Book: Somewhere West of East

The American West is home to some of the most breathtaking and unique environments on Earth. It’s got it all: from the grasslands and prairies of the heartlands to the jagged peaks and deep, cavernous canyons of the Rockies, the deserts of the southwest, and the verdant forests and coasts of the Pacific Northwest. Following his military service, Trent Plourde set out in his grandfather’s 1971 Volkswagen Van, Betsy, on a months-long road trip to acquaint himself with the West; he was determined to capture not only the beauty of its landscapes, but also that of the wildlife that inhabit them. Upon completion, he compiled his photographs and accompanying prose into his first photobook, Somewhere West of East: Photos from the Modern Frontier (Plourde Photo, $75). It’s a fantastic book—with a crisp, clean layout, high-quality pages, and powerful images that bring the outdoors in—and one that you will undoubtedly enjoy perusing over and over again.