Matthew Macoy is a Bozeman-based photographer and educator, teaching photography courses at MSU and leading a small visual production company in the Gallatin Valley. Originally from Denver, CO, Matt grew up incorporating photography into his day-to-day life from an early age, and always displayed an unceasing passion for the outdoors. This wanderlust is what eventually brought him to Bozeman to pursue a BA from Montana State and begin establishing a community. His deep appreciation for the outdoors is reflected in his involvement in Montana’s world-class outdoor recreation: biking, skiing, backpacking, hunting, and fishing. Matt serves as an Access Ambassador for the Public Land and Water Association (PLWA), advocating for public land protections. He is also a volunteer ski patroller at Big Sky.

Macoy’s work, which has been displayed in shows and galleries across the western U.S. and published in several periodicals, covers a wide range of photographic genres. At its core, his undying love for nature is evident in his art, both subjectively and conceptually. As an environmental photographer, Matt depicts, indirectly and directly, issues facing our society and its relationship to the outdoors. As a fine art artist, Matthew’s primary goal is to communicate the principle of unity between man and nature, and to explore the visual beauty in the world we share. His work also strives to evoke a sense of bewilderment, and to invite viewers to reconsider their position in the cosmos. Exploring a plethora of moods and motifs in his work, Macoy utilizes both large format film and digital media — including photo and video — to capture scenes in rich black and white as well as in vivid color.

Macoy’s work has taken him far and wide, across the U.S. and to several foreign countries, which has given him the opportunity to convey the stories of novel places to his audience. Continuing forward, Matthew intends to keep traveling, discovering new places and lifestyles to photograph, and building a community from his home here in Bozeman.