UM Student Photojournalist Finds Her Focus Behind the Lens

By Skylar Rispens, UM News Service

MISSOULA – Fresh out of college, Maddie McCuddy is already carving out a place for herself in the world of visual storytelling. 

The recent University of Montana graduate recently earned first place for news and feature photojournalism in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, one of the most prestigious honors for student journalists in the country. Her winning portfolio blended personal projects, work from her fellowship at the Missoulian newspaper last summer and images produced during her time at the highly competitive Mountain Workshops in Kentucky. 

“I really have this curiosity with people,” McCuddy said. “I feel like having a camera allows me to talk to people and be curious and ask questions in a very candid way.” 

Originally from La Center, Washington, McCuddy didn’t always envision herself on this path. She arrived at college intending to study business but quickly shifted her trajectory after connecting with a journalism-major roommate. McCuddy already had a love for photography, which began in high school taking senior portraits of friends and experimenting with film. 

When she first arrived in Missoula, she imagined a future in adventure photography, documenting backcountry snowboarding and trail running. But the reality of journalism – and her place within it – took time to come into focus. 

She struggled during her early college years before finding clarity in advanced coursework at the School of Journalism. 

“Once I started to do more documentary photography, I felt like that was the kind of journalism I wanted to do,” McCuddy said. 

That shift didn’t come without reflection. 

“I think I didn’t fully understand what I was getting myself into initially, and I think I had a bit of an ego coming in with my background in photography,” McCuddy said. “But then I took a step back and realized that I needed to learn about journalism. So I shook that off, and things really started to click when I was able to do some boots-on-the-ground kind of courses.” 

Her junior year proved pivotal. McCuddy worked as a photographer for UM’s Montana Native News Honors Project on the Crow Reservation and traveled to Bangladesh for an international reporting course focused on climate change. 

“We did a story on horses (for Native News),” McCuddy said. “I was pretty inspired by Erica Larson’s photo story on horses on different reservations. That work esthetically drew me in.” 

The experience pushed her beyond her comfort zone. 

“It was cool to do really intense work like that,” McCuddy said. “It was the first time I had been to a reservation (for reporting) or done any reporting like that, and it was pretty nerve-wracking, because you don’t want to do an injustice to these people – especially doing really intimate work. 

“That was a very life-changing experience, and it really clicked with me that journalism is what I want to do,” McCuddy continued. “The fact that I am able to document people, be a storyteller is just amazing. It’s that super cool exchange of human interaction that comes through journalism that not a lot of people are exposed to.” 

She returned to Native News the following year as a photo editor.

Last summer, McCuddy stepped into her first daily newsroom role as a photo fellow at the Missoulian. Under the guidance of photo editor Ben Allan Smith, she balanced daily assignments with a longer-term reporting project, examining the effects of urban growth on agriculture in the Missoula area, alongside reporting intern Emily Messer. 

“The experience gave me an idea of how newsrooms work, and it also showed me that I enjoy being able to spend time on one, longer-term project, rather than daily assignments,” McCuddy said.

The recognition from the Hearst awards marked a milestone moment. 

“It feels very full circle to have my work recognized like this,” McCuddy said. “After struggling a bit early on, this proved to me that I worked really hard in the last couple years, and I really wanted it.” 

This summer, McCuddy will return to Kentucky for the Boyd’s Station project, a 12-week residency documenting rural life in Harrison County. There, she will produce a photo-documentary project designed to serve as a visual time capsule of the community. 

“It’s an archival project, so you have to submit and caption every single photo you take,” McCuddy said. “So you have to be very intentional, because everything makes the cut.” 

Now as she begins her post-college career, McCuddy is piecing together freelance work and other gigs while keeping her long-term goals in sight. 

“I’ve been doing commercial work, and I’ve even done some demo construction – just a bit of everything since graduating trying to make ends meet,” McCuddy said. 

She hopes to build a career as a freelance photographer focused on long-form storytelling in western Montana, a place she now considers home. 

“I’ve always been someone who’s driven by community,” McCuddy said. “Since being here, I finally found a place where everything fits perfectly into this mold that I’ve curated in my mind. I love the people here, I love the outdoor recreation, I can see myself here long-term. I am constantly inspired by this place. 

“I’ve never found a place like Missoula where it feels like home so quickly,” she continued. “There’s so much to document here that hasn’t been documented.” 

###

Contact: Dave Kuntz, UM director of strategic communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu