Birdman would like to thank Jeff Kausch at APA San Francisco and Jim Erickson for hosting Photography: the evolutionary path of the artist in commerce last week at UCSF’s Laurel Heights Auditorium.The San Francisco photo community heard from six members of Jim’s team, offering detailed insight on how they work within Jim’s organization emphasizing the importance of teamwork.The panel included the following members of Jim’s Team:Milo Suerth - Creative Director - Erickson Productions, Inc.Jesse Hughes - Director of Sales and Marketing - Erickson Productions, Inc.Wes Hardison - Senior Digital Artist - Fat Cat DigitalKristen Parrish - Production Manager - Fat Cat DigitalNicki Krinsky - Production Manager - Erickson StockBetsy Filson - Senior Art Director - Erickson Productions, Inc.The highlight of the night was hearing Jim speak about photography, referencing everything from fine art painting to business, risk taking, surfing, yoga, challenges and successes. Jim's advice to aspiring photographers was to shoot fifteen minutes a day and reminded us that some of the greatest photographs and paintings have been made in artists’ backyards. Jim came off as an inspired artist full of ambition, foresight and trust in other’s visions. It’s clear to see why Jim shines as a bright light in our field.We had the pleasure of collaborating with The Blackwell Files, a fellow sponsor of the event, welcoming visitors with Champagne, Proseco and truffles. We enjoyed an evening of meeting new people and visiting with old friends. Thanks again to Jim for sharing the intimacies of his success.

Birdman Inc is proud to be a sponsor of Jim Erickson's upcoming APA event here in San Francisco next month. For the past decade we've had the pleasure of working with Jim on projects for United Airlines, Cisco, Bank of America, AT&T and many others. We would like to congratulate Jim on all of his success and look forward to seeing you at the event.

" Photography is the psychoanalysis of my world. Art is the process of touching what we discover and sharing it with others." Jim EricksonJIM ERICKSONPhotography: the evolutionary path of the artist in commerceThursday, July 10, 20087:00 to 9:00 PMPhoto Community Social Networking Hour at 6:00Free Jim Erickson CHINA book with each paid admissionCOMPLETE DETAILS INCLUDING THE VENUE LOCATIONAND ADMISSION PRICES WILL BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEKVisit Jim's stock site at ericksonstock.com andhis portfolio site at jimerickson.com/portfolio.EVENT FORMATSPECTACULAR IMAGE PRESENTATIONThere will be an impressive presentation of hundreds of images designed to clearly illustrate the time line of Jim's successful career, including Jim's pictures as well as some other artists' work that have inspired him over the years.ENLIGHTENING PANEL PRESENTATIONA panel will outline the complexity of Jim's current businesses (Jim Erickson, Erickson Stock, and Fat Cat Digital) and how they have achieved the tremendous success they enjoy.Joining Jim on the Panel will be:Jesse Hughes - Director of Sales and Marketing - Erickson Productions, Inc.Wes Hardison - Senior Digital Artist - Fat Cat DigitalKristen Parrish - Production Manager - Fat Cat DigitalNicki Krinsky - Production Manager - Erickson StockBetsy Filson - Senior Art Director - Erickson Productions, Inc.EVENT THEMEPhotography: the evolutionary path of the artist in commerce• From Inspiration Comes Success: dealing with the marketplace from a position of strength.• The Intersection of the Artist's Role in the World and how commerce uses the artist and howthey co-mingle, and how this has changed over the years (starting with how the church hired artists like Michaelangelo) to today's reality.• Finding Success (in the business of commercial photography or in the art of making pictures)• Choosing Your Own Destiny, and escape being controlled by the market• Finding Your Voice in Times of Crisis• How to Develop Your Voice as an Artist• Using Commercial Need to Your AdvantageOther Sponsors include:Our good friends at....Related ProductionsandThe Blackwell FilesPlusHasselbladProfotoLivebooksWorkbookArtist UntiedAgenceyaccessThe Black Book

Saturday Birdman Inc participated in a unique networking event in San Francisco. Propville Directory presented 9 local businesses and 3 local experts to 50 members of the still photography and video production industries. Jason had the pleasure of joining the Dog and Pony Bus Tour for the entire day, meeting wonderful people and visiting some great vendors in San Francisco.

The bio-diesel bus, provided by Teacher with the Bus, visited:
Roughhouse Post
Costumes on Haight
The Lost Art Salon
California Model & Design Fabricators
Michael Thompson Gallery
Birdman Inc
Calumet Photographic
New York Studio
We heard from these very interesting experts while cruzin' in the bus:
Friends of the Family
PR That Rocks
The Blow Up Lab

An amazing lunch was provided by Work Of Art Catering, an incredible company dedicated to elegant and environmentally friendly events.

