ABOUT HOWARD

I have "retired" from so many career changes that sometimes I lose count.  My journey to professional/commercial/advertising photography began with an unusual choice of schools. From 1954-58 I attended the  Institute of Design.  When the German Bau Haus was closed due to a major problem with the Nazis most of the faculty moved to Chicago and became I.D.   There I had the fortune to study with Aaron Siskind , Harry Callahan and Frederick Sommers.  I was twice asked to leave because my desire to earn a living in photography didn't match the school's philosophy. Aaron stuck by me and allowed me to stay if I found a job as an assistant to a good photographer... and I did.

After graduation I worked with a design studio in Cleveland and then came back to Chicago to work at Shigeta Wright Studios.  After a few years I left and opened LeVant/Ditlove Studios with Michel Ditlove.  That became LeVant Photography and stayed that way until 1978.

That year I was contacted by The School of Photography at RIT in Rochester, New York and asked if I would care to cut my salary in half and move to the snow belt.  How could I refuse?  During my tenure there I also ran an in-house studio for Wegmans Foods.

I attained tenure and became a Full Professor and worked until 2006 when I retired.  I now serve on art and music boards in the Finger Lakes area, shoot probono for nonprofits and love to fish and travel.

More of my personal life can be found on our Family Web Site below:
 

Email Howard at hlevant@rochester.rr.com

Visit my Family site at hlevant.com/family