brockit inc. - blog

pine mountain artists

Adam — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:37:57 +0000

An annual treat – headshot sessions with artists from the Pine Mountain Music Festival. Brockit Inc. is a big supporter of the festival: everything from in-kind donations to hosting musicians. In that spirit we host the opera artists for an afternoon of studio and location shoots which this year gave us a chance to really flex our new space out. As always, its such a pleasure. Being naturally photogenic, charismatic, and professional makes our job so, so easy. Below are some quick samples from the sessions. I always love seeing websites and bios updated with new headshots after the summer, so – I’ll be looking! Again, nice job everyone.

copperman 2010

Adam — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:27:47 +0000

We’ve just finished shooting our 5th Copperman Triathlon. And again – we are awed and a bit intimidated by the athletes here. Congrats to all the participants (400?) and thanks as always to Terry and her team for working with us every year. Its a finely tuned race and a pleasure to work with everyone. So, no big rainstorm this year, but plenty of tart thimbleberries that tried to distract us from shooting runners and bikers. There is a full gallery of all images for you to browse and order in a number of formats, and sizes. Some highlight photos below as well as on our facebook page. Enjoy!

Copperman Galleries

2010 chaindrive

meg — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:12:50 +0000

another year, another race. but this isn’t just any race. set right in the middle of bridgefest weekend, the chain drive racers take over downtown houghton, the lift bridge and the maasto hiihto/churning rapids trails in their brightly colored jerseys. so cool! congrats to all of you chain drive racers – you were, as always, awesome & inspiring.

this year, brockit upped the ante from last year’s boat shots to helicopter shots. manned by lake superior helicopters, we were able to capture stills & video from 200 feet above the race. crazy! a huge thanks to the LSH crew, todd brassard of brassard media for shooting video, and to brockit’s second shooter, emily, who was stuck in the woods shooting with the bugs (sorry, em).

lastly, thank you to the organization, christine young, chris schmidt, and everyone for having us shoot the race again & for helping us figure out where to land a chopper on the race trails. i laughed, but knew adam wasn’t kidding when he asked them, “so… just say you needed to land a helicopter somewhere on the course to drop a photographer off. where would the best place for this be? 50’x60’ max with no wires or trees or anything…”

below is the highlight reel for your viewing enjoyment – please pass it along and view it at full-screen!

check out the full gallery here: http://brockit.smugmug.com/Clients/chaindrive

images are free (just right-click & save) for medium resolution download (please thank your race organization & christine young!) and unusually high-res images (so you can pick yourself out in the chopper shots) as well as any physical prints are available for purchase through the site. enjoy, and thank you!

- meg

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

we’ve outgrown our britches

Adam — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:37:10 +0000

The secret is out. This is it for us in the the Jutila Ctr for Global Design & Business (aka: the old hospital.) After careful planning & deliberation (sorta) we’ve decided to move the operation in the name of expansion, simplification, and spring fever. We looked at a number of sites in the area, and in downtowns of Houghton & Hancock – everything from storefronts to bank board rooms, and we’re pleased to announce that we’ll occupy the 3rd floor of the E.L. Wright school building in Hancock, right on US-41. The deal was too sweet to pass up. New windows, re-finished 100 year old hardwood floor, new ceiling, period appropiate lights, tons of parking, etc. We’ll be neighbors again with our artist friends Joyce Koskenmaki & Andrea Puzakulich of Joyce Koskenmaki Drawings & Paintings, and Distant Drum Designs both of whom we’ve had an artistic partnership with for a number of years, so naturally we’re all excited. The new space will almost triple our shooting space, and be complimented by a large dressing room & gallery – all designed to cater to our clients and provide a comfortable lounge & working area for our visitors, clients, friends, models, crew, and family. Fun stuff! We’ll be in our space sometime in May, with a Brockit-style party to follow, so stay tuned for an invite. Oh – and watch your email or facebook feed for a request to help us move all of our gear! (Those who help are guarenteed a party invite.)

