Incredible recordings! I can listen to frogs all day. Great we page where s=
lides and recordings are posted to. It looked like a really nice trip...
Thanks for sharing
Dave
=A0=A0=A0 __o
=A0=A0=A0 \<,_
(*)/ (*)
-----Original Message-----
From: geopaul7 <>
To:
Sent: Sun, 20 May 2007 8:17 am
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Backpacking Solutions Revisited
Thought I would report on the trip that caused me to solicit people's advic=
e about
"Backpacking Solutions" a couple or three weeks ago.
Five of us went on a 25 mile backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon last we=
ekend. It is a
vertical mile up and down and hot. We were on a radical, wilderness trail. =
Down the
Boucher, and over to Hermit Creek, and up. Daytime recording was severely h=
ampered by
the fact that the National Park Service has designated the area just to the=
West as a flight
corridor for tourist helicopters and planes. Nighttime recording is fine.
I posted a little website to share the recordings of the riparian ecosystem=
at the bottom of
the Grand Canyon.
http://web.mac.com/geopaul/iWeb/Geo2Sound/Recordings.html
These were made in MS stereo, with an Audio Technica 835ST, Sound Devices M=
P-2, and
Sony TCD-D100. They were edited in 24 bit only as to fades, and then bounce=
d to MP3, in
Apple's Logic Pro 7. No filtering of any kind. I have some "pops" on some o=
f the
recordings that annoy me. I have tried to get rid of them in Logic's sample=
editor, but
unsuccessfully. Anyone who can diagnose this phenomenon? How to deal wih it=
other
than avoid it in the first place?
For canyon hikers of the Southwest, this is a familiar sound, but upon firs=
t hearing, it is
strange and other-worldly. Often you can hear these vocalizations in the af=
ternoon, from
high above as you decend into the shady slot canyons. Then, they are charac=
terized by
reverberation and are one of if not the primary marguis sounds of the Grand=
Canyon.
Indeed, when I first heard this biophony in 1983, I could only think of som=
e wierd
planet, perhaps out of a "Star Wars" fantasy, inhabited by wonderful goats =
of some sort.
Apparently most people, when hearing the Canyon Treefrog, think of a rivet =
machine and
that is how the Peterson Guide describes the song.
There are two amphibians on all but one of these recordings. The loud song =
is that of the
Canyon treefrog, Hyla arenicolor. It is accompanied by a much more subtle t=
rilling, of the
Red Spotted Toad, Bufo punctatus. You must listen for the toad.
On the little website are some photos. These deal with the "backpacking sol=
utions." There
were two main problems:
On the tripod, as I wrote earlier, I opted for a super light, super cheap R=
adio Shack
Chinese manufactured job, very light. Light is paramount on this trip. The =
legs and
stability of this were fine. I love the weight and the price ($10 on sale f=
rom $15), as
compared to the Gitzos that are from $300 to $650. However, the tripod head=
is just too
chintzy to be reliable. I can see it breaking on a trip in the future and b=
ecoming
worthlesss. The key to the solution was a tripod functioning qua tripod, an=
d the lightness
in weight.
On the microphone protection, again, taking everyting into account, I went =
for light
weight. I actually tried implementing Rich Peet's suggestion of PVC pipe, a=
nd bought a
length of 6 inch diameter pipe, with end caps. However, it weighed between =
Message: 1.
Subject: 5 and 2.5
pounds. Too much.
What I did is wrap the mic, inside its Sennheiser windscreen pistol grip an=
d fuzzy coating,
in a kitchen garbage bag, and then that inside an Apple store double walled=
plastic
shopping bag. This was then gently "lashed" onto the back of the backpack w=
ith the
elastic ties that actually came with the backpack, as you can see from one =
of the
slides in the slide show on the website.
The key take away for me personally is that each trip is a combination of f=
actors that
contribute to equipment solutions peculiar to the situation. In this case, =
the weight of the
solution was paramount. A 25 mile trip in May in the Grand Canyon is an ext=
reme
experience. I had to go as light as the equipment would allow.
If I were driving a car to a remote location, and walking on level ground f=
or a mile or so, it
would be a different matter.
Thanks for everyone's help.
George Paul
Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading =
spam and email virus protection.
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/
<*> Your email settings:
Digest Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|