December of last year, we worked with McGuire furniture who was rolling out several new collections, including an indoor and outdoor line with renowned designers, Bill Sofield and Barbara Barry respectively.  We were able to secure them 3 beautiful home locations for their new campaign.  Here are a few images from the shoot.  You can also visit the McGuire website to see more of the beautiful collections.

Photographer: Roger Davies

Stylist: Chelsea Cooper

Client: McGuire Furniture

Locations: Stylish Rustic/Modern Home - Wine Country  

Photographer: Roger Davies

Stylist: Chelsea Cooper

Client: McGuire Furniture

Locations: Upscale Home and Garden - Marin  

Photographer: Roger Davies

Stylist: Hiroshi Yoshida

Client: McGuire Furniture

Locations: Stylish Modern Home - Wine Country 

I recently had the privilege of spending 5 nights amongst friends at a beautiful remote cabin near Lassen National Park.  It was certainly one of the most relaxing weeks that I have experienced in a long time.  A big thank you again to my friend Maya who coordinated the entire vacation.  Upon arrival, I couldn't help but think of the photographic potential of this place...  The mountain lodge feeling, the Rumford Fireplace, the deck and pond, catch and release trout fishing, 100 acres of expansive landscape, a river nearby and the ability to house a crew for a night or two makes this location ideal for anyone looking for that quintessential upscale or rustic cabin on a lake.  What an amazing place to stay and play...  We never left the property.  By the way, all of the wood that was used to build the home and furniture was milled from trees on the property

We have had many requests lately for industrial manufacturing facilities that are film friendly.Here is a sampling of a few new locations that our team has scouted with that request in mind...

Producer: Emily Miller Productions

Photographer: William Hereford

Client: Anolon

Location: Private Residence in Mill Valley, Ca

Last fall we worked with Emily Miller, a local producer new to the San Francisco Bay Area but not to the industry, and photographer William Hereford. This was a combo still and motion shoot for cookware industry leader Anolon. William has a unique style of capturing motion from a still photography approach. Watch the behind the scenes video, shot by Leonard Nelson, below to see him in action. Emily is simply great to work with! She is professional and very personable, we are excited that she is in town and we will be happy to work with her again soon. The results speak for themselves, check it out!

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We have received many requests for retail stores for productions.  While many stores are open to filming, it can be tricky to navigate a shoot while the store is open.  We have developed great relationships with an assortment of retail environments over the years.  Here are just a few that we have in our files.

The Bay Area has a vast array of beautiful mid century modern homes that seem to delight art directors, photographers and clients alike.From Apple to Dwell to VW, advertising clients have relied upon these beautiful homes as backdrops for their campaigns.Here is just a sampling of a few mid century modern dwellings that we have in our database.

We added a few college campuses to our files this "semester." It is amazing how much diversity a collegiate environment can offer in a relatively small area. Here is a taste of the latest campus we've visited.

This just in...This impressive industrial steel/glass building sits on 70 acres of beautiful rolling hills overlooking 300 acres of vines.  The space is equipped with 5 giant glass roll-up doors, concrete floors, full kitchen, plenty of parking and an abundance of space and light.  The garage doors face east and has plenty of room to move equipment in and out.  There is also plenty of power for those productions that require a little more punch.  We are very happy to have this location to offer our clients.  Take a look!

Producer: Michael Cifarelli, Industry Productions

Director of Photography: Michael Rothman

Client: Rockport

Location: San Francisco, Ca

Last year we teamed up with Industry Productions out of New York for a Rockport still and video shoot in downtown San Francisco. The first 3 days of the 4 day shoot was all still (Shot by Regan Cameron), on the fourth day all of the motion footage was captured. We were lucky to have a great video crew that moved quickly and kept the impact to a minimum. Here is the final video, all shot in one day!

We kicked off the year scouting Medical locations for a pharmaceutical job with producer Jennifer Bullock and photographer Jim Hughes. We had some extremely cooperative locations open their doors to us and they are excited to host shoots on the weekends. We have new waiting rooms, doctor's offices, exam rooms, treatment facilities, an empty hospital wing, 2 PET/CT scanners, an ICU and an MRI machine! Many of our clients regularly request medical locations and we are happy to have these new facilities in our database. Here is a small sample of these new locations.

Production: Jason Pachura, Birdman Inc

Photographer: Keith Seamen, Camerad Inc

Prop Stylist: Thea Chalmers

Photo Assistant: Joanna Konarzewski

Talent: Chef Charles Phan

Location: The Slanted Door, San Francisco

On January 19th I (Jason) attended the APA Resolve to Connect event at Dogpatch Studios in San Francisco. The purpose of the event was to bring the SF photo community together to kick off 2011 and meet new people within the industry. Teri Cundall of the Propville Directory organized an exercise where everyone at the event was to put their business card into a hat. Business cards were drawn, for the most part, at random and teams of strangers were formed. As my luck would have it, my card was chosen. The assignment was to make a great photo, we were given one month and no budget. After a quick introduction, our team had a common goal in mind; create an image to represent San Francisco while incorporating food and architecture. Our photographer Keith Seaman is a seasoned food photographer new to the San Francisco chapter. He and his wife Jill, also his studio manager, have worked as a team for some time making great connections within the food world. Jill quickly suggested celebrity chef and architect Charles Phan of the Slanted Door. We could only hope that Chef Charles would be open to the idea and available on short notice. Boy did we luck out! Chef Charles graciously excepted Keith's request to photograph him at The Slanted Door the following week.I took on the obvious roll of location scout and the not so familiar roll of producer. Thankfully Chef Charles and his team at the restaurant were great to work with. I think Keith said it best; "The shoot was a dream.  The team worked as though we’d been together for years.  We only had an hour to shoot Chef Charles.  Everyone schlepped equipment.  Thea looked over my shoulder to make sure everything was in its place and gave valuable creative input.  Joanna was right at my side doing the perfect assist in a high-pressure environment.  Jill and Jason everywhere at once. We nailed our two photos and were rewarded with an incredible meal at one of the best tables in the house, all courtesy of Chef Charles."This project really was great! Our team had fun and we made some great photos. It was nice to be challenged and work without a budget. Our success came form a common passion for quality photography. Thanks to Keith, Thea, Jill and Joanna for all the hard work. And most of all a big thanks to Chef Charles and the staff of The Slanted Door!

