Ben McKeown

I don’t even want to look at how long it’s been.  Today, I know, is July 17.  It’s the dead of summer.  The heat is brutal, so much that I don’t ride with my windows down.  I wear shorts and flip-flops every day and my sunglasses tan is incredibly pronounced.  The past few months has represented for me somewhat of a reevaluation of priorities, of direction, of my notions of those around me.  I’ve come generally to the conclusion that it is time to take the next step forward, to really throw a new and rejuvenated level of energy into running my business and, more broadly, my life.  On a grand scale, the what is worked out.  The how, however, is what I’ve been struggling with for the last few weeks.

I left April literally stunned.  A series of events too personal and too detailed to divulge rendered me speechless, confused, hurt, and ultimately unable to concentrate on anything other than climbing out of the residual funk.  Suffice it to say that I now know what it feels like to be the victim of a case of blatant slander, which put in danger both my personal reputation and my professional career.  I won’t say much more about this specifically, for it is futile now for me to dwell on anything that has occurred prior to now.  To use a euphemism, it is simply water under the bridge.

As a result of the aforementioned funk, I temporarily abandoned much of what is very important to me.  I abandoned (obviously) my blog, but more seriously, I abandoned a few friends and projects that I never should have left.  I am working now on reestablishing a connection to these things and people.  My personal life has been significantly rearranged, for sure, but not irreparably; I am working on loving it again.  It’s happening, just slowly.  To those who I left, I apologize.

Now, moving forward…

I have, despite the funk, managed to roll the ball on a few new projects.  The most notable of these is my newest website: www.benmckeown.com .  In an effort to establish a much clearer distinction between my freelance work and the brand, “Organic Exposure Photo”, I have begun separating my work into these two arenas.  This means good news for you, the customer/reader/friend/client/interested 3rd party/etc.  My hope is that the clarifying of this distinction will make it much easier to find just what you want to find.

Organicexposurephoto.com will ultimately become a house for content suited for the wedding/portrait/individual consumer.   The information and portfolios displayed will be more concise and thus, more relevant.  (This transition has not fully taken place yet, so as I continue to make the content distinction, I will let you know.)  It is in these realms where the Organic Exposure brand is much more apropos.

Benmckeown.com, on the other hand, will be the headquarters for my freelance and personal work.  Excitingly, this includes more than just photography.  I plan on devoting sections to audio (music and radio), writing (journalism, prose, poetry), multimedia, and of course photography.  It seems appropriate to me to compile each of these mediums in a central location, for in my mind, they are not separate entities devoted to entirely different purposes.  Rather, they are all similar tools used in pursuit of the same goals: among others, stories, art, truth.

Additionally, after this simul-post, I’ll begin devoting the two blogs to only the content that suits them specifically.  Essentially, the distinction will be the same as with the static content, just, well… more fluid.  Expect updates on weddings/portraits/etc. at ogranicexposurephoto.blogspot.com .  At www.benmckeown.com/blog , expect a more diverse variety of topics to be covered, including my musings on professional and personal goings on.  (One thing I’m really looking forward to is giving you a new category called “good stuff”, where I plan to review movies, music, and other generally good stuff.)

At this point, I am happy to announce my return to the blog(s) as well as the grand opening of www.benmckeown.com .  Look around the new site and feel free to give me your feedback.  It’s still very much a work in progress and I’d love your input.  Thanks to all for hanging in there with me.  I’m looking forward to moving forward with everyone.  Keep in touch.

All the best.