Wow! What a great trip, and what a great bunch of folks were at this NSS
workshop! I came away with a much, much better understanding of the breadth=
of nature recording, techniques involved, and the different ways to
appreciate what we're doing! The venue is breathtaking, the sounds were
fantastic and the expertise was unsurpassed.
I have posted a few photos of the trip
at http://www.naturesongs.com/recordists/yubapass1.html so that you might=
put some faces to the names on this list.
What I came away from this workshop with, more than anything else, was an
appreciation for the many ways that others love nature sounds. Some are
very technically-oriented, some very artistically oriented, and some
scientific. Most are wonderful blends of all these passions, but the thing=
that comes through is that they are all passionate about what they do!
I didn't perceive anything but good-natured back-and-forth discussion of
these differences any time during the workshop. I often made the point that=
recordists could always add a dimension and scientific value to their
recordings if they learned a bit about the animals (and plants, as Rudy
points out) that they're recording. They might also be able to enhance
their recording ability by learning something about the habits and habitats=
of their subjects. For instance, knowing that that unearthly "whinny" heard=
in the marsh is the sound of a Common Snipe's tail feathers (hear one at
http://www.naturesongs.com/recordists/cosn2.mp3) during his courtship
"dance" and that it will be coming from high above, and that you'll need to=
look for a smallish bird flying a circuit above your head will help you
locate and concentrate on that sound, if you so desire.
Neither I nor Martyn, I'm sure, ever felt that our way was superior or that=
others were in any way inferior for not having our insane compulsion to
know what's making every sound. In fact I left with a true appreciation for=
the artistically passionate recordists, like Cliff and others. Their work
is incredibly important as a way of "getting the word out" to the public
that we have something worth saving out there - the natural ambient soundsc=
ape.
I will definitely be back.
I'd like to reiterate a promise that I made during the workshop that I will=
ID any sounds that any of the attendees recorded during this (or any other)=
trip. I will also pay a lot more attention to the ART of what we do from
now on, and I thank all of the participants for that!
Doug
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Doug Von Gausig
Digitally Recorded Birds Sounds at:
http://naturesongs.com/birds.html
Clarkdale, Central Arizona, USA
34=B046.34N 112=B003.25W
e-mail:
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