Tank Commander

Training NCO


Army National Guard

 





Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

In September 1878, an important event in American Indian history occurred. After enduring a year of disease and hunger, 350 Northern Cheyenne Indians living on Indian Territory fled Oklahoma and Kansas to return to their homelands in Wyoming and Montana. Pursuing them was the United States Army. Some of the Cheyenne were killed, some surrendered to the military and were held in army barracks in Nebraska. 

In January 1879, desperate and homesick, the Cheyenne made one last attempt at freedom. Many of the men, women and children who ran from the barracks were shot and killed. Others died over the next two weeks while again being pursued by the US Army.

In the award-winning book, The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011), James N. Leiker and Ramon Powers explore ways that exodus has been remembered by examining recollections of Indians, settlers, and descendants.

Pictured is co-author Ramon Powers.

Please also refer to Mari Sandoz's Cheyenne Autumn (1953, reprint edition 1992).

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

I am preparing for a trip to Emporia, Ks., to photograph Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and key business leaders from across the state. This photograph of Governor Brownback is from a couple of years ago.
 
Photograph copyright Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Jodi Orton was doing very well as a legal executive. She and her husband Bret were successful in their careers, but felt barren spiritually. So, they decided to make a change toward purposeful living and making a difference.

They began fostering and adopting children, and now have ten children, nine of whom are still at home. They live on wildlife conservation property where they also provide homes for large animals. 

Jodi is the author of three children's books and was featured in an award-winning documentary, Gold Medal Service, about her work with Special Olympics in Iowa. In the Fall of 2011, the family was the subject of a documentary shot by United Kingdom director Sam Windsor-Phillips entitled Fostering Change.

This photograph is of Jodi and two of her children.

The family was named 2011 Foster Family of the Year by the National Foster Parent Association.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

For thirty years, William Whitener has been active as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and director and has worked with leaders of contemporary American ballet, including Robert Joffrey, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. Mr. Whitener has served as Artistic Director of  Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal and Kansas City Ballet.

At age 11, he was the recipient of a Ford Foundation scholarship to study with the San Francisco Ballet School. As a child, he performed with the Bolshoi Ballet in their production of Ballet School. As a teenager, he was trained by Robert Joffrey, who invited him to join the New York City Opera Ballet and, subsequently, the Joffrey Ballet. 

Mr. Whitener joined the original Broadway cast of Bob Fosse's Dancin' in 1978. Later that year, he began an eight-year association as a leading dancer with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company. He performed internationally and for President Ronald Reagan at the White House. He also assisted Twyla Tharp with works for American Ballet Theatre with Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has staged Ms. Tharp’s ballets for Kansas City Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, The Juilliard School and Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse in France.

He expanded his career into the world of film and television, appearing in Amadeus, and the ABC television production of Bye Bye Birdie. Other television credits include the premiere episode of the PBS series Dance in America, The Dick Cavett Show and the BBC production of The Catherine Wheel. 

Mr. Whitener has choreographed works for many ballet companies including Kansas City Ballet, Boston Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Ballet Hispanico with the Tito Puente Ensemble, Hartford Ballet, Joffrey II, and Princeton Ballet. He also choreographed solos for Broadway performers Ann Reinking and Tommy Tune. 

He has been a member of the faculties of Harvard University, University of Washington, Concord Academy, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. He was nominated for the National Corporate Fund for Dance American Choreograper Award and served as an Evaluator and Advisory Committee member for the International Ballet Competition 2006.  Mr. Whitener has served on the dance panels for National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Charitable Trust Fund, Bush Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, Herb Alpert/CAL Arts Awards, and the Board of Trustees of DANCE/USA. 

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Each year, Barron's magazine publishes a ranking of independent wealth advisors. Marty Bicknell, Chief Executive Officer at Mariner Holdings, and his teams were ranked #7 on Barron's 2012 list of the "Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors". That was the third consecutive year Bicknell has been ranked in the Top Ten. 

For five years in a row, he has been ranked by Barron's as the #1 financial advisor in the state of Kansas.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Tanna Guthrie, the Kansas City radio legend, was honored with a 2013 Kansas City Influential Women Award by Kansas City Business Magazine. Tanna was chosen based on her career achievements, business acumen, outstanding leadership abilities, and her dedication to bettering the Kansas City community.
 
The Influential Women Award program annually recognizes Kansas City's women leaders in the creative, corporate, nonprofit and entrepreneurial communities. 


Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Linda Godwin, Ph.D., joined NASA in 1980 where she worked in the Payload Operations Division. 

Linda became a NASA astronaut in 1986, and is among the very few female astronauts who have completed space walks. She has logged more than 38 days in space on four space flights. Two of those flights were aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the other two on Space Shuttle Atlantis.


Photograph copyright Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Cedric I. Hurtt held a secret that was torturing him: he graduated from high school, and could not read. In his first year of college, he was finally diagnosed with dyslexia.

His teachers had worked with him, "but none of them got any good results out of me. Back in the 1960's, no one knew what dyslexia was, not in Kansas City, anyway." It was not until Cedric was in his late 20's that he found help at Literacy Kansas City.

Even then, it took 11 years of hard work. "I have dyslexia, it plays tricks on you. It really played tricks on my mind." One week he would be reading well, the next week,"horrible."
"For 35 years of my life, I did not feel a part of it. I was walking around hoping no one would find out my big secret."

Presently, Cedrick has two sons in college, owns a thriving business, and has written and illustrated two books. The first book, “I Look Up To My Dad”, is about a journey through childhood with father and son. The second book is, “Our First Business Venture”, which centers around two brothers thinking about starting a business.

“Knowing how to read is the greatest thing that ever happened in my life. I am able to go into a restaurant, sit down, read the menu and order what I want; not just by looking at the pictures, but by reading the menu. When I’m grocery shopping, I can read the labels on the food. I can read and understand my own mail. Now I can read a book, the newspaper and learn about the world not just by seeing it or hearing it on television."

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

John de Lancie played the supreme being, "Q", one of a very few characters appearing in multiple episodes (12) of Star Trek:The Next Generation, Star Trek:Deep Space Nine and Star Trek:Voyager. He co-starred in Legend, had a recurring role as Colonel Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1, and appeared in Breaking Bad, The Unit, Law & Order: LA, Touched by an Angel, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Get Smart Again!, The Fisher King, Bad Influence, and The Onion Field. There are many more credits.

Additionally, de Lancie has performed as narrator with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and the Montreal Symphony.

He and Leonard Nimoy are co-owners of Alien Voices, a company producing radio-style dramatization of classic science fiction.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Karole Armitage is currently based in New York City where she is Artistic Director of Armitage Gone! Dance.

Armitage began her professional dance career as a member of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland, which was directed by George Balanchine. Following this, she was a member of Merce Cunningham Dance Company where she danced in leading roles around the globe.

In 1984, she was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to create a work for American Ballet Theatre. Three years later, Rudolph Nureyev commissioned one of her works for Paris Opéra Ballet.

She has served as director and choreographer of the company MaggioDanza in Florence, Italy, was resident choreographer of Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy, France, and director of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance at the Venice Biennale.

Armitage has created dances for numerous companies including Paris Opera Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Lyon Opera Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Kansas City Ballet, Bern Ballet, Washington Ballet, and Rambert Dance Company. She has directed operas from the baroque and contemporary repertoire for many of the prestigious houses of Europe. These operas include: Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Lyric Opera in Athens and Het Muzik Theater in Amsterdam.

Armitage has also worked with pop music, creating choreography for Michael Jackson’s, "In The Closet" and Madonna’s, "Vogue".

Vanity Fair once dubbed her the “punk ballerina”.  She was nominated for a Tony Award for her choreography of the Broadway musical Hair.

In the Spring of 2009, Armitage was awarded France’s most prestigious award, Commandeur dans L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Cameron Richardson has modeled for Mademoiselle, Interview, Cosmopolitan, and Women's Health magazines, among others, and modeled clothing for American Eagle Outfitters, GAP, Lucky Brand Jeans, Chic Jeans, and Roxy. 

Cameron has a long list of acting credits including a series regular as Chloe Carter on CBS's Harper's Island, guest-starred on House and appeared in an episode of CSI: Las Vegas.

One magazine ranked her as one of their, "102 Sexiest Women in the World"; another magazine ranked her in their, "Hot 100 List".

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Dennis Fritz, a high school science teacher and track coach, was convicted and given a life sentence for the murder of Debra Sue Carter. Several appeals of his conviction were denied, and Fritz contacted The Innocence Project.  After serving 11 years in prison for first-degree murder, he was exonerated, his conviction overturned and he was released.

Fritz, and another wrongly-convicted man, were subjects of the best-selling, non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham.  Dennis Fritz has published his own account of the tragedy, Journey Toward Justice, where he writes of profound emotional harm.

Please also visit Midwest Innocence Project for useful information.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

This is Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director William Whitener with the company dancers. The photograph was taken opening night of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" after a spectacular performance.
 

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Sly James is the 54th Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. In the late 1960's, he was the lead singer in a band, and it was the opening act when Jefferson Airplane performed in Kansas City.
 
Mayor James served in the Marine Corp, graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree, and was the first African-American partner in the large, prestigious Kansas City law firm for which he worked.
 

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Forrest Whitlow hails from Kentucky, and his music has been described as, "David Lynch meets Neil Young". One can discern elements of country, folk, and rock in the songs he skillfully writes and performs.

Ghosts From The Old Country, his ninth studio album, was recently released. It was produced by Forrest, along with Pat Tomek.

Photograph copyright Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

I made these photographs at JJ's Restaurant. Zagat Survey rated it as, "one of the top restaurants" in the Midwest, and Wine Spectator stated JJ's Restaurant had, "one of the best wine lists in the world". 

The wine rack image shows a portion of the 1800 bottles of wine destroyed following an explosion and fire. When I shot these images, I never imagined using them in a eulogy for the acclaimed restaurant.



Photographs copyright Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Michael Pink, an internationally-celebrated ballet Artistic Director and Choreographer, was born in the city of York, England. When he auditioned for the Royal Ballet School, he was accepted on a scholarship. Michael was the recipient of a Royal Society of Arts Choreographic award, which he used for travel to the United States to study with the Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Early on, he worked as répétiteur for Rudolf Nureyev at the Paris Opera and La Scala Milan. 

Michael is perhaps best known for his creation of the narrative dance works, Dracula, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Cinderella and Peter Pan. Michael's theatrical productions have been described as, "Classical ballet for the 21st century". 

Michael told me that audiences attending performances of Dracula dress in character, similar to attending The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

He recently celebrated his 10th anniversary with Milwaukee Ballet. 

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

In the early seventeenth century, Avedis Zildjian was an Armenian alchemist striving to make what every good alchemist at the time was attempting to make - gold. He made a spectacular discovery; an alloy of copper, tin, and silver yielding sensational sound qualities. In 1618, Mr. Zildjian used this alloy to create cymbals.

The acclaimed company continues to make Zildjian Cymbals, and the business has been passed down through the family for hundreds of years. It is now located in Norwell, Massachusetts, and owned by two Zildjian sisters (14th generation), Craigie and Debbie. It is recognized as the oldest family-owned business in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world.

Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Steve Schmidt holds a degree in Engineering. While working on that degree, he and a friend started a computer business, which thrived until a fire left it in ashes.

Not one to be discouraged, Steve set out on his own in 1991, and founded Tekniq Data Corporation. Today, Tekniq is a successful Information Technology firm with very talented programmers, developers, network engineers and designers.

Tekniq creatively assists clients with computer and telephone systems, document management, software development and website design.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

A number of years ago, my photographs were accepted into an abundance of top-notch juried art shows around the nation.  I had a fabulous time traveling, meeting other artists and selling images. Although I am no longer involved with these events, I continue to shoot fine art photographs.  One can view all the art shows that accepted my work on my Résumé.

In this architectural image, I am looking straight up, and I rotated the image 90 degrees. I have a couple of other images that were most striking when oriented upside down, and that is how I framed and presented them.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Johnny Carson, host of The Tonight Show, described Marilyn Maye as, “Super Singer”, and Ella Fitzgerald referred to her as, “The greatest white female singer in the world.”

Marilyn began her musical training at the age of three with her mother, who accompanied her on the piano. At age nine, she began classical voice lessons.

Steve Allen invited her to appear on his very popular television show, and soon after, Marilyn signed a recording contract with RCA records. 

She appeared on The Tonight Show a record 76 times, and received a Grammy Awards nomination for “Best New Artist”.

Her most recent award, among many, was the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Cabaret Professionals.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Christine Elise McCarthy appeared in Beverly Hills 90210, and wrote three of the episodes. Television credits include ER, HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, Law & Order:SVU, China Beach, and In the Heat of the Night. Movie credits include Mojave Phone Booth, Child's Play 2, Boiling Point, Vanishing Point, and Bodysnatchers.  

One may view more posts on my Facebook PAGE at Larry F. Levenson Photography.

