Archive for July, 2008

Dancing badly… Around The World

Published by brianwedge on July 4, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, Life on the coast, Uncategorized and inspiration. 3 Comments

    My friend Nicole sent this to me… and I had to share it!  It’s a friend of hers who has been traveling the world and does a very simple, goofy dance in some incredible places.  It’s inspiring, it will make you smile, and it makes me realize how powerful something so basic can be.  Watch it.  It will make you feel good.

    I’m dedicating this post to my sister Lea, who is still recovering from her leukemia / bone marrow transplant and is dealing with a host of annoying, frustrating and necessary restrictions.  Today was a tough one for her.  She’s doing well, but she wants normalcy.  She wants to play in the sun, swim in the ocean… and be a little less thoughtful about her lack of an immune system and health in general.  Who could blame her?  She’s been patient long enough.

    Lea: we will travel the world again, and when we do… let’s dance badly.   Your time is coming.  Hang in there!  I love you!

    Click on the play button to start the video (I recommend going FULL SCREEN).  After you get the video going, click on that weird star shape just to the LEFT of the word VIMEO to make it full screen.

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Take it all back… Photographing The Tour

Published by brianwedge on July 2, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, Editorial, News, Photojournalism and Uncategorized. 2 Comments

  I’m a Boston kid, born and raised.  I follow all of my hometown teams with great loyalty, but you just couldn’t pay me to watch an entire game in one sitting.  An October night at Fenway… sure.  The Beanpot in February, maybe.  But to be perfectly honest, I would probably be doing as much people watching as anything else.  I just don’t think I can sit through 9 innings, 3 periods or 4 quarters with constant attention on “the game.”  My brain wanders to the folks in the skybox seats, the players in the bullpen, the construction of the rafters in the ceiling and the guys buying peanuts seven rows to the left. 

The Tour de California Coverage

  So how is it that a Yankee hater like me loves editorial assignments involving cycling?  Or in the case of the Tour de France, how is it possible that I can gleefully watch 3 weeks of chartreuse spandex clad cyclists, hurtling through the countryside with rapt anticipation and genuine interest?  It might be because the Tour de France has always read like a soap opera, complete with bad acting, deceitful affairs and agonizing defeats.  The tour is about the backstory, the strategy, the intrigue, the human suffering.

Prelude Criterium at Tour de California

 Last year’s Tour was marred by drug doping, blood doping, cheating, lying and more lying.  A whole new era starts on Saturday… and this video is great.  It’s all about “taking back” the past behavior, the false victories and the fake competition.  Heroes step off podiums, remove their yellow jersey… and everything starts anew.

Click to See The Video

  The Tour is certainly more than a bike race… it’s a punishing journey filled with tradition and intrigue.  I’ve personally witnessed and photographed the spectacle that is The Tour de California, and found the same strange fascination.  I don’t completely understand it myself, but beginning this Saturday, I’ll be on the edge of my seat watching another saga unfold.