Friday — March 12, 2004

Photo shoots capitalize on valley talent, beauty

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By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

Don’t be surprised if you see familiar faces from the Wood River Valley while flipping through the pages of L.L. Bean, Lands’ End or Neiman Marcus catalogs. National companies are capitalizing on the beautiful people and scenery in the region in their advertising campaigns. Currently, L.L. Bean is taking advantage of local assets with an upcoming photo shoot scheduled in the Wood River Valley.

Over the years, the Maine-based outdoor clothing and equipment company has included numerous Wood River Valley faces in its catalogs.

Hemingway Elementary kindergarten student Connor Hill appeared on the cover of L.L. Bean’s Holiday 2003 catalog.

Hemingway Elementary kindergarten student Connor Hill has already appeared on the cover and inside pages of L.L. Bean mail order catalogs. L.L. Bean’s Holiday 2003 catalog featured Hill in a red Nordic hat standing alongside a female model in a funnelneck fleece sweater.

Hill’s work with L.L. Bean began last year when the five-year-old attended a local casting call with his mother.

In late February, a casting call similar to the one Hill attended, invited boys and girls, ages 6 to 11 and men and women ages 40 to 55 to try their hand at modeling for upcoming L.L. Bean catalogues.

Wood River Valley’s Palmer Talent and Production organized the casting call. The firm provides local models, actors and production support to photographers, film crews and other companies shooting in the area. According to Palmer Talent and Production’s owner Jennifer Diehl, "There was a great turn out, with a lot of new faces" at the recent L.L. Bean casting call.

Models will be chosen from the casting call to participate in a late March photo shoot in the Wood River Valley for L.L. Bean’s Kid’s Catalog and Adult Sporting Catalog.

Hill remembered the many highlights of his previous L.L. Bean photo shoot, including fresh chocolate chip cookies. He said that the best part of the experience was "being on the cover and playing with walky-talkies."

Hill is one of many Wood River Valley children who has shared and will share in the L.L. Bean photo shoot experience. Diehl, who organizes the casting calls and shoots, explained the catalogue is consistently looking for new children, as young models quickly grow and change. Some of the children are used in the L.L. Bean’s Kid’s Catalog, and others are used to complete family scenarios in the Adult Sporting Catalog.

The L.L. Bean project is one of many for Palmer Talent and Production. According to owner Diehl, the company has experienced an influx of work recently. A greater number of national publications are using local faces and places on the pages of their publications. Wood River residents now appear in national magazines such as Men’s Journal, Field and Stream and Dandelion, in addition to catalogs like Neiman Marcus, Lands’ End and Early Winters.

These national publications are also capitalizing on the Wood River Valley as a year-round photo shoot location. The talent and production agency’s brochure states that "Idaho offers four seasons, diverse locations and incredible backdrops." Throughout the brochure, familiar Idaho faces highlight golden aspens, mountain landscapes and snowy peaks.

They are doing what many do best, enjoying the outdoors and, hopefully for the marketers, selling merchandise along the way.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.