Boyd’s Station Photographers Capture Top Two Honors in International College Photographer of the Year Competition

Maddie McCuddy named 2026 College Photographer of the Year, Lylee Gibbs finishes runner-up; Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 produces the competition’s top photographer for the second consecutive year.

Maddie McCuddy, of the University of Montana, left, and Lylee Gibbs, of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, taking part in Project 306.36 in Harrison County, Kentucky in 2026.

For the second consecutive year, a photographer from Boyd’s Station’s Project 306.36 has been named College Photographer of the Year, the highest portfolio honor in the world’s largest international collegiate photojournalism and documentary storytelling competition.

Maddie McCuddy, of the University of Montana, was awarded the prestigious Gold honor and named the 2026 College Photographer of the Year, while fellow Project 306.36 photographer Lylee Gibbs, of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, earned runner-up honors.

The achievement follows the 2025 College Photographer of the Year title awarded to Jordan Tovin of George Washington University, who also participated in Boyd’s Station’s Project 306.36 documentary photography residency.

In just two years, three photographers associated with the small, rural Kentucky nonprofit have claimed the competition’s highest portfolio honors, with back-to-back College Photographer of the Year winners and a runner-up.

“Three of the top photographers in the world’s largest collegiate photojournalism competition, including back-to-back College Photographers of the Year, have come through our little program in Harrison County, Kentucky. That's pretty remarkable,” said Jack Gruber, founder and executive director of Boyd’s Station. “We started Project 306.36 with the belief that if you give talented young photographers the time, encouragement and freedom to find their own stories, extraordinary things can happen. These awards are wonderful recognition, but what makes me proudest is the work these photographers have created and the lasting record they've given the people of Harrison County.”

The 81st College Photographer of the Year competition was judged October 17–24, 2026, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. The competition draws emerging visual storytellers from around the world and recognizes excellence in photography, documentary storytelling, filmmaking and multimedia journalism. Additional information about the competition and its winners is available at https://cpoy.org/.

Vernon Moore, 74, with his cats in Oddville, KY, on July 21, 2026. Photograph by Maddie McCuddy

Neighborhood friends Logan Pike, Aliza Stinson, Brooklynn Pike and August James, left to right, ride bikes together in the evening along West Penn Street on July 31, 2026 in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Photograph by Lylee Gibbs

McCuddy and Gibbs spent the summer of 2026 in Harrison County, Kentucky, as part of Project 306.36, an immersive documentary photography residency that provides emerging photographers with housing, financial support, professional mentorship and the freedom to explore stories about everyday life in rural America.

The program is supported by industry partners, including Canon USA, which provides professional camera equipment for participating photographers, and PhotoShelter, which provides the online archival platform used to preserve, organize and share the growing collection of Project 306.36 photographs. Their support helps ensure that photographers have access to professional tools while the stories they create remain accessible as a lasting visual record of Harrison County.

Founded in 2018, the program encourages photographers to slow down, build relationships and discover stories that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Unlike traditional internships or deadline-driven assignments, Project 306.36 offers photographers the time to become part of the community they document. The resulting photographs become part of a growing historical archive preserving the people, traditions and changing landscape of Harrison County for future generations.

The competition’s still photography division was judged by a panel of accomplished visual journalists and editors representing National Public Radio, The New York Times, Education Week, Agence France-Presse and The Dallas Morning News.

The latest honors add to a growing list of national recognition earned by Project 306.36 photographers, including awards from the Hearst Journalism Awards and the White House News Photographers Association.

While the awards recognize individual excellence, they also highlight the opportunities that can emerge when young photographers are given the time, encouragement and freedom to develop their own approaches to visual storytelling.

For Boyd’s Station, the success of McCuddy, Gibbs and Tovin reinforces a central belief behind Project 306.36: meaningful documentary photography doesn't require traveling to the far corners of the world. Sometimes the most important stories are waiting to be discovered in a small community in rural Kentucky.

Thank you for your support!

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About Boyd’s Station

Boyd’s Station is a Kentucky-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 to mentor and support emerging artists, photographers and journalists. Its flagship Project 306.36 documentary photography residency brings emerging visual storytellers to Harrison County, Kentucky, for immersive 12-week fellowships.

With support from partners including Canon USA and Photoshelter, Boyd’s Station provides professional photography resources and maintains an expanding online archive of documentary work produced by its fellows.

College Photographer of the Year: https://cpoy.org/

For Additional Information - Media Contact:
Jack Gruber
Founder and Executive Director
Boyd’s Station
jack@boydsstation.org

100 PHOTOGRAPHS. ONE HARRISON COUNTY.

100 PHOTOGRAPHS. ONE HARRISON COUNTY.

We took a lot of pictures this summer. We picked 100.

