Instructor Profiles
Teaching for John is an opportunity to give back, be creative, make connections for students, and a chance to develop relationships.
Meet John Sehon - by Lynn Lothman
John Sehon is an icon at OLLI, having taught more than 25 classes since 2001. He was recently recognized for his contributions and his long-time service to the instructional program. Photography is a hobby and a passion; he shares it graciously and knowledgably with his many students.
John led a rich and interesting pre-OLLI life. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, he moved multiple times before graduating from High School in Westport, Connecticut. He attended UConn and then served in the military. After his military service, John continued college under the GI Bill and became interested in computers and software in their infancy. Writing machine-level software for SDS (which was acquired by Xerox in 1969), John taught software and migrated into sales and marketing, and launched the first high-speed laser printer products. John and his wife retired to the Durham area in 2000, embracing four temperate seasons and new opportunities enriching life experiences.
He attributes his wanderlust to his short attention span combined with a natural curiosity about the world around him and his keen interest in learning new things. Music (especially opera), reading, and cooking are among his interests besides photography. Giving back to the community and paying forward are two values that John lives by. He serves on the Orange County Habitat for Humanity non-profit Board as Chairman of the Site Selection Committee responsible for acquiring land for Habitat homes. He likes to “make things happen” and see tangible results. “I’m not afraid to ask for anything and am willing to give back when I am asked to provide.”
Taking a class at DILR, John was inspired by Mary Jo Fickle to teach and share his enthusiasm for photography. With a blank sheet of paper in front of him, he molded and created an outline for his class that evolved over time into three distinct sequential classes. He teaches a hands-on class for beginners on how to operate the digital camera, use the reference manual, understand of the basics of light, and the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. The second class focuses on composition and technique encompassing the artistic side of photography. And in the third class, John is the facilitator, allowing students to discover why certain rules of photography work, for example the rule of 3s, color combinations that work, design, angle, light. Students go on photo shoots and critique each other’s work. “The students shape the class and I just enable it to happen.” Teaching for John is an opportunity to give back, be creative, make connections for students, and a chance to develop relationships. Images tell stories the same way words do. When John first became interested in photography all images were captured on film. He gleaned from his mentor, a man by the name of Wally, that everything doesn’t have to be included in an image; the mind will finish the story. Wally taught him to look at the world a bit differently, with emotion. “The difference between art and photography is that artists start with a blank canvas and photographers start with everything and decide what to take away.”
Passing the torch will be inevitable some day. He can’t think of anyplace he’d rather be than here in the Triangle and a part of the OLLI community, inspiring others to share his love of image. In John’s words: “At the end of the day what surprises me most about my life is the fact that what I did in my working life is not how I measure success today. All in all, it’s been a great ride!”
John led a rich and interesting pre-OLLI life. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, he moved multiple times before graduating from High School in Westport, Connecticut. He attended UConn and then served in the military. After his military service, John continued college under the GI Bill and became interested in computers and software in their infancy. Writing machine-level software for SDS (which was acquired by Xerox in 1969), John taught software and migrated into sales and marketing, and launched the first high-speed laser printer products. John and his wife retired to the Durham area in 2000, embracing four temperate seasons and new opportunities enriching life experiences.
He attributes his wanderlust to his short attention span combined with a natural curiosity about the world around him and his keen interest in learning new things. Music (especially opera), reading, and cooking are among his interests besides photography. Giving back to the community and paying forward are two values that John lives by. He serves on the Orange County Habitat for Humanity non-profit Board as Chairman of the Site Selection Committee responsible for acquiring land for Habitat homes. He likes to “make things happen” and see tangible results. “I’m not afraid to ask for anything and am willing to give back when I am asked to provide.”
Taking a class at DILR, John was inspired by Mary Jo Fickle to teach and share his enthusiasm for photography. With a blank sheet of paper in front of him, he molded and created an outline for his class that evolved over time into three distinct sequential classes. He teaches a hands-on class for beginners on how to operate the digital camera, use the reference manual, understand of the basics of light, and the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. The second class focuses on composition and technique encompassing the artistic side of photography. And in the third class, John is the facilitator, allowing students to discover why certain rules of photography work, for example the rule of 3s, color combinations that work, design, angle, light. Students go on photo shoots and critique each other’s work. “The students shape the class and I just enable it to happen.” Teaching for John is an opportunity to give back, be creative, make connections for students, and a chance to develop relationships. Images tell stories the same way words do. When John first became interested in photography all images were captured on film. He gleaned from his mentor, a man by the name of Wally, that everything doesn’t have to be included in an image; the mind will finish the story. Wally taught him to look at the world a bit differently, with emotion. “The difference between art and photography is that artists start with a blank canvas and photographers start with everything and decide what to take away.”
Passing the torch will be inevitable some day. He can’t think of anyplace he’d rather be than here in the Triangle and a part of the OLLI community, inspiring others to share his love of image. In John’s words: “At the end of the day what surprises me most about my life is the fact that what I did in my working life is not how I measure success today. All in all, it’s been a great ride!”