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.

Instead of leaving for the metropolises of New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles, John decided to stay connected to the American West, its people and places, and pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism at the University of Montana with a focus on grizzly bears.

His photographic process is informed by knocking on doors, sleeping on church lawns, dropping into community fish fries, and traveling through towns without a stop light. He’s deeply curious about people’s lives, especially off the beaten track. Within his images, he looks for intimacy and tension, historical significance, and serendipity.

John worked on a historical photography archive in Kentucky—in a tradition similar to the Farm Security Administration—at Boyd’s Station called Project 306.36. The idea of the project was to show a snapshot in time in rural America and track how it’s changing over the next 10 to 20 years.

He’s worked with a variety of state, national, and international publications, including the New York Times and Montana Free Press. He has a Part-107 commercial drone license and HEAT training for journalists.

John’s based in Missoula, Montana and can be reached at jstember1@gmail

Photo by Walker McDonald

AWARDS, GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS

EDUCATION & TEACHING

  • M.A. in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism, University of Montana 2025

  • Adjunct Photography Professor, School of Visual Arts and Media, University of Montana 2025

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • Grizzly Bears Moving onto the Great Plains, Knowles Gallery, 2025

TRAINING, LICENSES

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