On Sunday, October 18 at 6:00 PM, Boyd’s Station is taking over the big screen at the Rohs Opera House for an evening of photographs, stories and conversation about Harrison County.

For three months, Project 306.36 photographers Lylee Gibbs and Maddie McCuddy have been out there — at ballgames and fairs, on farms and back roads, in homes and businesses, and just about everywhere in between — getting to know Harrison County and the people who call it home.

Along the way, they were joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and former Louisville Courier Journal photographer Pat McDonogh, who spent time in Harrison County making his own photographs while also working alongside and mentoring Lylee and Maddie.

Now all three are coming together to show us what they saw.

We'll put 100 photographs on the big screen at the Rohs Opera House and spend the evening talking about the people, places, moments and stories behind them.

You might recognize a place. You might recognize a neighbor. You might even recognize yourself.

And while we're only showing 100 photographs, they're part of something much bigger — Boyd’s Station's growing visual archive documenting Harrison County as it is today and preserving these photographs and stories for generations to come.

Bring a friend. Bring your family. Come spend the evening with us.

100 photographs. Three photographers. One big screen. One Harrison County. Come see your community on the big screen.

Maddie McCuddy

Pat McDonogh

Lylee Gibbs

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 • 6:00 PM

ROHS OPERA HOUSE • 133 E. PIKE STREET, CYNTHIANA, KY

FREE ADMISSION + OPEN TO EVERYONE

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Big Thanks to our Sponsors

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Thank you City of Cynthiana and Harrison County, Kentucky

None of this happens without people and organizations who believe in giving young photographers the tools, time and opportunity to do meaningful work.

We are incredibly grateful to Canon USA for its tremendous support of Boyd’s Station and Project 306.36. Canon provided the cameras, lenses and professional photography gear that Lylee Gibbs and Maddie McCuddy used throughout the summer to document Harrison County. Having access to professional equipment allowed our photographers to concentrate on what matters most — meeting people, building relationships, telling stories and making photographs. Thank you, Canon, for believing in these photographers, supporting Project 306.36 and helping make this summer such a tremendous success.

We also want to celebrate the incredible and continued support of The Clyde N. Day Foundation and Cynthiana attorney Dan Clifford. Their belief in Boyd’s Station, our photographers and what we are building in Harrison County has helped Project 306.36 continue to grow and provide meaningful opportunities for emerging visual storytellers. Support like theirs allows us to bring talented young photographers into a rural Kentucky community, give them the time and freedom to do meaningful work, and preserve what they create as part of a growing visual archive of Harrison County. We are deeply grateful to the Clyde N. Day Foundation Dan Clifford for believing in the mission of Boyd’s Station and investing in its future.

We are also tremendously grateful to PhotoShelter for its continued support of Boyd’s Station and Project 306.36. PhotoShelter helps us take the work created by our photographers beyond a single summer or exhibition by giving us the ability to organize, preserve and build a lasting visual archive of Harrison County. That archive is an increasingly important part of the Project 306.36 mission — protecting the photographs being made today so they remain accessible as a record of the people, places and stories of this community for years to come. Thank you, PhotoShelter, for helping us ensure this work has a life far beyond the moment the shutter is pressed.

Together, these supporters make different but equally important parts of Project 306.36 possible: Canon provides the tools; the Clyde N. Day Foundation and Cynthiana attorney Dan Clifford help provide the opportunity; and PhotoShelter helps us preserve the work and build the archive. Their collective support allows Boyd’s Station to bring photographers to Harrison County, give them the freedom and resources to tell meaningful stories, and preserve those photographs as a visual record of this community for future generations.

Boyd’s Station Announces 2026 Mary Withers Rural Writing Fellowship Winner

Boyd’s Station Announces 2026 Mary Withers Rural Writing Fellowship Winner

HARRISON COUNTY, KY — Boyd’s Station is pleased to announce Nikole Valiente as the recipient of the 2026 Mary Withers Rural Writing Fellowship. This annual $3,000 grant supports one college journalist to spend the summer writing long-form news articles about Harrison County, Kentucky, in partnership with the Louisville Courier Journal.  

Nikole is a senior at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida, scheduled to graduate in December 2026 with a bachelor's degree in digital journalism. She is currently a writing intern at Caplin News, an FIU news publication. She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter, the student newspaper of Miami Dade College, and won the school's Excellence in Journalism Award in 2024. 

"Having the opportunity to report on the stories of Harrison County is a blessing," Nikole said. "I can't wait to immerse myself in the community, get to know new people and understand what matters to them."

She will begin documenting Harrison County on May 26.

Nikole is the 7th winner of the Mary Withers Rural Writing Fellowship. Past fellows have gone on to become professional journalists for the Associated Press, Arizona Republic, and the Quad-City Times, and continue returning to Boyd's Station to support each year's fellowship winner. 

