Man. Painting Waves.

It should be said that a wise man will see beauty in all things. This was something most likely said by someone who did not live in Chicago during the winter. I am now someone who happily does not live in Chicago at all. I live in Sonoma County California and it is easy for me to see the beauty in most things, a product of my surroundings I would wager. This video is a perfect example of that.

I was on my way home from a meeting at Chanslor Ranch just north of Bodega Bay, wiggling along Highway 1 towards my home in Villa Grande. It was February and therefore should have been cold and miserable, but it wasn't. It was gorgeous and I spied this man doing a remarkable job capturing the colors of the setting sun. This man, painting waves at the side of the road, did not flinch when I asked if I could film him. At Rock Point, off of Hwy. 1, Frank Gannon answered with a flick of his wrist, and a shrug of his shoulders. When I commented on how accurately he had captured the colors of the evening, he grimaced and said that he was stuck on the side of a particularly tricky rock face. He said so while perched precariously, with all of his paints and brushes, 30 feet above the waves crashing below. As a filmmaker, I was drawn to the motion in the Ocean, while Frank mixed the perfect blend of color to match the setting sun. It was a pretty cool moment. It was a Sonoma County moment.

I only spent 45 minutes filming Frank Gannon, but it has since become one of my favorite videos to show friends and family when they enquire about my new habitat. It was shot with my Cannon 60D with a little pick-up footage gathered with a gopro hero3.



Artist: Frank Gannon - www.FrankGannon.com

Man Painting. Waves.
Shot/Edited by: Edward Seaton
Music: The Mentalist by Mr. Fiji Wiji

Rubber Side Down in Sonoma County

So, you want to experience what its like to cruise the Sonoma Coastline on a motorcycle that won't wake up the entire world, and or rattle itself apart? Would you like experience the Redwoods and Highway 1 in true European Motorcycle style? Me too. When Joshua Poe of RideNorCal.com enquired about some promotional video work for his new business based in Santa Rosa, I jumped at the chance.

He's got a Triumph RRR for those that like the crouch-rocket racket without gaudy plastic bits getting in the way. RideNorCal has the new Ducati 1200CC Multistrada which is perfect for couples, and long hauls along the coast. Josh Poe says, "It will get ya zoomin!" They've got a Triumph Tiger which is just dope, and for those of us who don't like roads, while those who want to cruise looking like a Jedi on an Imperial Speeder bike can hop on the Ducati 2013 Multistrada. An impressive collection of tip-top two wheelers to choose from.

The only problem I had working with these guys is that in order to shoot it all, I had to sit in the back of my beat up old Subaru, and didn't get to ride at all. My girlfriend/gopro operator got a go around... with some other guy driving, which was swell. You can see her in the video. She always makes the cut :)

We made 5 videos total, all of which were shot entirely handheld with a Cannon 60D and GoPro Hero3, both set for 60 frames per second. I cut the pieces on FCP 7 as usual, and only did minimal color correction. Keeping the camera steady in the back of the moving vehicle was trickiest bit, but shooting at a faster frame rate helped smooth out the wobblies.

If you are interested in more information please visit the www.RideNorCal.com website. They've got tons of info about the bikes and possible routes to choose from. Tell them Edward sent ya, and remember, rubber side down.