This program discusses “Some Ways to Analyze and Improve Your Photos” which will cover 

• Use of space
• Visual weight
• Balance
• Flow
• Elimination of distractions

Visual weight is a primary driver in all of these, so Roy’s emphasis will be on visual weight.

Roy Sewall is a retired professional photographer based in Bethesda, Maryland. Roy’s interest in photography evolved from travel in six continents, yet he found his own community to be one of the most photogenic locations in the world.

From 2001 to 2009 Roy concentrated on capturing scenes of the Potomac River and the adjacent Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal. He then developed diverse bodies of work that include foreign and domestic destinations, architecture and design, people, nature, old places and things, and abstracts. He then moved on to a project called “Mysterra” – illusions that convey fantasy, whimsy, and spirits. Today Roy’s interests are quite broad. Roy has done extensive work for private and commercial clients, as well as Potomac River and C&O Canal-related government and non-profit organizations.

Roy considers the ultimate destination for a photograph to be a large fine art print, 12″ x 18″ or larger. He has exhibited in numerous DC-area group and one-person shows, as well as in his own studio.

Roy’s first photography coffee-table book, Our Potomac, from Great Falls through Washington, D.C., was published in 2005. The book led to numerous lecture and slide show engagements with local organizations, and established him as one of the leading photographers of the Potomac River and C&O Canal. His second book, Great Falls and Mather Gorge, took a magnifying glass to this extraordinary area; it was published in 2009. These are still the definitive photography books of the river and canal in the DC area.

Roy offers both private and group instruction and critique to novice and intermediate photographers. In 2014 he became an instructor for the Capital Photography Center, where he offers classes and local field trips.

Roy has judged photographic competitions and has critiqued bodies of work at Maryland, DC, and Virginia camera clubs more than 70 times since 2006. He regularly does instructional programs at camera clubs and Nature Visions (Manassas, Virginia), with the most popular one being “Taking Your Photography to the Next Level.”

He has made over 40 presentations to the general public about the Potomac River and C&O Canal using photographs from his two books. He has also made presentations of photographs of China from 1901 to 1939 by his missionary grandfather Robert Fitch, to Chinese and U.S. audiences.

In 2018, Roy was selected by the Maryland Photography Alliance to conduct their Judges Training Program, a three- session program each Fall and Spring.

Roy served as the President of the North Bethesda Camera Club from 2016 to 2018. He was the first Chair of the Board of Directors of the C&O Canal Trust, and also served on the Board of Directors for the Potomac Riverkeeper Network.

Please see his website: www.roysewallphotography.com

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