2026 Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Grant Recipients

Boyd’s Station Announces 2026 Project 306.36 Visual Storytelling Grant Recipients

HARRISON COUNTY, KY — Boyd’s Station is pleased to announce Maddie McCuddy and Lylee Gibbs as the recipients of the 2026 Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Visual Storytelling Grants. These annual grants support college photojournalism students documenting Harrison County, Kentucky, as part of the ongoing Project 306.36 visual archive.

Maddie McCuddy, a recent graduate of the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, is the recipient of the $3,000 Ed Reinke Visual Storytelling Grant. 

McCuddy is currently a staff photographer with Mobile Traveler Studios and the Hogslop String Band in Nashville, Tennessee. She was named a Top 10 finalist in the 2025 College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) competition. McCuddy will begin her work in Harrison County in July 2026.

“Curiosity is what makes me want to document new people and places around the world,” McCuddy said. “It’s what drives my work in visual documentation and why I want to document the people and places of Harrison County. I want to keep learning about different communities—their values, what shapes them, and how they live.”

Lylee Gibbs, pursuing a degree in photojournalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is the recipient of the $3,000 Tim Dillon Visual Storytelling Grant. Gibbs will begin documenting Harrison County on June 1, 2026.

Gibbs is currently the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Egyptian in Carbondale, Illinois, and previously served as a 2025 Newsroom Visuals Intern at St. Louis Public Radio. She will graduate from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in May 2026 before arriving in Kentucky.

“I grew up in a news desert and spent my entire college career in one,” Gibbs said. “I’ve seen the distrust of media in rural areas and the stories that go untold. That understanding prepares me to respectfully connect with members of the Harrison County community who may be hesitant to have their stories heard.”

Please welcome Maddie McCuddy and Lylee Gibbs—the eighth class of accomplished photojournalists to participate in Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 since its inception in 2018—to Harrison County, Kentucky. Project alumni have gone on to become professional photographers, writers, and artists across the country and continue to give back to the program and community.

The Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Visual Documentary Program is an annual archive initiative dedicated to documenting the people and places of Harrison County, Kentucky. The program creates a lasting visual archive while providing world-class mentoring and guidance to the next generation of visual storytellers.

Boyd’s Station thanks the Clyde N. Day Foundation and Clifford Craig Heritage for their continued funding and support, which make these highly competitive grants and fellowships possible each year.

Additional thanks go to Nikon Professional Services and PhotoShelter for their ongoing support and services provided to students participating in Project 306.36.

To learn more about Project 306.36 and the namesakes of these visual storytelling grants—Ed Reinke and Tim Dillon—visit:
www.boydsstation.org/about-306

Project 306.36 Visual Storytelling Grants Alumni:
https://www.boydsstation.org/alumni

The Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Visual Archive:
https://30636.photoshelter.com/index

Boyd's Station Artist Guild Spring Showcase

Boyd's Station is thrilled to announce its much-anticipated Boyd’s Station Artist Guild Spring Members Showcase, featuring an eclectic array of artwork from our members. The exhibition highlights the vibrant creativity and diverse talents of the artists who have contributed to our growing artistic community in and around Harrison County, Kentucky.

From mesmerizing paintings to quilted works, the Spring Members Showcase promises to captivate art enthusiasts of all tastes. This exhibition celebrates the rich tapestry of artistic expression within our community, showcasing the talent and dedication of our members.

To commemorate this special event, Boyd's Station Gallery invites the public to a special reception on Saturday, May 11, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Boyd's Station Gallery located at 203 E. Pike Street in Cynthiana, KY. This evening offers a unique opportunity to engage with the artists, immerse yourself in their creations, and celebrate the spirit of creativity that flourishes within our midst.

"We are delighted to present the Spring Members Showcase, highlighting the incredible talent of our growing community of artists," said Jack Gruber, the founder and director at Boyd's Station. "This exhibition is a testament to the dedication and passion of our members, whose diverse perspectives and artistic visions enrich our cultural landscape. We invite everyone to join us for an unforgettable evening of art and celebration."

The Spring Members Showcase will be on display from May 11 through June 23, 2024, allowing ample time for art enthusiasts to experience the beauty, innovation, and imagination on display at Boyd's Station Gallery.

The Spring Members Showcase is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend this special event. Come and experience the beauty, innovation, and imagination on display at Boyd's Station Gallery.

Opening Reception Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024 Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Exhibition Dates: Sat., May 11-Sun., June 23, 2024 (Fridays, 4-7 pm, Saturdays, 12-6 pm, Sundays, 12-4 pm

Location: Boyd's Station Gallery, 203 E. Pike Street, Cynthiana, KY

Info: guild@boydsstation.org