Oh – if you want to see the photos of the renovation on the space, ‘like’ us on Facebook!

(And as always, thanks to our awesome graphic girl, Jenny Hamel in Ann Arbor)

embedded slideshows

Adam — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:56:16 +0000

We’re testing embedding our interactive flash galleries into the site here. Hmmm… not too bad… Send thoughts, and look for updates! In honor of tonight’s CopperDog 150 volunteer party in Calumet, we’re featuring the event’s slideshow here.

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

bearchase 2010 images

Adam — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:42:46 +0000

Awesome skiers – your photos are processed, exported, and uploaded to the Bearchase 2010 gallery. As always you are all an inspiration. We love being able to cover this event and see our friends – and this year even family racing. Special thanks to our photography team Greg & Rebecca for enduring, oh wait… enjoying the weather. In the images, a JKZ or a RF will denote the photographer, Greg or Rebecca respectively. All images are available for digital download or a physical print (full resolution, and up to 30″) and are presented in chronological order. A reminder that while we tried to include the most photogenic shots, we take no responsibility for looks of fatigue & pain, nor faces covered with GU Energy or, um… snot. Enjoy, and thank you!

*** 2010 Bearchase Gallery ***

copperdog 150 slideshow

Adam — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:44:32 +0000

A highlight reel of the weekend’s adventure. Best viewed in fullscreen with the volume up (and don’t forget to hit ‘play’.) Are you still pumped up from the race? Mad at yourself for missing the action? Either way, review the results and signup for next year’s event at the Copper Dog 150 website. Full gallery of images for purchase coming shortly. Until then, enjoy the free show! And again, thank you to all our friends who supplied us with snowmobiles, coffee, IPA, radios, eggs, and places to sleep. We’re looking forward to the next one!

copperdog 150 highlight slideshow

great bear chase 2010

Adam — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:26:11 +0000

Well, the entire Brockit crew survived the weekend! Over the course of 72 hours we: shot 316 skiers, 268 dogs, and 30 mushers, hauled 150 lbs of camera gear 150 miles via car, snowmobile, and foot by a crew of 4 photographers, 2 videographers, and 2 assistants, who survived the weekend on 7 hours of sleep, a pack of Twizzlers, and a fistful of Triscuits.

Below are some sneaks from one of our shooters from the Bear Chase, Greg Maino at Juskuz Photography. As we retrieve and process all the imagery early this week, please enjoy the preview below and come back to the site here for updates as we get these up for you!

copperdog 150 sneaks

Adam — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:14:02 +0000

A quick post of some photos pulled from the last 30h of the race. Lots of adventure on this event, and some changes too. Please track our posts to the right, and hit the CopperDog 150 website for official notices. Full galleries up soon after we return (and get some sleep…)

copperdog 150 – official photography

Adam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:36:37 +0000

Brockit’s Jenny Hamel always does a stellar job preparing race inserts, and the CopperDog 150 bags will be graced with her great work. Thanks, Jenny! Sending these to the printer, then whipping out the x-acto knives for the crew to slice these up!

Racers, follow the post below, and check back here for official photos. Good luck mushers!

copperdog 150 & the great bearchase 2010

meg — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:07:38 +0000

It is going to be a busy weekend, folks… Despite the warm weather, all events are a go! Since when do we let the weather stop us in the Keweenaw, anyways?

With the 1st Annual CopperDog 150 sled dog race & the Great Bearchase X-country ski race, both starting in Calumet, you are going to be seeing our crew all across the map, as Brockit Inc. takes on the role as the ‘Official Photographer‘ for both events!

*** Check back here for gallery photos at the conclusion of the weekend’s races! ***

First: the CopperDog 150 consists of a 150-mile course and a 30-mile course. As of this blog post, there are over 30 teams racing! Sled dogs galore! For family-friendly viewing come out and support the 7pm start in downtown Calumet, this Friday, the 12th of March.

