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Trek Across Maine: 180 Miles, 3 days, 5 friends

Published by brianwedge on June 16, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, Life on the coast, Maine, News and Uncategorized. 4 Comments

Just got back from the 2008 Trek Across Maine… a GREAT bike trip that raises money for the American Lung Association of Maine. The trip starts in the mountains of western Maine and travels east from Sunday River Ski Resort to the ocean in Belfast. 180 miles, 3 days, 5 friends. (Photos by Ben… or someone else).

Looking For Rain

It’s a great experience, and one that I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy for 7 years… but I’ve NEVER done it with my crazy friends Ben, Leslie, Amanda, and of course the amazing and talented Christine. To say it was “different” trip this year than in past seasons was an understatement.

Feeling good (because we haven’t yet started day 2)

I was a bicycling medic again which is why I get to wear the snazzy oversized red shirt. My jersey paled in comparison to Ben’s undersized circa 1992 bike shirt complete with multi colored cactus and geometric spines. Ben was the darling of the Trek… and his years of smoking (irony?), overeating and utter refusal to train actually paid off in spades. He was incredible on the bike, and even more so in the rest stops, doing deals on his cell phone until the market closed on Friday. Frightening… and amazing.

Helmet Stripes

Speaking of frightening… guess who forgot to put sunscreen on their bald head? The brilliant medic.

Hypothermia sets in: Is it over?

The trip was fantastic, and I highly recommend it: http://www.mainelung.org/Events/Trek/

Leslie, Ben and Amanda have been our friends for years, and it was wonderful to spend time with them becoming hypothermic in the rain, laughing, and gorging on more food than we will ever “burn off” while riding. We survived, and so did all my patients!!!!

Back to normal.. or as close as we get to normal.

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Doing good: Fighting Cancer, Protecting the Environment

Published by brianwedge on May 27, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, Life on the coast, News, Photojournalism, Social Responsibility, Uncategorized, Weddings, inspiration and livestrong. 5 Comments

We just turned in our final tally for the money we raised in the past few months for the LIVESTRONG Foundation. About $7,000 was donated by individuals and by our own contributions in only 4 months towards the cause against cancer. How cool is that? That’s real money, from real people: real brides and grooms, real commercial clients, real editorial clients and wonderful friends who were inspired by the issue and wanted to help. Thank you!

Very soon, you’ll be seeing another logo displayed near ours… one that indicates our recent membership in a fantastic organization called 1% For The Planet. We’re one of the very first companies in Maine, and the very first photographer in this state to make this commitment. By joining, we’re dedicating 1% of our entire sales before ANY deductions are taken (not just 1% of our profit), to be donated to organizations who are helping protect and improve our natural environment.

I was so happy to hear that my Alma Mater, Bowdoin College, is awarding an honorary degree today to Yvon Chouinard… an icon of responsible businesses, the founder of Patagonia Clothing Company and one of the creators of 1% for the planet. I’m very proud of Bowdoin and their commitment to The Common Good.

Here’s a great short video on Chouinard and 1% for the planet:

We’re proud to be looking beyond the photos we create to support the people and causes we believe in. And we’re just getting started. We hope other companies will follow our lead, and learn as we have that making commitments to the common good are a necessary and responsible business decision!

Contributing to our community is one of our most important core values… and though our clients love the beautiful images we create, we also know that it “matters” HOW we do business. I’m just thrilled that our business is growing by leaps and bounds every month… and that we’re staying committed to the causes that mean so much to us.

What goes around comes around. Thanks for YOUR support!

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Protest: Memorial Day Veterans

Published by brianwedge on May 26, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, News, Photojournalism, Portraits, Uncategorized and inspiration. 4 Comments

Last week I had the honor of receiving an assignment from a national magazine to photograph two Veterans for an article on honoring the American Flag. Charles Bennett and Travis Hill peacefully protested the display of the American Flag on the floor of a hallway in a university. Hundreds of American Flags were laid on the floor of the University’s Student Center as part of a graduate student’s experiment to see who would walk on, or around the flag.

Mr. Bennett, Travis Hill and numerous other members of the greater university community protested the use of the flag in this way. At first they picked up the flags, but were told that they were not allowed to do that. As a last resort, they peacefully stood in front of one of the American Flags, arms folded, ensuring that at least One American Flag did not get walked on.

I was incredibly impressed by these guys. No matter where we all stand on this war, this administration or even the use of the American Flag… I admire people who stand up for what they believe in, and do it in a compassionate and peaceful manner. During the photo shoot, I learned that they both had gone to war for this country, putting their own lives in jeopardy to protect our freedoms. The flag is a symbol of that sacrifice and of their fellow soldiers who never returned home.

It was an incredible reminder for me that I could never be enjoying my family this Memorial Day without the tradition of sacrifice embodied by these two guys. To all those families out there who have made that sacrifice… thank you!

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We’re in the movies! Look out Hollywood!

Published by brianwedge on May 21, 2008 in Brian Wedge Photography, Life on the coast, News, Photojournalism and Uncategorized. 2 Comments

Though often we feel like we’re in the movies (covering the bizarre, beautiful and always interesting)… I was as surprised as anyone to get the call from a Hollywood movie studio. We still get the occasional residual checks from Christine’s stuntwoman days… so I figured it must be for her, but later we realized that there’s a new movie being filmed in Philadelphia called TENURE (starring Luke Wilson).

Wendameen Schooner Wheel

Anyway, one of their main characters is obsessed with sailing in Maine… and they saw some of my work in a few magazines and thought it would be a great fit. How cool is that? I think it’s as close as I’ll ever get to being in the movies… so look for these images in a few months when the movie premieres!

Climbing The Bowsprit