Driving the backroads of West Virginia, I am looking for people whose portraits will tell the story of rural life. Yet each person I stop and ask to photograph begins as a stranger.

It’s the height of trout season and many roadside pull-overs along state highways are filled with jumbo pickup trucks, the favored vehicle of local fishermen. I spot an angler now by the river’s edge all suited up in a fishing jacket with a willow tree pattern, better to blend in with the river side flora. This gentleman is a bit annoyed when I ask for a picture and he’s not keen on the idea of a book about West Virginia either.