Brookstone Studios

AMA Superbike Racing @ Road America

nkysely — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:12:22 +0000

As summer begins, the track heats up. I was fresh off buying a new lens for myself, and this was the perfect spot to make its debut. Scott Machin and I left bright and early and immediately went to our favorite spot, turn #6 where I had a great spot as the riders were coming into the corner. Getting down to their level was the goal of the day, and having the longer reach of the 300mm lens made for a few great photos. There is a big difference between shooting cars and motorcycles. With the bikers moving into the corners, everything is moving. Getting a steady image while panning can be difficult, however using a solid monopod really helped.

You can check the entire collection out on flickr.

Jack Jack

nkysely — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:26:52 +0000

As it turned out, we were able to get some great shots of little Jack as he turned one year old at Trimborn Farm, just a day after, and hours before it started raining yet again. This spring has been full of disappointing days for photography considering how cold its been, as well as how much rain we have had. With Jack, I went with a little different approach than normal. I shot everything at f2.5 or lower, with no flash, on my Canon 5d with only the 85mm f1.8. I wanted to try and get a lot of shots with great bokeh. Many of the shots I took tended to include angles that exemplified the bokeh through the use of benches, walls, steps, porches, etc.

A Spot of Sunshine

nkysely — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:10:17 +0000

As luck would have it, the day that we have waited over a year for was here, and the weather couldn’t have been nicer for the end of April. If you werent around the Milwaukee area this month, as I could tell you is that it was cold and rainy for the better part of the month. Spring almost seemed to be turned back into winter at time. However, this day Scott Machin and I were able to capture the lovely bride and groom as they begin their magical life together. This couple, like many we have seen, are perfect for each other. With every joke, mannerism, and grin, you can tell that Nick and Melissa are beginning a life together that is certain to bring joy and happiness to each for years to come. We had the chance to break away from the group to use the facilities at Strawberry Creek Country Club for some pictures with Nick and Melissa. With the warming sun, and light cloud cover, it made for some spectacular pictures with our newlyweds!

That Went Quick

nkysely — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:01:53 +0000

The first year for my kids went by so fast that I wish I could live them over again. However, time moves fast and it seems like it was just last week that I captured Gabby at nine months. Getting back was fun, and seeing her grow so fast is a friendly reminder that I need to hug my own kids a few times more every day!

Gabby’s World

nkysely — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:44:13 +0000

In the middle of winter, there aren’t many things to look forward to doing. I had the opportunity to take pictures of young Gabby as she surpassed the 9 month mark. A wonderful time to break out of the winter slump and capture this young energetic one as she introduced me to her world!

Fox River Explorers

nkysely — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:53:46 +0000

When given the task of finding a new spot for fall pictures, I had thought about going to downtown Waukesha and doing a little more of an urban look, but ran into this fabulous little area that the city had renovated a few years back. Downtown Waukesha was known for its strange one way streets and the gazebo. The gazebo has moved, and many of the streets are two way now. Instead of going on a walk through the streets of downtown, we walked through this unnamed bricked park off the Fox River for these photos.

Lake Geneva Love

nkysely — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:49:41 +0000

I have known Nick for a few years now, as he is the son of a former co-worker and good friend of mine. After hearing the stories about how these two met, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Melissa for the first time. The very first thing that I noticed was how these two interact with each other…they’re meant to be together. I’ve never seen personalties mesh so perfectly…they will have a terrific life together. We are shooting their wedding this upcoming April, and had the chance to take some engagement pictures of them at the Rivera in downtown Lake Geneva.

Fall Collages

nkysely — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:43:40 +0000

Throughout the fall, I have been working on creating some collages from various shoots. When the creative juices begin to flow, I like to play with some Photoshop brushes, textures, and gradients. I like to setup the Photoshop images as 8×10′s so that clients can print them easily wherever they may take the images. Here are a few of the collages I have put together this fall…

Just a Walk in the Park

nkysely — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 03:15:46 +0000

I am sure that many of my clients are jealous that I can take pictures of my kids at any time. Strange thing is, they hate the camera, and to get them to smile for it many times is a hassle filled with promises of cake, ice cream, and McDonalds. As everyone else has gotten their fall pictures taken, we finally found some time to take ours. I think its more difficult shooting the pictures and trying to convince our kids that what we are doing is truely fun. In the short amount of time we were able to coral them, I managed to grab a few shots that might make their way onto some holiday cards this year.

When Family Matters

nkysely — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:35:39 +0000

I hope that when I get older, and my kids are grown up that we still get together on a regular basis. One would hope that they live close to home, but what you really want is quality family time together since they will most likely choose their own path in life and who really knows where that will take them. I have not had the opportunity to shoot to many grown families. Most of the time it is the new families with young children wanting to capture their childhood.

A really good friend of mine, and his family wanted to get their picture taken as its been years since its been done, and I had to accept. It gave me a chance to use my new umbrellas in an outdoor setting. Generally these are used in a studio setting, but I had wanted a chance to see how they performed outside.