When I was talking to photographer Lucas Foglia about his work, I made the mistake of calling his photographs “artsy.” He quickly corrected me and told me that they were not artsy. They were “art.”

Foglia’s book Frontcountry demonstrates his commitment to that art—he spent seven years traveling across the rural American West to create a portrait of traditional ranching lifestyles, as well as the lifestyle created by a mining and energy boom.

I caught up with Foglia recently, and we talked about his project, his background growing up on a farm, and how easy it is to take a sense of community for granted.

The first time I drove across Wyoming I hadn’t met up with my friend