The Bold Coast

When Sony asked me to shoot a short film using only one lens (35mm f1.4) I said perfect. A lot of people think creativity is all about freedom and choices but I prefer when it answers to limitations.  

I’ve lived in Maine a long time but have only recently fallen in love with the Easternmost part of our state which also happens to be the Easternmost part of the United States. Locally, this region is known as The Bold Coast and it lives up to its name. Long expanses of inaccessible coast, 25-foot tides, and weather that’s always on the move. 

The original idea was to document my old friends Marc Bourgoin and Scott Leighton sea kayaking this remote area in the dead of winter. A massive storm had different plans for me so my daughter and I headed up to expand the trip with a broader exploration of the coast by foot and 48’ lobster boat captained by Jeremey Cates, a third-generation Lobsterman from Cutler, Maine, and my newest friend.

As for the lens, I'm in love. Lens tests are always kind of meaningless to me because they happen under controlled circumstances. I have to use a lens in real-world conditions and a wide range of light to understand it. Shooting this short film made me love the 35mm f1.4 G series lens as much as I love Maine.

Client: Sony

Executive Producer: Matt Parnell

Producers: Kayla Lindquist, Jerome Thelia

Director | DP | Editor: David McLain

Colorist: Jerome Thelia

Sound Design: Andre Kilman

Special Thanks: Myla McLain, Marc Burgoin, Scott Leighton, and Capt. Jeremy Cates