Ben McKeown

I didn’t sleep last night.  It was simply one of those nights which for me have become all too familiar, a night where this awfully electric, kenitically anxious vibe fills my mind, a night where I have to do something.  So in an effort to make that something a productive something, I spent my hours writing, thinking, and quite deliberately reading.  (I’ve been reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Just finished part one and I am absolutely riveted.)

So 5:45 am rolled around and I decided that I’d had enough laying in the bed not sleeping.  I showered, stopped by Chick-Fil-A for a spot of breakfast, and started driving (with no destination) and listening to Morning Edition on NPR.

I ended up at my favorite coffee shop on Ninth Street in Durham.  Not sure how, but I’m here now.

So I thought that with this stolen time I’d take a moment to throw down an official update on what’s been happening with Ben McKeown.  (That is the theme of this website, for goodness’ sake.)

A few notable items have been on the plate lately.  I’ll get to the juicy stuff in a second…

First, I’ve been working for a few weeks now with an indescribably talented group of people at New Raleigh, an online magazine devoted to covering the culture and happenings of my hometown.  Being that Raleigh is an incredibly dynamic and exciting place to live at this juncture, the opportunity to focus some creative and professional energy here is invigorating.  In the works for New Raleigh - an assortment of multimedia projects (see some teasers), a podcast, and plenty of original writing and photography.

Also, on the editorial front, the February issue of Vype Magazine has been released, and I am incredibly psyched about how it turned out.  The cover photo is one of my favorites I’ve shot for Vype so far and I was additionaly thrilled by the shots that were chosen for the inside.

Finally (and the crux of the title of this post), I’ve been spending quite a bit of time shooting Duke basketball for WRAL.com.  See galleries here and here and here…

As a result, I was asked to travel to Winston-Salem last Wednesday for a Duke vs Wake Forest game (by now it’s old news) that turned out to be an absolute heart-pounder.  Those who know me would confirm that it is no small secret that I am an enormously devout Wake Forest fan.  I’ve been a true-black and old-gold fanatic from the earliest moments I can remember.  In my elementary school days, I attended Dave Odom Basketball Camp, where (in addition to learning to ball quite well, I must say) my affinity for the Deacs became immovably entrenched in the depths of my sports heart.  As such, I attended last week’s game with a dual-personality: photojournalist/fan.

Lawerence Joel Coliseum was veritably explosive.  I have attended high-profile games now at all of the Big Four’s (Duke, UNC, NCSU, & Wake) home stadiums and I am absolutely not remiss in telling you that Joel is second only to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the most intense venue in college basketball these days.

If you didn’t see the game, watch the highlights of the finish.  Briefly, first half is tight, Wake erupts to start the 2nd, Duke goes on one of their signature runs and ties it with 2.8 seconds left, Wake wins at the buzzer.

It…. was…… awesome.  (Shut up, Richard!)

And with that I want to publicly throw out a few ACC Basketball predictions that I’ve been privately propagating since the beginning of the season:

1. UNC will beat Duke twice.

2. The ACC standings will shake out to be 1) UNC 2) Wake 3) Duke 4) Clemson 5-12) who cares.  (In fairness, I originally predicted Duke would be 4th, but I have since revised this.)

3. UNC will finish the season as the number-one team in the country.

4. There will be two ACC teams in the final four.

5. An ACC team will win the national championship.

With that, I’m going to stop typing.  It’s 8:44 am now, The Killers are on the speakers at Bean Traders Coffee, and I have a lot of work to do if I’m going to take this all to the next level.  Happy February.

Stopped by Schoolkids Records on Hillsborough St. in Downtown Raleigh to grab these shots for this article, written by my talented friend and colleague, Acree Graham, for www.newraleigh.com.  More on New Raleigh in the near future.

Last night I was in Durham shooting the Hillside vs. Douglas Byrd playoff game.  The winner would win the chance to move to the state championship game.

It was cold.  Very cold.  And the temperature kept falling.  An icy wind penetrated my thick boots and covered my toes, which by the end of the game felt close to frostbitten.  Even shielded by gloves, my fingers were stiff and hard to use.

Despite the biting temperatures, a palpable and collective electricity filled the facility.  Players, coaches, photographers, and fans all recognized the importance of the game and thus seemed to place a bit more energy into the implementation of their respective roles.

I remembered why I love high school sports.

There is hardly anything more valuable than learning how to operate as a team, how to put every ounce of your soul and body into the pursuit of a common goal.  It is for this reason that sports are a vital part of the school experience, as vital as any math or history class.  Their importance comes not in the form of wins that may be accrued or even in the form of competition, but rather in the form of an ever-applicable set of skills.  I can attribute much of what I believe are my positive traits to what I learned as a member of my football team in high school.

Additionally, I am drawn quite strongly to the raw and unfettered emotion that accompanies high school sports.  The incentives are completely intangible, making the desire to play well an almost spiritual pursuit.  The absence of a tangible reward brings out the true humanity in each participant.

The game finished on a questionable and devastating call against Hillside.  The final score was 9-7 in favor of Douglas Byrd.  These images presented depict an outpouring of the aforementioned spiritual and human elements.  My goal is not to exploit the anguish of the players and coaches, but rather to tell their story, for its importance is universal.