http://www.brianwedge.com/blog Documentary photographer Brian Wedge: Stories and images of the extraordinary people and places he encounters. Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:13:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A wedding ceremony at the church where John F. Kennedy was married and a reception at The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) in Newport, Rhode Island instantly conjures up impressions of refined, old New England elegance, tradition and beauty.  Add a raging blizzard that shuts down most of the Eastern Seaboard to ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/12/30/caroline-mark-new-york-yacht-club-wedding-newport-ri/ I'm back... back from Hawaii, back from sunny shoots, then snowy New England shoots, plane delays, 4 day long power outages, destination weddings, (new) exhibition planning and the like.  There's lots to update, and I promise lots of interesting posts for the new year.  But for now, as I sit here ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/12/23/spread-the-aloha/     Today was a day for images.  A day of images.  Think about it...     The Kenyan women celebrating, the jubilant mob in Times Square, Jessie Jackson crying, the incredible lines of voters, the American Flags... these enduring images carried the day.  No matter how you heard the news, no matter ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/11/05/barack-obama-in-photos/     Nicole and Garrett's amazing wedding at The Oheka Castle, just outside New York City this past week was a study in beautiful contrasts.  Exquisite details, thoughtful preparation and incredibly high quality were contrasted with a bride and groom who were laid back, and simply delighting in the excitement of ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/10/31/nicole-garrett-oheka-castle-ny/     Our photos of Britta & Russell's beautiful wedding were selected as a featured Real Wedding by theknot.com today.  It's always wonderful to be featured by The Knot, and these selections are becoming a frequent and fun (optional) experience enjoyed by our clients, that we feel lucky to be able ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/10/27/selected-again-theknotcom-featured-wedding/ New exhibit is up at The Frontier cafe /gallery (Brunswick, ME)!  Thanks for all the support! See the online exhibition:  http://www.brianwedge.com/stranded Visit the Frontier Cafe & Gallery here   http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/10/09/frontier-cafe-gallery-cinema/     A great article written by Selby Frame, about the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee with photographs by yours truly:     I photographed him in what is literally called a "Black Box" experimental theater.  To say that the lighting was difficult or absent (aside from two spot lights) might be ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/10/09/pulitzer-prize-winning-playwright-edward-albee/   Penobscot Bay is my old stomping grounds, and is an incredibly special place.  Back when I was a full time Captain with Outward Bound, I did laps around Vinalhaven island on every conceivable kind of boat possible, in all varieties of weather, and with a wide range of friends and ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/08/27/rose-and-cam-vinalhaven-wedding/ I've been back from Baja for about a week now and have been slammed with shoots, print requests and the everything else that kept moving right along while I was shooting in the Pacific.  I have learned over the years to hold on to precious images until the timing is ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/08/13/back-from-baja/     I'm off on an editorial assignment to cover the plight of the critically endangered Pacific Loggerhead Sea Turtle off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico.  The amazing conservation efforts by researchers and local fishermen is truly inspiring, and one that warrants publicity, support and documentation. A Sea Turtle Assignment ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/21/assignment-sea-turtles-of-baja-california-sur-mexico/       We love emotion.  We love bear hugs, tears of joy, stomach churning excitement and laughter that brings you to your knees.  Capturing emotion is one of our greatest strengths, and one of the most frequent compliments we receive from our clients.  We feed off of it, we celebrate it ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/10/stacia-lloyd-bar-harbor-oceanfront-wedding/     It's Monday.  Yes, one of "those" Mondays: one of our boats are broken, I've been working really hard and I have an amazing assignment coming up in Mexico that I'm racing around preparing for.  But something happened today that changed everything.       As many folks already know, my Boathouse ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/07/so-this-is-what-true-joy-looks-like/     Kate & Tom's wedding embodied everything we love: the perfect balance of casual elegance and thoughtful details.  Great families, fantastic friends and a whole lot of fun.  Kate went to Bowdoin College here on the coast of Maine, and returned with Tom to be married at St. Peter's By ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/07/kate-toms-maine-wedding/     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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/04/amazing-inspiration-dancing-badly/   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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/07/02/take-it-all-back-photographing-the-tour/   Laina & Galileo's wedding The Newagen Inn was undoubtedly THE most entertaining place to be last Saturday.  