All of us here at Birdman have a natural love for the outdoors and adventure. We work hard and we play hard. This has been a really busy year filled with exceptionally interesting and satisfying projects. So we decided to have a weekend of playing hard to celebrate our successful year. Our destination was Lake Tahoe and here is a recap of our weekend. We sincerely appreciate all of our wonderful clients, new and old, and we dedicate these images to you.

Our first destination was Angora Lake. We swam across the lake to a 20 (some say 30) foot cliff and plunged into the chilly waters! After swimming back as the sun was setting, Jason threw a line in the water but didn't have any luck.

The following morning we headed to Sand Harbor on the east shore of Lake Tahoe for a standup paddle boarding cruise on calm waters.

We stopped for a rest on a sandy beach on the north shore for a nice swim. The water of Lake Tahoe is clearer and bluer than most swimming pools. Amazing!

Post Paddle Portrait

(Rick, Matt, Jason, Garrett)

After lunch we geared up for a mountain biking adventure!

Ready for an epic ride along the Tahoe Rim and Tahoe Flume trails!

We concluded our trip on Sunday morning with a fun, peaceful and relaxing float down the Truckee River!

We are pleased to announce that we were just featured in the Production Paradise spotlight magazine! Being featured along side the world's best location specialists is an honor. Click the images below to see more. Thank you Production Paradise! 

We have started a scouting journal on our Facebook page for posting images from our most recent discoveries.Please go to our Facebook page by clicking HERE and 'LIKE' us to stay current with our recent scouting and projects.Here is a sample of our most recent scouting journal.

The beginning of 2012 put us on a successful run with photographer Erik Almas and producer Jenna Alcala of Applebox Production Company. In late March we started a project with them for Dassault Systems that had us looking for a huge jet engine!Some scouting adventures we go on are never forgotten, this one was definitely one to remember! After meeting our contact at SFO right before sunrise, we headed through some restricted areas for a long drive on the tarmac dodging luggage carts, fuel trucks and of course, huge planes. Our eventual destination was a large jet storage and repair facility. Wow... Those things are huge! One specific request was to look for an engine that was "open" for repair. Sort of like having the hood of your car open and ready for a tune up. From our scouting photos below, you'll see that's just what we found.Erik was pleased with our scouting and moved forward with the shoot at SFO where the staff is very film friendly. Erik's final image speaks for itself, huge success! Take a look...

SCOUTING IMAGES

FINAL IMAGE

Our scouting journey took us to beautiful Wine Country last week, where we photographed this gem of a renovated historic farmhouse.  This location will be a great match for many productions.  There are so many interesting details, the home owner is not only interested in hosting shoots but also 'easy going' and it was very inspiring to photograph.

This 100 year old, renovated home offers so much for your next production.  From the open see-through kitchen, to the park-like backyard, to its multiple brightly colored rooms, this North Bay beauty is sure to please a few photographers and art directors alike.

Lorena Arnold at Workbook introduced us to their new Production Specialist division in August of last year. This online resource combines today's technology with their 30 years of experience connecting industry professionals. Since we joined last year, we have seen a nice little increase in our national recognition.Earlier this month we received word from Lorena letting us know that our portfolio will be featured on their site! Just in time too because we recently updated our comparatives. Those show our scouting images along side the final ads. We always get comments about how cool they are and how they tell the story of what Birdman does. Once on our portfolio page, choose the "Scouting" tab to the left to check them out. We hope you have  a little time to take a look.Thank you Lorena and Workbook!

We are always on the hunt for new, interesting and film friendly homes for photo/video shoots.This past month has provided us with a extensive variety of homes for your next production.Here is just a sampling of some of the new residences that we've added to our database!

Birdman had the pleasure of working with legendary photographer Peter Linberg on a project for Banana Republic in April of 2011. We were contacted by Los Angeles based producer Ricardo Martins of NORTH6 to find a great wine country location for a Banana Republic fall collection. Fashion shoots are typically fun to work on, but working with Mr Lindberg was an absolute blast! Once we located the property in Healdsburg we were also asked to manage the two day shoot. It was great to see Peter in action! The whole shoot felt like wine country get away complete with beautiful weather, stunning scenery, delicious food, great architecture and a little wine tasting from the hosting winery. Here are a few of the ads that ran last fall along with a few of our scouting images.

