Dear GentleNatureRecordists:
Seems I'm a better listener than talker. I regularly read the
digests, trying to learn what I can, and there's so much to learn now that
I'm trying to record with more aesthetics in mind (rather than just trying
to document sounds from a scientist's perspective). With your collective
comments about the Audubon article and my book, I feel I need to "come out"
and say HI.
Rich (Peet)--Hey, I'll swap you a paper clip parabola sight for
one of those fancy windscreens (but white?). Rich, you're my idol. A quote
from page 126 of Don Stap's book, Birdsong (Scribner's, March 2005): among
the recordists in the Cornell workshop " . . . there were several gasps
when Rich said he had quit his job a few weeks earlier so he could record
birds through the birdsong season." During the summer of 2003, I biked with
my son across the country from Virginia to Oregon (4500 miles, 10 weeks),
listening to birds all the way (and recording with Sennheiser ME66 short
shotgun and Sony MZ-N707 minidisc). Within a few months after returning I
retired from academics to pursue the listening full time. But, unlike Rich,
I didn't promise my wife I'd get another job after the recording season was
over, as the recording season is now forever. She understands.
Lang (Elliott--is there another?)--thanks for the kind words about
my book. I hope that in it I have managed to capture a little bit of the
passion and joy and wonder each of us feels when we slip those headphones
on and listen to our natural world. It's worth trying to tell as many
people as we can about these creatures we love so.
The future? Being able to think about birdsong full time is an
extraordinary gift. I'm retracing the TransAm bike route (with my paper
clip) to get higher quality recordings, recording this summer from the
Mississippi River to the Pacific, I hope. Thanks to help from our friend in
Georgia (thanks, Walt), I hope to be trying some SASS-type soundscape
recordings. But mostly I love my stereo Telinga (thanks, Klas), to be
augmented by a Lang-designed setup with a pair of MKH20's in a Telinga
parabola (thanks, Lang).
And thanks, Doug, for moderating such a fine group.
OK. Far more words than I usually can muster. I'll go back to
listening . . .
Best regards . . . Don Kroodsma
Don Kroodsma
36 Kettle Pond Rd
Amherst MA 01002
phone: 413-253-5519
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