Their wedding was a wonderful blend of cultures and style, filled with surprises that revealed the couple's interests and incredible talents.  They had everything from Salsa dancing to the entire Southport Island Fire Department putting ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/06/26/newagen-inn-salsa-wedding-by-the-sea/     Well it never gets old having our work appear in books, magazines, movies or even great websites.  The folks over at theknot.com have collaborated with us many times over the years to share fantastic weddings from around the globe. Click here or the images below to view the latest ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/06/22/selected-again-favorite-knotcom-real-wedding/ 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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/06/16/trek-across-maine-180-miles-3-days-5-friends/     It was wonderful to be back in Maine shooting an incredible wedding at Migis Lodge this past weekend.  Julie grew up spending summers at beautiful Wohelo camp on Sebago Lake.  Julie's return to the lake was a homecoming of sorts... and one that we were honored to capture.   Unfortunately, it ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/06/03/migis-lodge-wedding-julie-and-jim/   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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/05/27/doing-good-fighting-cancer-protecting-the-environment/   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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/05/26/protest-memorial-day-veterans/ 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 ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/05/21/were-in-the-movies-look-out-hollywood/    As most folks know, my transition from full time photojournalist to wedding photojournalist began with destination weddings.  After so much time in overseas countries covering gritty stories in incredibly remote and harsh locations... a wedding in Europe, Central America or Asia was an absolute dream!      They're still some ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/05/10/destination-weddings-our-book-and-our-thoughts/ A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to finally meet up with Caroline and Mark in Washington, DC to shoot their engagement photos amidst the cherry blossoms (2008 wedding at The New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI).  Because of my crazy schedule, we decided that I would arrive the ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/30/savoring-the-unexpected-washington-dc/   The following isn't the most "fun" post I've made, but something that I've passed around privately to fellow caregivers, survivors and medical-types.  The feedback has been that the images are important and responsible (they also won the Pulitzer Prize)... so with the warning that they are not pleasant, I hope ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/29/a-vision-of-caregiving-one-mothers-journey/ Since publishing that last post about the Boston Marathon, so many people have emailed with their own thoughts on challenge, family and surviving.  It obviously touches many many people in different ways. One element of that story that was missing is the fact that my sister Lea is doing really really ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/25/survivor-lea-is-cancer-free/ WE DID IT!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!! Listen to the 30 second NPR Interview of one of our supporters (Jim Kahn) talking about Lea. Nothing sums up the experience better then this.  It's worth it!!!! The race was wonderful... and difficult to say the least.  Despite having the flu all ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/22/boston-marathon/ The Pulitzer Prize was just awarded to our friend and fellow photojournalist Preston Gannaway (Concord Monitor). Congratulations Preston! (link below) Her work is inspiring, and as many of you know whose lives have been touched by cancer... all too real and painful for many of us. It's a ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/12/pulitzer-prize-cancer-and-our-community/ So often in the past few years I have had folks approach with either interest or bewilderment about the concept of "trashing" a wedding dress. People want to know why a sane couple would ever dream of destroying their wedding dress.  Here are some great examples...   My approach to "trashing ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/08/trashdres/ Because we've received so many requests for updates about Lea, so many emails asking for more information about this incredible community that has developed over the years, and because it's just easier to keep folks "in the loop" through a single source like this. As many of you know, my ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/04/01/bald-is-inspiring/ NOTE: The goof ball above is NOT ME... it's the very talented Art Director Greg (last name withheld to protect the innocent). I recently worked with LL Bean during their photo shoot for the Summer 2008 catalog in Bar Harbor and Brooklin, Maine. It was with GREAT delight that I ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/01/30/freds-still-restless/ For those who know me, their jaw hits the floor when I tell them I have a blog.  "What and Why?" are the first two questions. Most folks would tell you that it's because I have something to say, something to report or something incredible to share. The reality is that I ... http://www.brianwedge.com/blog/2008/01/29/so-this-is-how-it-begins/