Next, Brockit has been shooting the Great Bearchase for years and always looks forward to it – seeing our friends fly by on fast skis is exhilarating! As always, this race is on the Swedetown trails and consists of a 26km classic, 26 & 50 freestyle, along with the Junior Bearchase for ages 5-16.

Hope to see you showing your support on Friday evening, March 12, for the Junior Bearchase & Saturday morning, the 13th, for the Great Bearchase. There is still time to register for both!

For more details check out www.bearchase.org & www.copperdog150.com

For updates, follow CopperDog on Facebook & Twitter:

www.facebook.com/pages/copper-dog/

www.twitter.com/copperdog150

(and don’t forget to follow & fan us too!)

wedding FAQ

Adam — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:28:49 +0000

Questions about how to get a Brockit crew to cover your event? Read Meghan’s FAQ page to learn what we do, how we do it, and what our clients say about all of it!

Wedding FAQ

happy holidays

Adam — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:24:29 +0000

Wonderful Brockit clients – thank you so much for your business, your friendship, your support, patience, and loyalty! Without you, we’d just stand around taking pictures of ourselves! With you, we push ourselves artistically and technically to provide the best imagery of you, your families, your businesses, and your art. Thank you to our hard-working crew of photographers, office staff, models, interns, and gear sherpas that make it all happen. A sincere Happy Holidays!

keweenaw family resource ctr. – fundraiser

Adam — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:30:36 +0000

If you know us well, we’re all about gloss & glam photos for clients, but you also know that we are passionate about the community and spend a lot of time in and out of the studio helping with foundations, benefits, and fundraisers all for the greater good. Shooting for the Keweenaw Family Resource Center and their fundraising efforts for a children’s indoor, winter park (to be called the Treehouse) was a pleasure for us. Read more about their efforts, the event, and the park here. Its a great cause!

Families can select the link below for galleries of candid and semi-candid shots. Digital downloads and physical prints can be ordered easily and immediately, with a percentage going back to help KFRC’s efforts with the winter park.

http://brockit.smugmug.com/Clients/kfrc

Special thanks to Brockit intern Rebecca for covering the majority of the event!

keweenaw brewing co.

Adam — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:26:48 +0000

Ah – the KBC… We have a great relationship with the folks at the Keweenaw Brewing Co. and have been working with Dick & Paul and their lovely wives for a while now. Oh – and lets not forget their awesome pig-tailed manager, Christine Young, who not only hooks us up with races like the legendary ChainDrive, but hosts a permanent Brockit photo gallery in the KBC – how cool is that?! Seriously, the brewery is a great place, full of ecclectic folks, and strong, tasty beer. My 6-year old Kora calls the couch & fireplace area the ‘living room’ which is either really good, or really bad… We are working on a couple projects for the KBC, a set of studio shots of their cans, as well as a play-by-play of the brewing process which will result in a series of large format prints for display in a local museum and eventually the KBC walls. Some studio highlights and details below. Free beer if you can guess whose arms these are…

arranging cans

a lone blonde has been liberated

simple and effective

art, or a crime?

larry & alison

Adam — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:44:20 +0000

A very beautiful wedding at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, MI. Larry and Alison did great at their engagement session, so we had no worries that they’d be a very photogenic couple. Add a location like Castle Farms, and pretty much all we had to do was point the camera in their general direction and hold the release down. Thanks so much to Kristi Bauer from Rogers City for assisting in Charlevoix. This part of the state is great – sand dunes, breakfast diners, cherries, and a nice breeze off of Lake Michigan.

Castle Farms has an interesting history: it was constructed in 1918 by Albert Loeb, who was the President of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and it was designed by Arthur Heun. Loeb built Castle Farms as a model farm to showcase livestock in addition to new farm equipment that was sold by his company^.in 1927, the farm was closed and rented out for storage until 1965. It was then turned into an art studio by John Van Haver. In 1969, it was sold to Arthur and Erwina Reibel and was mainly used for rock concerts^. If you were around at this time, you might vaguely remember acts like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, or The Beach Boys. Its a crazy place for sure.

