John Stember (b. 1993) is a photographer shaped by a decade of movement across the western US. Drawn to big country, he’s bicycled across a large chunk of North America twice and worked as a dog musher in the Arctic.

He’s pursuing a master’s degree in environmental journalism at the University of Montana, where he was awarded the distinguished Bertha Morton graduate scholarship. He’s attended the Missouri Photo Workshop, Eddie Adam’s Workshop, IJNR Wildfire Workshop and VII Foundry Photojournalism Workshop.

He recently worked on a historical photography archive documenting how rural America is changing—in a tradition similar to the Farm Security Administration’s pictorial project—at Boyd’s Station called Project 306.36. He photographed H2-A migrant workers, the LGBTQ+ community in small town America, law enforcement, GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and the complexities of farming in America today.

He’s worked with a variety of publications, including the New York Times and Montana Free Press. He has a commercial drone license, HEAT training for journalists and EMT license.

He’s available for commercial work and editorial assignments in Missoula and around the western US. He can be reached at jstember1@gmail.com.

Photo by Walker McDonald

AWARDS, GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS

EDUCATION

  • Projected to graduate with Master’s in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from University of Montana in May 2025

TRAINING, LICENSES

email: jstember1@gmail | cell: 971.67eight.3173 | © all rights reserved on all images.