Sinar Bron Imaging Awards RIT Photography Student First Ever Carl Koch Scholarship

Ross Thompson, a Rochester Institute of Technology fourth-year advertising photography major from North Potomac, Md., has been awarded the Carl Koch Scholarship from the Sinar Bron Imaging.

The $5,000 scholarship, presented this year for the first time, commemorates Sinar’s founder and photography pioneer Carl Koch (1916-2005). Koch invented the Sinar view camera and the universal shutter.

Thompson is the son of Josephine and Peter Thompson of Mustang Hill Lane. He’s a 2004 graduate of Thomas S. Wootton High School.

“Mr. Thompson is a very gifted image maker, both technically and conceptually, and his level of expertise is evident in his photography,” said Cathy Strobel, president, Sinar Bron Imaging. “All the elements in his work—creativity, photographic skill, composition, lighting—come together to create a powerful narrative.”

Thompson’s portfolio beat out undergraduate student submissions from such schools as Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., Art Institutes International in Minneapolis, Minn., Fashion Institute of Technology, Idaho State University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, New England Institute of Art, Rhode Island School of Design and St. Johns University in New York. Thompson’s portfolio submission specialized in people illustration and portraiture.

“It was just an honor to be selected to represent RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in this competition,” says Thompson. “I was astounded when I learned I had won. This scholarship definitely gives me more confidence in my work and myself.