There’s a lot going on.
One face roars. Another sticks its tongue out in glee. Several more are framed in the background in various states of exasperation.
By now, you’ve likely seen it countless times: the image of Armando Bacot dunking in the late stages of UNC’s win at Duke in early March, as Caleb Love strikes a pose for the Carolina bench. The dunk sealed the victory and effectively punched the Tar Heels’ ticket to the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced all the way to the national championship game.
In the aftermath of the game, the photo went viral online, most notably when UNC basketball alumnus Theo Pinson shared it on his Twitter profile.
Good Afternoon Everyone!! 😁 pic.twitter.com/3keOP905cw
— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) March 6, 2022
The picture’s photographer, Helen McGinnis of UNC’s student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel, was kind enough to chat with Chapelboro about the picture and its place in rivalry lore.
When you first saw the picture, did you know it was ‘The One?’
I actually took a sequence of photos. I got six or seven photos from [Bacot] running up to the basket and then him coming down after that. And I think the reason why that one stuck out to me was because Caleb had his tongue out. And then also, that was the peak excitement in Armando. I felt like that moment was when everyone knew that UNC was going to win.
Did you have a certain strategy to get that particular shot?
There wasn’t really much of a strategy. I will say, I was shooting with two different cameras. I had a 24-70mm [lens], which is the wide angle, which is what I shot that [picture] with. And then I had a 70-200mm, which gets closer-up shots. It was my first time using a 24-70 at a game, but I knew that I wanted a wide dunk shot. And so, when I saw Armando running down, I made sure to grab that lens. And I think that’s what separated my photo from some of the other photographers who got the same moment. Because I think seeing the whole composition, where the UNC players look so excited and the Duke players are just standing there, and even though the background is a little blurry you can still see the look of sadness in the student section.
Looking back on it now, what’s your favorite part of the photo?
I think it’s both Caleb and Armando, just because they’re so happy for each other and for the team. I’m not sure if they were even expecting something like that to happen. And to be able to capture an image that really shows both the excitement and also the… not uncertainty, and not necessarily surprise, but I think everyone was just shocked. I do think they were probably a little bit shocked at their ability to perform at such a high level and have everything go right for them.
Where does it rank among the photos you’ve taken?
It’s definitely one of my favorite photos that I’ve ever taken. I really didn’t shoot much basketball before this year. And of all my basketball photos, I’d say that one, and then I got one of Caleb Love straddling a UCLA player from the Sweet 16. He’s like coming down on top of the guy.
UNC’s Caleb Love (2) fights for a rebound with UCLA’s Tyger Campbell (10) during the Sweet 16. (Image via Helen McGinnis)
Did you think the photo would blow up the way it did?
Not really. I mean, I always think my photos are good. I knew that one was special. Every single game that we shoot, we send a halftime photo in, and that’s typically the photo that gets used when the [story] comes out after the game. But because I could only sit on one side [of the court], I shot defense in the first half. And immediately, once I got that photo in the second half, I knew, ‘Okay, I need to get this online ASAP. This is the photo that I want to use with the [story].’ And I don’t think it really blew up until the next day, if I remember correctly. It was really funny. At the time, I did not have Twitter. I just didn’t really care to use it, because I’m a photographer. I didn’t realize that you could share photos on Twitter. But I started getting screenshots of tweets from all of my friends, and they were like, ‘Isn’t this yours?’ Everyone was so excited.
My whole family was so happy. My brother was sharing it with all of his friends, like, ‘Wow, my sister’s so cool!’ It was crazy. I ended up making a Twitter account so I could tell people how they could purchase the photo, because you have to go to The Daily Tar Heel’s website, since it’s half their property and half mine. That was wild, especially because I was brand-new to Twitter, and I didn’t really know what was going on.
When people say the photo is one of the best in the history of the UNC-Duke rivalry, how does that make you feel?
One of the best pictures in the history of the @DukeMBB & @UNC_Basketball rivalry pic.twitter.com/PmNCf8ocrE
— Jeff Greenberg (@jeffgberg) April 16, 2022
I’m lucky that I was able to capture that moment, because it was a historic game. I’m lucky that I was able to shoot that for The Daily Tar Heel. I think it’s always something that, as an artist, you dream [about]: you’re gonna have something go viral, or something blow up like that. And for it to happen in my short-lived photography career, it was wild. But it’s something that I’ll never forget.
To see more of Helen’s work, follow her on Instagram (@helensphoto) or Twitter (@helenmphotos).
Featured image via Helen McGinnis
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