Jim Schlett's interest in photography began with a graduation gift of a Polaroid camera from grade school in central New Jersey. He later obtained an AA degree in Photography and Art. He worked for Lewis Studios in Fairfield, NJ handling a large number of commercial accounts including Bambergers, Johnson& Johnson and Lightolier. He has attended the Maine Media Workshops, with course work in landscapes and nature. After working for the Federal government for over 30 years in Washington D.C., including Director of Operations for the Law Department, in 2011, he “refocused” on his love for photography. He is a long-standing member of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS) and the past President of the League of Reston Artists (LRA). Jim has a great interest in travel and history and his photographs include our national parks, Civil War Battlefields, scenic, landscapes and nature in America among his range of images. His most recent images have a pictorial quality to them that combines the camera with enhancements from the use of technology.

His photographs have been published in the Washington Post, annual reports, magazines, exhibited in local galleries and art shows, and have won numerous competitive awards. One of his images was displayed in the Art Takes Times Square Exhibition in New York City in June 2012. Over the last several years, Jim's photographs have been displayed at the SOMA Gallery in Washington, DC, Civil War Historic Trust Competition, Nature's Vision Gallery, Fairfax County Government Offices, Ernst Cultural Center, Joe Miller Gallery, Artful August in Leesburg, ArtSpace Gallery In Herndon, JoAnne Rose Gallery, Manassas Art Center, Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens, US Geological Survey (USGS) Gallery, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, North Valley Art Gallery in Redding CA , and the Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax.

Jim’s piece, “Beyond the Planets” was selected for a 4' x 9' permanent display at Public Art in Windows at ArtSpace Gallery in Herndon VA. He is a member of the Civil War Historic Trust and the Friends of Gettysburg and most recently, one of his photographs was juried as the cover of the 2015 Gettysburg Battlefield calendar. Since 2016, he has been selected as the Artist-In-Resident (AIR) at 11 national park sites, including Gettysburg. In 2018, he also had a solo exhibition at ArtSpace Gallery in Herndon VA called Our National Parks; National Treasures with over 50 images.