Producer: Annika Howe Productions

Photographer: Soren Solker Starbird

Client: Jack and Jones

Locations: Downtown Rooftop, City Streets, Drive In Movie Theater, College Campus

In October Berlin based producer Annika Howe and Danish apparel company Jack and Jones came to San Francisco for a spring catalog shoot. Their ambitious list of location requests had us searching all over the bay area for some extraordinary backdrops. Working with international clients has its challenges, and this one was definitely no exception. But we were able to work through the 9 hour time difference and had a lot of success. We dropped by to check out their rooftop BBQ set, very cool! Check out some of our scouting images and Soren's photos to see how it all came together. Thanks for coming to town Jack and Jones!

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Green technology and sustainability is "LEED-ing" today's architects in new directions of form and function. We have built a great relationship with one local architect who has provided us with some stunning dwellings. This particular home happens to be her own and is enjoyed by her family as a vacation home. The outdoor and indoor spaces of the wine country getaway seamlessly blend together in nearly every room of the home. Floor to ceiling glass on the north and south facing walls allows you to see right through the heart of the home. Once outside the surrounding forest gives way to the pool and lawn with views of the Russian River valley. Clean and simple.

This school has a rich history that began as s single room schoolhouse in the 19th century for the surrounding agricultural community. Today the main Brick Gothic building completed in 1922 is accompanied by a modern companion constructed last year. Classrooms, lockers and sports fields are a given in any high school. But this school is a bit different; offering vet tech, welding and agricultural programs. The machine shop and vet tech classrooms are state of the art while the auditorium and gymnasium take you back 100 years. Our favorite bit about the school? They have their own vineyard down the road, and yes they have made wine. A 2010 Chardonnay, no reviews just yet. The combination of history, architecture and unique classes offered at the school create a variety of backdrops for a production.

This private parcel along the Russian River boasts 410 total acres with an 80 acre vineyard, 1 mile of river frontage, forest trails, miles of two-track, a creek, 2 lakes, vista views and much more.  Not too far form the town of Healdsburg, this property has been "in the family" for over 100 years. For much of the last century this property was at the hand of an architect/landscape architect. He created picturesque paths through the hill side forest, planted groves of trees wherever he saw fit, cleared plots for future homes and dressed the eastern side of the property in curving vineyards. Absolutely beautiful!

Producer: Lisa Ilario, 2D Photo

Photographer: John Urbano

Client: AerieLocation: Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Birdman Inc teamed up with Lisa Ilario and 2D Photo this past fall, providing location scouting, permitting services and location managing for their Aerie Spring 2011 campaign. This four day shoot took place at the beautiful Big Basin Redwoods State Park.  Everyone was so great to work with and we highly recommend Big Basin to any production.  They were very accommodating to all of our needs.  A big THANKS to Lisa and 2D Photo!  We can't wait to work with you again!

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We have been working hard to find new locations that are being requested by our clients.  Our research and perseverance brought us to this beauty of an office.  If you need a clean, modern corporate environment that is film friendly, we've found it.  Check this place out!

Word of mouth has been vital in our effort to find homes over the years. This modern beauty is nestled atop the hills of Marin and was referred to us by a homeowner we work with regularly. We are always looking for unique properties to add to our location library. If you know someone with a great home, let them know about Birdman. We appreciate the referrals!This architect's residence is a full renovation, the rock walls are the only remains of the original home. With floor to ceiling glass in nearly every room and mixed materials through out, this home has a seamless connection to the natural surroundings.

This beautiful, bay area mansion is now available for shoots!We are thrilled to have this stunning property in our files:

Producer: Jennifer Bullock, Jennifer Bullock Productions

Photographer: Adam Hinton, Website

Client: Manfrotto

Locations Requested: Outdoor Music Festival, Skate Park, Modern Cantilever Building, Beaming Phase Construction Site

I don't think a month went by in 2010 that we didn't work with Jenny. She is always great to collaborate with and this project was no exception. Although many of the location requests came with challenges, we had great success through out the Bay Area.Outdoor festivals aren't always happening, so we looked for a permanent venue that had the look and feel. We worked with the Shoreline Amphitheater and shot during the Mayhem Festival, what a rush! Large scale construction projects have become a bit rare these days, luckily the health care sector is building with steel and saved us on that one. Cantilever building, what is that? Think de Young museum, it worked perfectly. Skate parks can start looking the same after a while, same old same old wasn't going to cut it this project. One last stroke of luck brought us a brand new epic skate facility in the Bay Area.Challenging projects can be the most fun, especially when they work out as well as this one did. Take a look at some of our scouting images and some final images from Adam.

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