Sunday, December 30, 2012

Bristol Salt Flats & El Mirage Dry Lakebed-Great Location to do your next Shoot


Dear Reader,

As I reflect this year, 2012, I started my year in Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway on a car shoot.  Ironically I ended 2011 at the same location; in fact all of my December jobs in 2011 was in the Bay Area (near San Francisco).  Certain times of the year San Francisco is my number one market, I like working there because there are so many great locations in and near San Francisco

Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway
When it comes to my favorite places in 2012, I have to break it into categories, for instance best salt flats in Southern California, that would have to be Amboy, near 29 Palms, about 3.3 hours north/east of Los Angeles.  In  2012 I was there for several fashion shoots and one car commercial.  What my clients liked about Bristol Salt Flats as it is referred to, is the fact of the solitude, the flats are on private property, which means my clients have full privacy.  This is important if there is an A-list celebrity or a prototype of a product that requires seclusion from the general public. The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, located off of Interstate 80 has 30,000 acres of land, but it is located on public land which means productions has less control of people interfering with the shoot.  Bristol Salt Flats is close to Los Angeles, a one day shoot is possible, though I always recommend staying in 29 Palms the night before the project, especially if there is an early call time.  29 Palms is a major town and there are plenty of lodging, food, fuel and other options for any size crew.

El Mirage Dry Lakebed
El Mirage Dry Lakebed is my favorite dry lakebed if your needs is a nice flat brown surface surrounded by mountains on all sides.  El Mirage is located about two hours north/east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County; it is the closest dry lakebed to LA, with the best and easiest access for large and small vehicles.  Soggy Dry Lakebed near Lucerne is another dry lakebed, but it is over three-hour drive form the Zone and it is more difficult to ingress.  El Mirage has a paved road, except for the last quarter of mile, it is flat and very film friendly, it is located on BLM land, during the week, unless there is a major event the public is not a major concern.   Victorville is only forty-five minutes from El Mirage with many lodging, dining, food, fuel and other options available.  The town of Adelanto is closer to El Mirage Dry Lakebed, however I always inform my clients to avoid this city, it has a major crime problem and there is no guarantee that criminals would not molest your equipment.  Victorville is a major town and offers crews nicer accommodations and dining options.
El Mirage Dry Lakebed

I am going to write future blogs about the best locations to film or photograph not just in California, but other Western States including, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.  Again if you have any questions about the locations I mentioned in this blog, or you have questions about film permits or you need a motor home or portable restrooms, call me Mike Green at 818.317.7099.



Bristol Salt Flats-Amboy

Bristol Salt Flats-Amboy

Bristol Salt Flats-Amboy