A lot of times when I’m out in the field, I like to just sit and listen to the sounds of nature. I enjoy this so much that I invested in a Zoom H4n digital audio recorder to take out with me and capture some of the natural sounds I encounter.
The Zoom H4n by the way is a remarkable recorder. It can record fantastic audio with it’s built in stereo mics but also allows you to plug in 1/4 inch and XLR mics as well.
My first experience recording with it was in Monterey, California. My hotel was right on the beach and at night I could listen to the waves and seabirds outside my window.
Returning back to Iowa I took the Zoom with me on my trips to a tall grass prairie about 15 miles from my home. I was working on my latest film, “The Prairie” for the UWOL film challenge.
It was late in the afternoon and I could hear owls hooting in the nearby forests, birds settling in for the coming night, frogs in the nearby pond, etc. But what amazed me when I returned home to listen to the audio was how much other sounds the Zoom had picked up.
The tall grass prairie is really out in the middle of no where. Yet, I could hear the sound of tractors out in distant fields, motorcycles roaring down roads far in the distance. There were airplanes flying over head and the rumble of freight trains as they made their way across the state. I could hear dogs barking from nearby farmhouses, cars traveling down the lone road that passes by the prairie.
What amazed me even more was that long after a plane flew overhead or a car drove past on the gravel road, their sound continued to be recorded. The pristine natural sounds of the tall grass prairie were being contaminated by a world that had seemed so far away.
No matter how much I felt as one with nature while I sat in the prairie it seems that the sounds of man are still there no matter how much I wish they weren’t.
Africa: A Moment in Time
Back in January and February, I had a fantastic opportunity to travel to Africa and try out as of then an unannounced camera for Panasonic, the HPX-300.
In previous posts I’ve documented the experience but never really posted any footage.
I have a habit of editing footage together while I’m on a trip so when I get back, I have something to show my friends and family as soon as I get off the plane. Africa was no different.
We arrived home late but still broke out the laptop to show everyone some of the fantastic wildlife we encountered while we were there. My intent was to always go back and re-edit the piece since I had juts taken bits and pieces from each days shoot and put them all together. I still intend to do that, but while you’re waiting for that, I thought I’d show you the footage that I had put together when I stepped off the plane.
A big thanks to Jan from Panasonic for believing in me and letting me take this camera to Africa. Course, I guess a bunch of footage from Iowa wouldn;t have had the same “wow” factor. 🙂
I hope you enjoy the footage. You can view it by clicking here.
If you have a moment please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it as well as what else you’d like to see posted on this blog.