Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Oh, baby! Spring in Palm Desert Part II

Baby kangaroo mouse

Big lizard

Feeding baby humming birds

Rolling planet

Mountain goats on the rocks

     Adam DuBrowa shoots with a pair of Nikon D-3 full-frame SLRs. As a DP with a career emphasis on documentary production, he lenses assignments for National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Fortune 500 companies on expeditions in science, nature, weather and social endeavors. Shooting high speed sequences of the latest technologies aboard the F-22 Raptors, F-18 Hornets, stealth fighters, Blackhawks, Seahawks and a diverse fleet of FEMA disaster operations aircraft has also proven him an accomplished aerial cinematographer.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Hey, Nice Goggles!


Jeffrey Karoff & Karen Chen pause for a snapshot in a Detroit GM factory.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Signs of Spring in the Desert by Adam DuBrowa

While documenting the riparian corridors of California after severe winter weather caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides to the region, my work took me to places in six counties in advance of spring's bloom. I was to document the damages associated with flooding, and the response to those communities and public entities that were affected. In doing so, I grew a profound appreciation for the desert, and the wildlife that live in the unforgiving dynamic environment.


I began to see things in my steps in search of the water's source, high notes of nature, and witnessed the gentle birth of the spring season. I saw nature coming out of its slumber, transforming into spring, and I witnessed the sun grow the flowers, which grew the pollinators, which grew the predators. I was inspired by the quiet, simple, and beautiful world of the desert.

Adam is freelancing at Backyard Productions in Venice, CA and completed principal photography on the feature documentary “Tapped,” an inside look into the bottled water industry. His photography for a special National Geographic Society documentary on Grizzly Bear attacks comes out next month. Currently, Adam is deployed on assignment photographing the Calexico, California 7.2 magnitude earthquake for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Learn more about his documenting the damage, as well as the federal, state, and local response to the disaster here.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Losing Gravity

What happens when an everyday slacker gets his helium dose wrong? HELIUM MAN. Also the first narrative short by Backyard director Nick Piper which recently debuted with rave reviews in the comedy genre at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival (and moving on to the prestigious Atlanta Film Festival later this month).



Transitioning to shorts has been a long time coming for the director who specializes in special effect commercials. But, it wasn't until he had a dream based around the concept of losing gravity that gave him an idea worth committing to.

"Stock markets were crashing, the world was spiraling into a recession. What next?" he said, "No more gravity?" It turns out that making one person float is a bit less complicated than making gravity disappear altogether, and so the adventures of Helium Man began.

For Nick, the easiest part was writing the story. On the contrary, "Producing the bloody thing," he says in his 'Home of Chip Butties' North England accent, wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Not to mention organizing technocranes, multiple camera crews, a rigging crane (the same one that made Tom Hanks weightless in Apollo 13), and nearly 100 extras.

"I'm getting a producer for the next one," says Nick of the short which would have cost nearly $2M if it weren't for lots of helpful folks in the industry who volunteered time and gear.

Keep your eyes peeled for a feature...




Thursday, April 1, 2010

Meet Backyard's Justin Lee



All you need to know about Backyard's "Vault Guy" can be garnered from these pictures and the viral videos on www.gloriousinternet.com