We are pleased to welcome back Roy Sewall to be our May Competition Judge. This is “Oldies” night meaning you can submit images that were photographed more than two years from the competition date. Lets wrap up the year with all your best!
Roy Sewall spent most of his youth in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines; his State Department family’s home base was the Washington, D.C., area. Roy has a BS in Physics from Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland and a MS in Engineering Science from Penn State. He returned permanently to the Washington area in 1969 and worked for several major technology corporations for over 30 years.
Roy’s interest in photography evolved from extensive travel in six continents. In 2001, he started his transition to full-time photographer. He always found the Washington area to be one of the most photogenic locations in the world. Roy’s first photography book, Our Potomac, from Great Falls through Washington, D.C., was published in 2005; it was inspired by his affection for hiking and bicycling along the river and the adjacent Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal. The book has 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.
In 2007, Roy became the first Chair of the Board of Directors for the C&O Canal Trust, a non-profit friends group for the National Park Service. In 2013 he joined the Board of Directors of the Potomac Riverkeeper. Roy has done extensive photography work for river- and C&O Canal-related government and non-profit organizations, as well as private and commercial clients.
Roy’s second book, Great Falls and Mather Gorge, was published in 2009. In addition, he was a guest on WETA’s TV program Great Views of Washington D.C., the lead photographer in the Best of D.C. 2009 publication, in the feature articles in the 2009/2010 D.C. and 2012/2013 Virginia Where Guestbooks, the lead still photographer in The Nature Conservancy’s 2011 video The Potomac Gorge, and a featured guest on Montgomery Community Media TV in 2012.
After completing Great Falls and Mather Gorge, Roy turned to the creation of large fine art prints. He has developed diverse bodies of work for exhibitions that include unusual foreign and domestic landscapes, old European architecture, historical re-enactment, and abstracts. In addition, he offers both private and group instruction to novice and intermediate photographers, and in 2014 became an instructor for the Capital Photography Center.
But his foremost passion is his ongoing project called “Mysterra” that conveys mystery, illusion, fantasy, and sensuality.
Other Credentials
National Park Service
Competition-winning photo for the Mid-Atlantic Region “2008 Passport to Your National Parks” stamp set
Project leader in 2008 to scan the C&O Canal National Historical Park’s entire collection of historic prints
– This project was awarded the “Outstanding Volunteer Group 2009 for the National Capital Region”
– It was also a nominee for the U.S. Department of Interior’s “2010 Take Pride in America National
Award”
In 2009 photos were used on large banners throughout the C&O Canal National Historical Park to announce Ken Burns’ documentary on our national parks
Other Historical preservation
Digitization of 1,000 historic prints and negatives of China from 1900 to 1940
Restoration of 1933 map of Beijing
Judging
Frequent judging of photographic competitions in the Washington, D.C. area
Presentations
Frequent presentations about the Potomac River and adjacent national parks
North Bethesda Camera Club
Member since 2001
Chair of the Program and Judges Committee 2006—2007
Judges and Programs Database Administrator 2010-2011