The Propville Directory staff, Terri, Patia and Troy, worked very hard to put the event together creating a day filled with industry knowledge, laughs, networking and pleasant surprises! Thank you to them and all of the riders that stopped by to say hello, it was our pleasure to have you! Here are some pictures from the stop at Birdman's studio.

Many ad campaigns are shot off season; a house may be dressed with snow for a winter holiday shoot in June or with fall leaves to line a sidewalk for a back to school shoot in April.

This winter Zyrtec came to the Bay Area looking for Summer. Birdman found some great locations around San Francisco that worked really well for the summer feel. After a little post production magic the locations became perfect summertime spots.

Client: Zyrtec
Producer: Jessica Ruiz Related Productions
Photographer: Katrine Naleid
Location Scout: Birdman Inc

File pulls are a great alternative to scouting when a project has high location demand on a short schedule or tight budget. Birdman’s locations are not presented in an open library of thousands of images that is a challenge to sift through. We consult with you in detail prior to starting a file pull and quickly deliver a variety of options to your specifications.

Our goal with file pulls is to offer many locations in a fraction of the time it would take to freshly scout. This budget-friendly custom service is becoming very popular in today’s market. What might take days of scouting can be achieved in just a few hours with a file pull. Many of our regular clients start with this service which helps focus their vision before we begin scouting.

Clients shooting in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time can use the file pull service to see what the area has to offer. When a project is bidding between multiple cities a file pull is a fast and effective way to show a creative team what is available here in the Bay Area.

To see how our locations are presented visit www.scoutcentral.com and use “demo” as the User Name and Password to login.

Contact Sheet View:

Image Preview:

The Propville Directory is the most extensive production directory for San Francisco and Northern California. They provide access to over 2000 sources for renting costumes and props, finding talent, accessing event and film locations, video and camera equipment, expendables and hiring qualified crew.On May 31, 2008 they will be hosting the Dog and Pony Bus Tour, guiding a group of 50 industry professionals on a behind the scenes tour of San Francisco production. Birdman is very excited to be part of this event and can’t wait to meet some new people in our community.Birdman will be welcoming the travelers with refreshments and in depth look at how we function here in the studio. We will be showcasing our location database and giving our visitors a rare perspective of how we organize and manage over 300,000 images.Luckily there are still a few tickets left that can purchased on the Propville Directory website. We hope to see you here in the studio!

Our friend Dale Kaye at the Livermore Film Commission has been busy spreading the word about the Tri-Vally's film appeal. The Contra Costa Times recently ran a story about her efforts to attract productions to the area. (read the full article)Dale has been a great help to Birdman since she arrived a few years ago, always offering great locations for still photo productions. Thank you Dale for your hard work!

Last week the San Francisco Chronicle featured a story about Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. This year they’re celebrating their 25th anniversary! It has been a pleasure to work with them on a few projects over the years. Check out the article for more details on their success.Congratulations!

Birdman attended the opening of Marshall in Platinum on Thursday May 1st. Jim Marshall's images never fail to amaze, the platinum and dye transfer prints are beautiful. We had an excellent evening at the gallery, it was great to see Jim's work, his friends and of coarse Jim himself. Check out the show at Gallery 291 it's worth the trip.Rick and Garrett

Photo courtesy of David CoggeshallExhibit Information:

Announcing new Birdman web destinations!

www.birdmaninc.com: Portfolio Website

www.scoutcentral.com: Location Presentation Interface

www.birdmaninc.blogspot.com: Birdman Blog

The Birdman Inc website has been simplified showcasing side-by-side scouting and final images, the diversity of the Bay Area and Tearsheets from past projects. There is also an area for homeowners to easily contact us and submit their property for our consideration.

Complementing the new website is our enhanced web based presentation interface. Our clients are delivered highly organized, easy to navigate presentations. Improvements include a search function as well as a Lightbox feature for favorites that can be easily stored, printed or shared via email.

The latest addition to our online collection is this Birdman Blog. An exciting tool aimed at keeping our professional acquaintances informed on the latest developments here at Birdman. With regular updates and monthly features we will strengthen the connection between our property owners and clients.

Thank you for stopping by our blog. To join our community we encourage you to subscribe and post comments.

We look forward to working with you soon,

The Birdman Crew

Click the image below to visit our new website: