It is no coincidence that Doug DuBois’ portraits of Irish teens and Aaron Blum’s portraits of family, friends and the countryside of West Virginia share a quiet, intimate quality. DuBois was Blum’s professor and mentor at Syracuse University during Blum’s years as a graduate student.

For about seven years photographer Chad A. Stevens has been working on a documentary on mountaintop removal, a coal excavation technique used primarily in the Appalachia mining region. As his project progressed, Stevens realized how complicated the situation is, especially for the residents.