Basketball Athletes from the USA Games

Team Utah teammates, Travis White and Lindsey Atkinson

June 18--Princeton, NJ--The USA Games Special Olympics.  My involvement with Special Olympics  started when I officiated basketball games in Washington. DC.  Since that time, I have worked games locally, at the National Games and at the International Games.  At this years 2014 USA National Games, I tried to do portraits  to capture the inspirational and dedicated of the basketball athletes.

Team Utah, Joe Pratt

Team Maryland, Nora Nickle

Team Maryland, Munir Vohra,  J Megonigal

©Laurence L. Levin
All rights reserved.  No usage rights granted without the permission from Special Olympics, Inc.

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Basketball: USA National Games Special Olympics

Florida vs. New York

June 20, Princeton NJ--For the third time, I was invited to officiate basketball for the Special Olympics USA National Games.  A great honor to be surrounded by remarkable athletes and volunteers for a week.  The competition is fierce from the highest level to the lowest level skilled athletes.  Sportsmanship is evident at all levels of play.  (Other athletes could learn a lot from Special Olympic athletes.)  The athletes had intensity, determination and showed an athletic competitive edge that provided exciting and great play.  Special Olympic athletes can do anything.  They just need an opportunity and these games proved to showcase their athletic skills, positive attitude and friendship.

Team Florida vs. Team New York, referee Joe Mitchell 

Team South Dakota vs. Pennsylvania

Team Washington, DC vs. Team New Jersey

Team Washington, DC vs. Louisiana, referee Joe Mitchell

(Technical Note) All these images were made with a Nikon Df.  This camera continues to surpass all my expectations.  The auto white balance handled all the various lighting conditions I encountered.  The vivid color, ability to focus quickly in low lighting conditions and using high ISO with excellent results are all outstanding qualities of this camera.  This camera is my second body and will continue to be a valuable asset in my arsenal.

©2014 Laurence L. Levin
NO USAGE RIGHTS GRANTED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM SPECIAL OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Young Arts Alumni Performance

June 06-Kennedy Center-Washington, DC,  YoungArts Alumni performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in honor of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Alice Blumenfeld, a YoungArts Alumna and U.S. Presidential Scholar presents Semblanza, which showcases her newest flamenco dance.  Accompanied by Hector Jose Marquez on vocals, Ricardo Marlow on guitar and Behzad Habibzai on percussion.

(Tech notes)  Shooting a stage performance is always tricking,  proper metering on the changing lighting setup, the quick action by the dancer and having enough latitude to have a good exposure. The new Nikon Df proved to handle this situation incredibly well.  Spot metering was flawless and shooting at an extremely high ISO proved to be no problem.  Can you tell this was shot at 10,000 ISO?  Grain is tight and color is vivid.

©Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No usage rights granted without written permission.

www.LLLevin.com
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Thumbtack

Thumbtack is a novel website that brings new opportunities to professionals to find potential customers.  As a photographer, Thumbtack attracts potential clients who appreciate my work and service.  I hope to find clients who will not only be long-term customers but friends as well.  I want to be known as a provider who goes beyond what is expected and exceed expectations in every job I do.

View my Thumbtack listing:

Laurence L Levin Photography

Cherry Blossoms

6:08AM 

April 11--Washington, DC--Finally after a snowy winter, the Cherry Blossoms arrived.  Using a tripod in order to do a long exposure, I was able to capture the morning light.  Also,  using a pop of a Nikon Speedlight helped to highlight the over hanging blossoms.

6:17AM

6:25AM

All Photography Copyright Laurence L.Levin

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TEDx Fulbright

Harriet Fulbright

April 5--Washington, DC--TEDx Fulbright,  an independently organized TED event held at the US Chamber of Commerce was a day of speakers sharing their innovations, ideas and Fulbright experiences.

Romain Lacombe, "Democracy in the Age of Data"

Michael Forster Rothbart, "Boxing Outside the Think: Creativity, Photography, and Seeing the World Anew"

Pritzer College President, Laura Trombley, Servus! Lessons Learned in Presidential Leadership the Bavarian Way

Celloist Danielle Cho

Massimiliano Versace, "Neuromorphics: Machines to Life"

Lisa Dyson,  "Turning CO2 into Oil"

The control panel: remote control of 4 cameras for Livecast and online videos.

The Speakers

Photo Notes:  The majority of the images made were shot with a Nikon D800.  Since they were streaming each speaker live on the Internet, a Jacobson Soundblimp encased the camera to eliminate any shutter sound.  I was given the ability to shoot anywhere within the room.  Since each presenter had less than 18 minutes, I had to work various angles and views quickly.  The room was expertly lit which made the exposures consistent.  I just had to keep out of view the four video cameras and maneuver throughout the room to get the coverage.

