.” Why Fallon's brand of ephemeral bite-sized entertainment is getting annoying That perfect lawn was actually a sod farm located about an hour outside of Los Angeles. After hoisting his camera onto a crane, Minton controlled the digital capture from a tent 40 ft. below, where he set up different vignettes with models and props within the frame of his lens. “This kind of image would have been easy to composite together with stock images,” he says. “But it seemed like such a romantic idea—much like the American Dream—to actually photograph different scenes by camera.” _Jeff Minton is a Los Angeles based photographer. See more of his work_ [_here_](http://www.jeffminton.com/www/#/current-portfolio/0/ "undefined")_._ **MORE:** [Read this week’s cover story on the American Dream](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2117662%5F2117682,00.html "undefined")  The cover photograph for the July 2 issue of TIME, photographed by Jeff Minton. Photo Illustration by Jeff Minton for TIME  A scene from the cover shoot for the July 2 issue of TIME. Photo Illustration by Jeff Minton for TIME  A scene from the cover shoot for the July 2 issue of TIME. 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