Dean Sewell (b 1972) is an Australian documentary photographer. He has won a number of awards. He lives in Sydney.

Life and work

Sewell grew up in Sydney and started his career as a news photographer for ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. His first major award was in 1994 when he received the

Nikon-Walkley Australian Press Photographer of the Year The Nikon-Walkley Australian Press Photographer of the Year, or Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year is awarded to the photographer whose body of work is considered the best in the country for that year. It recognises newsworthiness, im ...

. Based in Moscow in 1996 and 1997, Sewell covered the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

and Russian Federal Elections as well as documenting social issues in the

Post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

. Sewell's series on The Block, an

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

community in Redfern, an inner suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, was showcased at the Visa pour l'image festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, France. In 2001, Sewell was a co-founder of the Australian documentary photography collective Oculi. In 2004, Sewell flew to Aceh just after the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

and photographed the aftermath. His work won a

World Press Photo World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the organization is known for holding an annual press photography contest. Since 2011, World Press Photo has organized a ...

award.

Awards

* 1994 –

* 1998 – Nikon-Walkley Australian Press Photographer of the Year * 2000 –

Award – 2nd Place – People in the News category – East Timor independence * 2001 – Leica/

Centre for Contemporary Photography The Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP), in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, is a venue for the exhibition of contemporary photo-based arts, providing a context for the enjoyment, education, understanding and appraisal of contemporary practic ...

(CCP) Documentary Photography Award – Highly commended 'Cave Clan' * 2002 – World Press Photo Award (3rd Place) – Nature and the Environment category – Australian bushfires * 2003 – Finalist – Energex Arbour Contemporary Art Prize * 2003 – Finalist – Agfa, Das BildForum 7th International Prize for Young Photojournalists * 2004 – Finalist, Josephine Ulrick National Photography Prize – 'Lara' * 2005 – World Press Photo Award – Spot News Stories – Aceh Tsunami aftermath * 2006 – Winner, Australia's Top Photographers, Photojournalism * 2007 – Finalist, Head On portrait prize,

Australian Centre for Photography The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) is a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973. ACP also provides part-time courses and community programs. It is one of the longest running con ...

* 2009 – Finalist,

National Photographic Portrait Prize The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual portraiture competition held at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. The major sponsor of the prize in 2022 is the gallery itself, which awards to the winner, while Canon ...

– 'Common Ground' * 2009 – Moran Contemporary Photography Prize – 'A Dry Argument' Murray Darling Basin

References

External links

Sewell's page on the Oculi site
Australian photographers 1972 births Living people Documentary photographers {{australia-photographer-stub