 
Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

When my long-time client, and television-news personality, asked if I would photograph her baby, I jumped at the opportunity. This perfect angel was mesmerized by the studio lights, and most likely destined to work in front of the camera like her mother.

Photograph copyright Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

A noun, architectonics refers to the scientific study of architecture. It includes musical, literary, and artistic structure.

The definition is quite appropriate for this photograph I made at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, one of the most technically and architecturally advanced performing arts centers in the world.

I admire the graceful lines and simplicity of the solitary, lighted candles on tables nestled in the curve of the wall. The walls are not normally this color; there was a wash of blue light from below.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

A passionate performer, Dan Thomas is a musician and educator who came to the United States from Canada in 1993. He has performed and presented with some of the most important jazz performers and academicians in the United States, Canada and abroad.

Dan can often be seen at jazz festivals throughout the United States and Canada, plus he performs regularly in small jazz combos, classical chamber groups and with big bands.

Listen to Dan's CD's, "City Scope" and, "Musical Sanctuary". Both have received high praise in recent reviews.

This image of Dan is much more interesting to me than shooting during a show, because it is his solitary, privileged time not seen by an audience. We made this when he stepped outside to warm up just before a packed-house performance.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Bobby Watson is a saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator. He attended the University of Miami along with fellow students Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius and Bruce Hornsby. After graduating, he moved to New York City and joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

Bobby has worked with a multitude of notable musicians, including drummers Max Roach and Louis Hayes, fellow saxophonists George Coleman and Branford Marsalis, multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. In addition to working with instrumentalists, Watson has served in a supporting role for a number of distinguished vocalists including Joe Williams, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter, and Carmen Lundy, and has performed as a sideman with Carlos Santana, George Coleman, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Bob Belden and John Hicks.

Bobby also composed an original song for the soundtrack of Robert De Niro's A Bronx Tale (1993).

A resident of New York for most of his professional life, he still performs live engagements around the world and leaves time for teaching. Watson is currently involved with the Thelonious Monk Institute's yearly "Jazz in America" high school outreach program.

Addendum: Bobby Watson was presented the prestigious Benny Golson Jazz Master Award at Howard University in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2013. He was honored for his excellence in jazz.


Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Toni Pimble is the Artistic Director, Resident Choreographer and co-founder of the Eugene Ballet Company in Eugene, Oregon. She was born in England and studied at Elmhurst Ballet School.

Ms. Pimble's work has been performed by an abundance of ballet companies in the United States including the Atlanta Ballet, New York City Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Omaha, Washington Ballet, Nevada Dance Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theater, Ballet NY and the Kansas City Ballet.

With Ms. Pimble's leadership, Eugene Ballet Company has toured 32 states, and internationally to Taiwan and visited India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Syria, Jordan, and Tunisia. Her creative work has brought her a number of awards and fellowships, including two Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship Awards and a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship Grant.

She has choreographed over 60 works for Eugene Ballet Company. Many of those productions involved collaborations with composers, literary and visual artists and local arts organizations including the Eugene Concert Choir, Eugene Opera, Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Mozart Players, The Shedd Institute for the Arts and the University of Oregon School of Music.

Ms. Pimble's most recent choreography was seen in "Carmina Burana" performed by the Kansas City Ballet.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett's work spans theatre, dance and movies. She was nominated for two Tony Awards and a Drama Desk for direction and choreography of Broadway’s “Swing!”, and for two American Theatre Wing Star Awards for it’s National Tour.  She also choreographed Broadway's “Chess” and “Titanic”.             

Her dance works have been commissioned by numerous companies throughout the world, and in the United States by the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet.

In 2008, Taylor-Corbett was the recipient of the Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in stage directing and choreography given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Broadcasts of her work have been seen on “Live From Lincoln Center", “Live from the San Francisco Opera House” and on UNCTV.  Her movies include “Footloose”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Vanilla Sky” and “Bewitched”. 

Ms. Taylor-Corbett choreographed "Mercury", the opening piece of "Carmina Burana", recently presented by the Kansas City Ballet.

Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Google Fiber is a project to build an experimental internet network using fiber-optic communication in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri.  Over 1,100 communities applied to be the first recipient of the technology.

The internet service offers connection speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.

Shige, an engineer from Japan, is located at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. He is working with the Google Fiber marketing department.



Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Kevin is General Manager, Google Access, and is also based at Google headquarters.



Photograph copyright 2012 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.