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.