All Photography Copyright Laurence L. Levin

www.LLLevin.com 

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DC Special Olympics

March 20--Washington, DC--The DC Classic is the end of year tournament for the basketball season for Special Olympics DC.  These are some of the coaches, athletes and officials.

Basketball Referee Joe Mitchell

Photo Notes: Two Wescott Rapid Boxes set up with Pocket Wizards and Nikon D800 Speedlights at 45 degree angles from the camera position.  Sunlight was hitting the basket early.  After sunset another Speedlight was pointed toward the basket.  All the set-ups had to be done within 20 minutes before the start of the tournament.  A quick round up of the subjects and the photos were made.

Basketball Officiating got me involved with Special Olympics.  These are the people who I have officiated basketball with for many years. 

Photographs copyright 2014 Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com
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Sean McBride

March 12--Vienna, VA--Client, colleague and friend Sean McBride needed a new executive portrait. This gave me an opportunity to use my new light modification system.   Sean is an experienced strategic communications and organizational management professional.  His website is www.dsmstrat-comm.com

Photo notes: This was the first time I used the Westcott Rapid Boxes with my Nikon Speedlite D-800.  Classic 45 degree angle from the camera position.  Luckily didn't need a hair light since some sunlight was coming through the window shades.

Photography Copyright Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com
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Best Buddies 25th Year Anniversary

Best Buddies is celebrating their 25 year anniversary.  To commemorate, a book was published to highlight their achievements and recognize people and companies who played a role in helping Best Buddies grow.  They honored me by including me in the book. For over 20 years I have documented Best Buddies events and people.  A wonderful organization that eliminates barriers and helps people realize their dreams.

At the end of 2013, One of my images appeared in this public service announcement in TIME Magazine.

Holiday Card

December 2013--Lincolnwood, IL and Washington, DC--The pressure from my mom intensified, still quite spunky, "You need to send a holiday card to all of your clients." she insisted.  I knew she was correct.  But had no idea what to do.  On an annual "renunion'  with 6 friends who I grew up with,  we drove through the Lincolnwood Towers,  an area well known for holiday lights.  I made several images of several homes.  Then when I returned home to DC, I realized two more locations with lights, the US Botanical Gardens with the US Capitol in the background and the National Zoo.  After downloading the images, it hit me.  This card with holiday lights.

To all my friends, associates and clients who help make 2013 a wonderful year, thank you!  And to all I wish a productive, successful and peaceful 2014.

Photos made with a Sony XET-5 shot in the HDR mode.

Copyright 2013 Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com

Patches

December 05--Rock Creek Park--After digging in the dirt, Patches at age 7.  Shot in HDR with the Sony NEX-5T.

Photography Copyright Laurence L. Levin
www.LLLevin.com
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GEICO NHL "Duel"

Setting up the aisle for the 'encounter'

November 20--Los Angeles, CA--DCP Productions next series of NHL commercials for GEICO.  "Duel" finds two hockey rivals, Washington Capital and New York Ranger, a fan encounter in a grocery store.  See the final product.

Making a commercial is like a magic trick.  Great attention to detail,  always something different and working with outstanding creative and talented people help to make each job succeed.  As the set photographer, I need to work with each department, stay out of the way and make sure I capture the behind the scene production work.  It takes nimble moves, a quick eye and a sense of timing.  It is a test of skills, a bit of patience and a good attitude that makes each of these jobs a terrific experience. 

Behind the scenes of the "crash"

A little film humor

Director of Photography, Andrezj Bartkowiak

Director Don Cherel providing a look to the actor Cherel

Duel

Photography copyright 2013 Laurence L. Levin/DCP Productions

www.LLLevin.com

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Middle East Institute

Ambassador Susan Rice

November 15--Washington, DC--The Middle East Institute, 67th Annual Conference: Managing Transition, Containing Conflict: The Middle East in 2014.  Held at the Capital Hilton.  A reception with keynote speaker Ambassador Susan Rice the night before.  The second day was filled with panel discussions.

The hotel did a wonderful job of staging the event.  As the photographer for the event, many opportunities are available to move around to get various angles of each subject.  It is vital to provide a different look for the client.  You never know what the client has in mind so it is necessary to give options.  Three Ambassador Rice images from the same stage but three different possibilities.

The same for panel discussions, you have to navigate the microphone, water pitchers and other distractions.  Changing positions, angles and compositions, giving options in the photographic coverage is important.

Ambassador Susan Rice

Ambassador Susan Rice

Khalil Al Anani and Rabab El Mahdi  

Mohsen Milani

Gregory Gause

Mona Yacoubian

Steven Simon 

Ayat Mneina and Mabrouka Mbarek

Ahmed Maher

Photography Copyright 2013 Laurence L. Levin 

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