Saturday, December 17, 2016

Jazz Night Westminster Presbyterian Church

Brian Settles
December 16--Washington, DC--Westminster Presbyterian Friday night Jazz concert, where the best DC musicians come to play for a appreciative audience.  Only 5 dollar cover charge, best entertainment in Washington.  This concert was a tribute to Miles Davis.

All images made on a Nikon 1V3, Nikkor 70-200, 12,800 ISO

Herm Burney

Lenny Robinson

Thad Wilson

Allyn Johnson
Copyright 2016 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No publication rights granted without written permission.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Tuba ChristmasTuba

Happy Face
December 14--Washington, DC--TubaChristmas, the brainchild of Professor Harvey Phillips, Music Professor at Indiana University, 43 years ago to celebrate the TUBA and Euphonium and to honor his mentor William H. Bell.  Concerts are played all over the world.  Players volunteer and come to practice hours before the concert.  The Washington DC concert was played in Orchestra Hall at the Kennedy Center.  

I photographed my first TubaChristmas 39 years ago at the town square in Bloomington, IN.  Harvey Phillips dressed as Santa Claus led the concert.  This year I sat in the fourth row enjoying the legacy Professor Phillips gave us.  

All photos made with the Nikon 1V3, and Nikkor 70-200, 12,800 ISO

Light It Up 
Deck the Halls


Decorated!

Copyright 2016 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No publication rights granted without written permission.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Middle East Institute Annual Conference: Thomas Pickering

November 16--Washington, DC--Ambassador Thomas Pickering speaking at the Middle East Institute's 70th Annual Conference, Middle East Policy Challenges for the Next Administration.  Pickering is well respected career diplomat who served as the US Ambassador to seven countries, held many positions in the US State Department, and several administrations.  He is currently vice chairman of Hill & Company.

Copyright 2016 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved. No publication rights granted without written permission.
www.LLLevin.com


Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Great Falls Colors


Great Falls, VA scene from the parking lot.
November 11--Great Falls, Virginia--Only 15 miles from the heart of Washington, DC, Great Falls National Park is located at the area where the Potomac River narrows and drops through the Mather Gorge.  The fast moving water creates a majestic area to view the river at its inhabitants.  The autumn provides incredible colors during sunrise and as the trees change.  As the saying goes, you don't need to travel all over the world to see incredible landscapes, you just have to look in your own backyard.  Right out of the parking lot, the pastel colors were photographed, just a few steps from my car.
Great Falls, Va 
Catching the light 
Photo made with a Nikon D810 24-120mm and 70-200 with 1.4 Teleconverter. ISO range 1600, 250, 800.  The convenience of digital is the ability to change ISO for the varying light conditions.  At 8am,  the trees were still in a bit of shade thus at 1600 ISO the camera was able to capture all the various shades of color.  At full morning sun, the cliff near the river only needed an ISO of 250.   For the leaf image, with the teleconverter on the 70-200 lens (500mm) 800 ISO was needed to hand hold the camera with a shutter speed of 1/640.

Copyright 2016 Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com
No publication or usage granted without written permission

Thursday, November 03, 2016

Michel Richard 1948-2016

Michel Richard in Citronelle, Washington DC 2005
October 16, 2016--The French Embassy in Washington, DC hosted a Joie de Vivre Michel, Memorial Celebration of the beloved Chef Michel Richard.  One of the most joyful persons around, Michel provided a fun and incredible food experience for his patrons and friends.  He learned his trade as an apprentice pastry chef in France.  Desiring to go beyond pastries he learned, experimented, sampled and trained himself  for 10 years.  From pastry restaurants on the west coast and east coast, he finally came to Washington DC in 1994.  Michel's welcoming personality provided many opportunities to participate in the community as well as his charitable contributions.

Michel was one of the original chefs participating in Best Buddies Virginia, Life is Sweet Event.  He developed a friendship with Jenny Holden over the years.  They shared many meals together as well as served desserts at the Life is Sweet Events.

It was always a great privilege to photograph Michel and Jenny.  Michel was full of personality and energy.  His generosity was incredible.  He signed and donated book for auction, he did so much and didn't ask for anything.  Spending any amount of time with Jenny & Michel or eating one of Michel's entrees always brought a smile to your face.   Making sure he left you smiling and happy was his greatest gift.

Jenny and Michel, 2006
Jenny and Michel, 2009

©2016 Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Best Buddies Kyrie Irving

Kyrie and Best Buddies Ohio Walkers
September 24--Cleveland, OH--The inaugural Kyrie Irving Walk and Challenge Basketball Game
for Best Buddies Ohio.  World Champion Cleveland Cavalier Kyrie Irving is one of the most gracious and accommodating ambassadors for Best Buddies.  All of the Best Buddies sports ambassadors have the same dedication to the mission and a dedication to all of the buddies.  Kyrie walked walk and coached both teams during the game.  An exciting day for all the participants who raised awareness for Best Buddies.

Tip-Off


Copyright 2015 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No publication rights granted without written permission.

Tuesday, August 09, 2016

DCP GEICO Patrice Bergeron


Build Up 
August 7-8--Boston, MA--DCP Productions for GEICO commercials with Boston Bruin Patrice Bergeron.  Doing production photography is exciting.  Each production provides something new and interesting.  Documenting the work helps to promote the production company and the production.  You have to work quickly and always stay out of the way.  You make friends with everyone on the set, politeness and understanding the need for speed since still photography is the last priority on production day.  It's a long day but lots of fun.


At the "Garden" 
Watch the Light 
camera on a track 
Face-off

Patrice Bergeron
Copyright 2016 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No publication rights granted without written permission.