I first met Toby Brusseau a few years back when I was doing a story about a short film being shot in Wall, S.D. Toby was part of the crew, and he helped me get the interviews and photos I needed. He also made sure I stayed out of the way.

From time to time our paths have crossed again. I’ve always been impressed by his l photo work in the Rapid City Journal and elsewhere. He has a great eye.

Next month, Toby Brusseau’s photo work will be in full view. He’s publishing “I Am South Dakota,” a 128-page collection of photos and profiles that feature some of the state’s more interesting folks.

He said the idea for the book sprang from his effort a few years ago to find and photograph a man who was living mostly off the grid high in the Black Hills. Toby stopped at Granite Sports in Hill City to ask the shopkeeper if she knew how to find the man. She did, but she wanted to know why he was asking.

“I told her I’m looking for interesting people,” Toby recalled. In that case, she suggested, he should look up a man she knew whose job is to capture and collar mountain lions. Toby did.

The off-the-grid fellow is in Toby’s book. So is the mountain lion catcher. He also profiles a buffalo rancher, a beekeeper, a mortician and a doctor who is not afraid to wrestle pigs at the Fall River County Fair.

Toby put a lot of time into getting to know his subjects and breaking down the natural defenses people put up when they are being photographed.  That effort is apparent in the candidness in the photos. But “I Am South Dakota” is more than a picture book of portraits. Its pages of photos and essays also reveal a get a sense of the land and the culture in South Dakota.

“I Am South Dakota,” hardcover bound in an unusual 9-inch by 6-inch format, is priced at $19.95. For more information check out www.iamsouthdakota.net.

By the way, Toby and “I Am South Dakota” are both on Facebook as well.