 Final Ads

Scouting Images

In August of last year we were contacted by NZK productions to help with a location need for an ABC reality show. At the time, nobody knew that The Bachelor would be coming to San Francisco so we had to keep thIngs as quiet as possible. What were we asked to do? Shut down a block of Filbert St, cover it with snow and convert it into a temporary ski slope! All while keeping it a secret.. Our response, let's do this!We worked closely with The San Francisco Film Commission to conduct the the community out reach and assist with the timing and logistics of pulling this off in one day. They started at 5:00 a.m. and were to have everything cleaned up by midnight. After several weeks of planning, drawing maps, knocking on doors, hiring a bilingual location professional (Saisie Jang) and knocking on more doors; our signature survey of the local residents was complete and we were all set to make it snow!Not being regular viewers of the program, we didn't know what to expect. When Episode 3  aired on January 16th we were very proud of our work, a little surprised and well, definitely entertained. Here are the results of our hard work.

I stopped by that morning to watch the snow fall in San Francisco!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Oh! So that's how they do that...

Being from upstate New York, I always wondered what would happen if it snowed in San Francisco...

I had to get a shot of myself with the San Francisco snow!

Clip from Episode 3

Screen captures

A few years ago we worked with photographer Vincent Dixon and Porkchop Productions on a project for State Farm. Here are a few of the final images along with our scouting. 

When we are not on assignment we like to work on expanding our location database. What better way to spend down time than a stroll through the park? Nearly every bay area city, town and village has a park for it's residents to enjoy. Over the past several months we found everything from quaint slices of land set aside for historical preservation to vast expanses with sweeping views. We discovered some great lakes, paths, benches and meadows that offer wonderful backdrops. Permission to shoot in many of these parks is granted by city departments that are often happy to host photo shoots and are great to work with! Here are some of our favorite additions to our ever growing location library.

A job recently had us scouring neighborhood streets of Marin.  San Rafael and Larkspur in particular are fairly easy to permit and have an idyllic residential appeal.  Whether you're looking for a sleek mid century modern or a quintessential middle America environment, Marin has it.  Beautiful rolling hills, manicured lawns and well kept streets and sidewalks make this area a great backdrop for any production.

This beautiful and formidable historic building is now available for shoots!  There is an abundance of texture and a variety of open space for you to either prop out or use 'as-is' for your next project.

We have been spending a lot of time in Sonoma lately.  In this industry, we are always searching for locations that offer 'variety'.  From wineries, vineyards, hip retail spaces, inviting restaurants, rustic cabins, modern homes, spectacular vistas and intimate walking trails, Sonoma has it all.   We decided to give our respects to Sonoma County, by posting an assortment of our recent discoveries from the area.

Photographer:  Erik Almas

Production:  Darcy Diamond

Client: GSW

At the end of June, Erik Almas approached Birdman to help with locations for the new GSW advertising campaign.To my delight, they chose MY house as one of their locations for this still and video production.  It was so beneficial to be on set to see Erik and his team work.

Here are just a few production stills from the day:

We recently scouted this amazing modern office. This super film friendly location has plenty of space to work and beautiful natural light from every direction. With multiple conference rooms, offices and cubicles this office has it all. Check it out!

This 60's style house is on a quiet Street in Sonoma with plenty of street parking.Built in 1966, and has all the original carpeting, wall treatments and furnishings.Style is 1960's Rococo featuring gilt chandeliers, flocked, patterned and striped metallic wallpaper and shag carpeting.The owner has extra props and furniture from the period in the garage, that can be used for shoots.Kitchen has original appliances, dishes  and  dish towels.House is built in a U shape with an interior hallway that opens onto the pool area on three sides.It has a driveway on the side that leads to a large paved area in the back that would be perfect for staging props and catering with the addition of a few EZ ups.

We have spent a lot of time in the wine country this year. One of the highlights was our ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train. What an amazing way to travel! As soon as you set foot on board you are transported to a more simple time. A time when travel and leisure went hand in hand.Many of the train cars date back to the 1920's and earlier. Those are accompanied by a rare 1950's vista dome dining car complete with commercial kitchen. The classic dinning cars are regal and lounge cars are plush and comfy. For a more casual experience opt for the Silverado car, a western themed car with great BBQ. If you are interested in the train for your production, give us a call and we can get you on the right track! 

The last thing you expect to come across in a world famous wine growing region is Southeast Asia. Well, on a recent visit to a large parcel in the wine country that is exactly what we discovered! This private lake is complete with docks, boats, shanties, piers and a system of working locks. The owner and creator is a true visionary who's meticulous attention to detail has recreated a distant world right here in Northern California.