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.

We are excited to be a part of the Production Paradise Network...Check us out on their blog!

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!

Final Print Ad

Scouting Images

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!