NEW BIRDMAN BLOG SITE!

We are happy to announce our new Birdman Blog Site!

THIS BLOGGER SITE WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED!!!

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www.birdmaninc.net

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Sincerely,

BirdMan Inc.

Birdman Hits The Roof

Last month we headed up to the top of some great rooftops around downtown San Francisco. Although the weather showed up in true Bay Area summertime fashion with thick fog and low clouds, you can't help but to appreciate the unique San Francisco Skyline.

Birdman "PRE-FABulous" Homes

When many of us think of homes in California our minds take us to neighborhoods of endless track homes, mansions scattered in the hills or beach houses lining the coast. Birdman came across something a bit different this past month while scouting homes around Northern California. We found two prefabricated houses built 100 years apart! A Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog home completed in 1908 and the other a Michelle Kaufman Designs modular home completed in 2008.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. started selling prefabricated homes to Americans in 1908. A family could purchase all the necessary hardware, materials and plans to build a home for themselves. This model, Modern home No. 124, was delivered in pieces to Petaluma by railroad in 1908. It came from the first catalog of Modern Homes released by Sears and the bathroom was an upgrade. The homeowner has restored the home to its original beauty.

Michelle Kaufmann Designs (MKD) was founded in 2002 in California; the company offers the general public modular, eco-friendly and sustainable homes. This model, The Sunset® Breezehouse™, like all MKD homes was built in a factory off site in cube like sections. Then it was shipped to Lafayette by truck and assembled by a team on site with a crane.

Eco-friendly upgrades have replaced options like bathrooms. Railroads no longer reach small towns and the Internet has replaced paper catalogs. But all in all the concept of prefabricated homes hasn’t changed much in 100 years. Americans can still order prefabricated family homes and customize it to fit their lifestyle; the major difference is sticker price.

The Modern Home No. 124 in 1908 cost about $3,000.00 (with bathroom upgrade)
The Sunset Breezehouse in 2008 cost about $300,000.00

Birdman Slides Into Summer

Summer brings us warmer weather, barbeque's and visits to favorite cool down spots. This year Birdman got a head start on summer searching for water parks around The Bay Area for a pharmaceutical ad. We’re looking forward to a great season of fun in the sun!

Birdman Medieval Castle

Birdman headed to Northern California’s Wine Country to visit a spectacular medieval style castle. This 121,000 square foot authentic fortress with its half a dozen towers, great hall, chapel, four floor deep wine cellar, torture chamber and vast courtyard is tucked into the rolling hills just south of Calistoga. You feel a world away pulling up the winding drive and once inside centuries seem to fade away leaving visitors awestruck by its magnificence.

Completed in 2007 after 14 years of careful planning, construction, artesian craftsmanship and attention to detail, the castle has a very genuine look and feel. The moat, drawbridge, meurtrieres (slits in the castle wall originally used for shooting arrows at invaders), flying buttress, piazza and grand loggia all add to the overall realism created within the castle walls. The 171-acre site has a small lake with an island, 30-acre vineyard, wine testing lab, wooded paths, small village market and a medieval looking water tower providing plenty of variety for photo production.

Birdman Ranch Locations

Birdman has been back to visit some of it's favorite ranches over the past few months for clients looking for rolling green hills, vistas, barns and lone trees. These working ranches have all sorts of location options for photo shoots. The ranch owners are so welcoming and great to work with that we find ourselves at these locations more and more these days.

Spring Almond Blossoms

Birdman worked with photographer Dan Goldberg on a project for The Almond Board of California earlier this month. Garrett headed out to the bountiful Central Valley to photograph the blooming trees, take a look at his beautiful images.

California's Winter Coast

Birdman spent some time at the beach this winter. Two projects for '09 summer print ads sent us to the waters edge , one for a children’s shoe company and the other a national department store. The weather along the California coast in December and January is often said to be the best all year. Early 2009 was no exception, the waves were crashing, sun was shinning and the clouds played along the coastal mountains. It has been a pleasure visiting our coastal counties from Marin to Santa Barbara with stops in San Francisco, San Louis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Central and Northern California truly offers extraordinary coastal beauty.

Birdman Moves To San Rafael

Birdman has relocated their studio north over the Golden Gate to sunny San Rafael after many years in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. Historic architecture elegantly meets the 21st century in our San Rafael store front office location on the city's main drag, 4th Street. The 150-year-old space was originally built as a small theater, then for many years was home to a travel agency. Most recently the location was rented by the Democratic Party and served as Marin County headquarters for the Obama Campaign. We have comfortably settled in and love our new space! If any of you are in the San Rafael area, please stop by and say hello!

California Goes Green

Winter in Northern California brings snow to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and rain to the land west out to the Pacific. And even though nature takes it's course year in and year out, it's always bizarre when evidence of new life carpets the land in the middle of winter. So it’s official, winter has arrived in California and the hills are alive with green!

Califonia's Gaviota Coast

In December Birdman traveled to The Gaviota Coast for a children’s shoe print ad produced by Lisa Wagenbach of Point Productions. This portion of the California coast is unique for numerous reasons. The beaches here face south, a beautiful set of railroad tracks follow the shoreline and the coastal mountains offer a backdrop unlike any other in the world. This turned out to be the perfect solution for or client's unique vision and was a lot of fun to scout! German photography team Nick and Chloe will be traveling to the US to shoot the project and we look forward to seeing the final ad this summer.