Many congrats to Larry and Alison – you guys had a beautiful day!

Check out their slideshow, or view some highlights below…

facebook page

Adam — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:42:54 +0000

A reminder to add the Brockit Inc. page to your Facebook feed to keep up with events, requests for assistants / models, and of course – images of YOU!

brockit inc. on Facebook

2009 copperman

Adam — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:23:56 +0000

Images are up!!! 2000 shots of swimmers, bikers, and runners – and all of you getting wet on all three events! As always – incredible athletes – very inspiring, and intimidating! Thanks to Terry and the race organization for inviting the crew at Brockit Inc. to serve in an official capacity again this year. Thanks also to studio manager Captain Meghan who organized the logistics of equipment and shooters for this event – on a day where we also had two teams covering weddings! This year’s Copperman was notable for the ‘rain event’ – whoa… I’m not sure where everyone was for this part of the race, but assistant Whitney and I took shelter under tree branches and Gore-Tex, sheltering gear for what can only be described as a torrential downpour while intern Emily jumped into the back of the timing trailer at the finish line. Again, you all are die-hards. Always so great to see some of our favorite athletes from Copper Harbor to California that come up for this event. Thanks also to Gowtham who joined the Brockit team for the weekend of shooting. Gallery here!

Also – check out the highlight slideshow, featuring 150 images of rock-star triathletes. Click on the image directly below… and again: the full gallery is here showcasing 2000 images from the race for purchase as digital or print.

canal run 2009

Adam — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:50:44 +0000

Lots of weddings, and lots of races this summer! The 2009 Canal Run is complete, and we’d like to thank Arnie and the race organization for letting Brockit be the official photog. of this event. The full gallery is here, and we’ve added a nice trick. You can enter your THREE DIGIT bib number in the search tab as you are looking at the gallery to filter your results to just your bib – or just photos were you bib is not obstructed by your arms, another racer, your sweatshirt tied around your waist, or… Try it out – its pretty slick, but remember to enter 3 digits (bib #3 = 003) Some quick highlights below, and thanks to our excellent shooters Emily and Rebecca. Nice job racers!

GALLERY

west virginia wedding with rebecca

Adam — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:44:26 +0000

— UPDATE —

Rebecca’s slideshow here! Nice…

—

I had the great pleasure of shooting all weekend with Rebecca Kiger at a beautiful wedding in West Virginia recently. The below is Rebecca’s blog entry in entirety, and in twitter speak, I’ve RT’d it to share the story. I echo much of the below; our hosts were amazing, the atmosphere, service, and events were all beyond top-notch. Just look at the photos! You should visit both Rebecca’s blog and website, and if you are ever in West Virginia, stay at the Blennerhassett! A special thanks to Rebecca’s assistant, Amanda, my assistant Megan Kahoa, and my chauffer brother, Aaron Poot.

—

Melissa McCormick and Tres Ross were married on Saturday, May 30, 2009 in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Guests flew in from all over the country and were warmly welcomed at the Blennerhassett Hotel, which provided accommodations and award-winning wining and dining. The Ross Family owns the historic hotel in downtown Parkersburg.

The wedding day began with a morning sternwheeler boat cruise along the river. Guests were entertained with live music and more wining and dining, as the family and hotel are renowned for their hospitality. Below, photographs from the voyage, including one of Tres sampling an oyster shooter.

Below, Sasha, one of the chefs at The Blennerhassett, begins early preparing for an elaborate dinner. In the following image, wine from the Bremer Family Winery in St. Helena, one of the featured wines of the weekend. The winery customized wine boxes with Tres and Melissa’s names and their wedding date. Next to the wine, orchids that were found throughout the wedding floral design at the hotel. Pam Shirley of Aletha’s in Marietta, Ohio created the magnificent arrangements.

