BigSky Productions is situated in the perfect climate for any shoot. Cape Town has a mild temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers and cooler winters.

Cape Town is an excellent place to shoot an English summer garden shoot in the cold European winter, just 15 minutes out of the city center. Cape Town’s rich heritage and the long standing English culture has lead to some splendid English country gardens. Gardens are green all year round - all with well manicured lawns, well pruned archways and clean cut hedge rows. The wide variety of seasonal flowers, which have been collected over generations from every part of the world, means that Cape Town is always in bloom. There is a strong element of a “secret garden” in many of the locations and homesteads. The beautiful gardens are complimented by the crisp and clean light in Cape Town; this brings out the colours and the subtle shadows to create an image that has the feel of an English summer’s day. Production in Cape Town has never been easier and more beautiful.

A small sleepy fishing village on the west coast of Southern Africa was the Cape Town location of the week for BigSky Productions. Just a over an hour out of Cape Town it offers a different look and feel from anything available in the Cape Peninsula. Production is made easy due to its proximity to Cape Town, and its visual and aesthetic elements are a joy for any photographer. The crisp blue skies, white sand and the colourful fishing boats create a fantastic textured backdrop and great workable elements for any photo shoot -  be it fashion, editorial or catalogue shoot.

BigSky Productions recently headed up to Namibia for a shoot. The distance from Cape Town to Windhoek is around 2000km, however the beauty of the vistas and the panoramic scenery, makes time pass like a nostalgic dream. The roads are in excellent condition, making the ease of travel a bonus for photographic or film production in Namibia. Namibia is graced with vast blue skies and extreme straight roads that seem to reach out to touch the horizon. A wide array of natural beauty and dramatic scenery is a daily feature when travelling or shooting in Namibia.

The Fish River Canyon is officially the second largest canyon in the world, with the Grand Canyon in the USA being the only one that is bigger. The wild desert horses, the 300meter high dunes and 3000year old petrified trees at Soussesvlei. The abandoned ghost town Kolmanskop, and the famous Spitzkoppe - a small series of pointed mountains, used as a background for a 20 000 BC film, which was shot in Namibia. The very special Bavarian coastal town of Swakopmund is an island of Germanic culture surrounded by 1000km of desert in one direction and the vast Atlantic Ocean in the other. The Wild animals at Etosha attract thousands of tourists each year and the Bushman of Tsumkwe are a reminder of our combined cultural human heritage. In Namibia the natural diversity never stops, and neither does the possibility to find beautiful untouched locations. BigSky Productions works by the highest international standards and professionalism, and prides itself on offering full dedication and professionalism wherever BigSky Productions may be. Be it in the Namibian bush, desert or mountains, you will always receive top production value with the best transport, crew and equipment.

Last week BigSky Productions went an hour out of Cape Town to a cracked desert floor location. The Location was perfect for the fashion story that we were looking to shoot.  The yellow cracked desert floor creates a wonderful texture which contrasts beautifully with the pristine blue skies and died weathered tree logs. This is a perfect location for any shoot that is looking for something different, yet within close proximity to Cape Town.

BIGSKY PRODUCTIONS SHOOT - ANDREA OLIVO from bigsky productions on Vimeo.

Lars Borges has recently come to South Africa to shoot a catalogue for German fashion brand, Mister Lady, with production services done by Bigsky Productions. The Shoot was fun, young and bright. Lars extended his stay with Bigsky Productions for a couple of test shoots. Using the best of what Cape Town has to offer: he shot a beautiful story with an African model on Camps Bay beach, in the morning, and then a Hip Hop dancing group in the afternoon, thereby displaying his versatility and talent as a photographer. The successful shoots by Lars were supported and made easy by the professionalism of Bigsky Productions, the local agencies and the models.  

Lars Borges is a photographer based in Berlin. His work is heavily influenced by musicians and movies.  Lars’s work has national and international appeal. He regularly shoots for magazines, record labels, musicians, as well as advertising and image agencies. The photos taken by Lars have a unique style, and range from the intentionally naïve to a highly stylized conceptual product. Although he derives inspiration from all the people he shoots he is well known for shooting celebrities. Such as: Grand Master flash, Gossip, Kings of convenience, Pete Doherty, to name but a few.

In 2010 he won a number of awards:

IF Design Award for Nike Vintage Vision 2010

Red Dot Award with Nike Vintage Vision 2010

PDN Faces Award Winner 2010

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Early Learning Centre donated the bulk of its toy product to an under priviledged school in the Cape Flats, thank you ELC & Mothercare. Elc is one of our oldest and dearest clients shoot images to be posted later. Clients Sam Mosedale & Louise Beckenham. Photographer Dan Pangbourne. Art Director Cathy Bell and Stylist Alison Fitzpatrick.

]]> http://www.bigskyproductions.co.za/blog/2010/12/14/elc-mothercare-toy-donation-cape-town/feed/ http://www.bigskyproductions.co.za/blog/2010/12/09/sainsbury-catalogue-shoot-in-cape-town/ http://www.bigskyproductions.co.za/blog/2010/12/09/sainsbury-catalogue-shoot-in-cape-town/#comments Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:34:51 +0000 admin http://www.bigskyproductions.co.za/blog/?p=1069  

Cape Town played host to the 2011 Sainsbury’s Spring Summer Catalogue. Sainsbury’s is one of the largest shopping chains in the UK and has come back to South Africa once again. The shoot was beautifully shot by Simon Scarboro http://simonscarboro.com/, using his skill and talent to present the product in the best available light. Bigsky Productions found the perfect location for this product shoot. It offered the perfect surrounds, as well as short travel times. This led to a relaxed and pleasurable shoot for all involved. The efficiency and professionalism by Bigsky Productions meant that everything from catering, locations, equipment, transport and accommodation was taken care of, thus allowing the creatives and the photographer to concentrate solely on getting lovely product shots. 

The shoot was again art directed by the very talented Melinda Ashton-Turner http://melindaashtonturner.com/

BigSky Productions embarked on another exciting web viral, this time for Old Mutual. The web viral was made with award winning digital agency, Hello Computer. BigSky productions assembled professional and talented local filming crew. The Old Mutual viral was shot in the Waterfront Studios against a blue screen. The Waterfront Studios are well equipped and perfect for sound recordings as it is sound-safe. The acting talent was found by casting for exactly the right person to make the delivery crisp, audible and elequant. Thank you to  Anton Jeftha from Paula Pursch talent agency

This is just another example of BigSky’s  versatility to produce innovative and creative media projects.

The Onsight Gallery was the location of a very beautiful Lingerie Shoot. Shot in Cape Town in the up and coming district of Woodstock. The Onsight gallery offers some great little corners to shoot in, with high ceilings and beautiful soft ambient light. The gallery rooms are highlighted by exquisite furniture pieces. The entire shop is filled with old disheveled and highly decorated mirrors, antique crystal chandeliers and an exciting mix of comfortable period furniture and a host of other exciting props. The main gallery hosts magnificent art deco and victorian stained glass windows and some beautiful distinguished old doors. The eclectic mix of the tasteful and classic, reminiscent of a bygone age, makes this a photographer’s dream location. The sophistication and age of some of the furniture elements bring a unique feel to any production or photographic shoot

The proprietor of the shop is accommodating and helpful and most importantly production friendly. The Onsight Gallery is a pleasure to shoot in and a real gem of a location, blessed with abundant delights for the visual pallet. This is truly a great example of BigSky Production’s location of the week.