Preface
(Legacy In Grain)

There’s a pace to the West that doesn’t care much for modern clocks. You feel it in the sound of leather cinching at dawn, in the dust kicked up by a single rider crossing the lot, and in the quiet way a rancher nods instead of speaking.

Legacy in Grain was born out of that rhythm.
It’s not a history book—it’s a living portrait. A record of people and places still working, still believing in the dignity of hard labor, still feeding the rest of us without much noise.

This first volume follows the threads of Americana stitched into the everyday—family-owned ranches, handmade denim, county rodeos, and the slow endurance of the Western Slope. These are images of a life passed down, not bought.

Every photograph is printed in black and white.
Not for nostalgia—but for clarity. To see beyond trend or color and get to the truth of it.

This is the beginning of a series. A collector’s edition. A tribute to those holding the line.

And I hope, in these pages, you’ll find not just images—but memory.

— Markus Van Meter