Connie Miller, who is out of Cincinnati, Ohio, custom-designed Melissa’s dress. Below, a look at some of the detailed beading on the bodice. On the heel of her Manolo Blahniks, which were inspired from an episode of Sex in the City (the one where Carrie loses her shoes at a party), are two of Melissa’s beautiful rings, her something blue and her engagement ring.

Emotions ran high on the wedding day for both Melissa and Tres. Joy was expressed through laughter, smiles, and tears. Above, Melissa twirls in delight as she begins to dress for the wedding and then tries to hold back tears when she sees how her wedding dreams have been realized. ”I really feel like a princess,” she said. Below, Melissa and her bridal party depart The Blennerhassett for the church by horse and carriage.

The ceremony was held at undoubtedly one of the most beautiful churches in Parkersburg, Trinity Episcopal, located just blocks from the hotel. Below, Melissa arrives to the church courtyard. Alongside that photo, a detail of her bouquet.

The wedding was officiated by Father Jackson of Trinity Episcopal and Bishop Price from Columbus, Ohio. When Tres was hit by a car at the age of six and endured months of hospitalization and recovery, Bishop Price, who at that time was at Trinity, walked alongside the family in prayer and support. While the family was honored that he returned to deliver the ceremonial vows, Bishop Price indicated in his blessing later that night, what an honor and blessing it was for him and and all those present to witness Tres and Melissa’s wedding, for thirty years earlier, prayers had been focused on just keeping him alive.

In the second, and fourth photos below, images from the beginning and the end of the ceremony at Trinity. In the fifth image below, Tres and his mother embrace following the wedding.

The couple returned to The Blennerhassett by horse and carriage and sat down for an elaborate dinner in the Charleston Ballroom. Below, enormous urns of orchids and roses donned the tables, which were topped with red and platinum table clothes. The tables were set with a myriad of wine glasses and fleur de lis wine stopper favors, symbolic of the couples love of wine and their quickly approaching honeymoon through the champagne vineyards in France. In the image below the table setting, champagne is poured for a toast. Alongside that photo, the waitstaff wait ready to serve wine to the guests. In front is Cindy, who after working hours cheerfully preparing for the reception, still had time to sincerely ask me how I was doing. She exemplified the spirit of hospitality at the hotel.

The toasts were both humorous and heartfelt. Below, Brandi delivers her roast/toast, while Melissa, Tres, and his brother Spencer laugh along.

Following dinner, Melissa and Tres moved from the ballroom to Spat’s Lounge to cut their seven-tiered cake prepared by Tere Clegg. Below, a shot of the cake in Spat’s Lounge and below that, Melissa and Tres finish licking their finger tips of one of the several flavored cakes prepared by Tere.

Even though rain dances had been performed at the beginning of the day, right before dinner concluded an unbelievable storm passed through Parkersburg. This wouldn’t have dampened the evening had the dancing had not been planned outside in the courtyard of the hotel. After days of celebrating, Melissa expressed some relief that instead of dancing the night away she could kick off her shoes and rest before departing the next morning for France. Before the couple slipped away for the night, the ten piece band moved inside and played two songs so the night could conclude with dance. Melissa and Tres danced to “Could It Be Magic” by Barry Manilow. Tres couldn’t help but sing his heart out to Melissa as they danced (third photo below), and this is where the tears filled up in my heart as well. In the final photo below, a shot of the dance floor and a view from the Blennerhassett courtyard prior to the rain.

When Melissa and Tres return from their honeymoon, besides continuing their phenomenal work at the hotel, Tres will carry forward the work of the Ross Foundation, a family foundation based in Parkersburg with a primary focus on supporting causes within local communities throughout West Virginia. The couple will reside in Parkersburg. Congratulations to a couple who inspires through their love, strength, and unbelievable graciousness.

Thanks go to Adam Johnson for serving as my second photographer the day of the wedding!