Good discussion, guys.
I settled the matter for myself years ago. It's all about intent.
Targeting a single caller? Compiling scientific data? Capturing BG
sound for a film? Pushing an activist cause? All different intents
requiring different approaches.
While much of my work has loftier goals, the sole intent of my nature
recording activities is to bring back sweet "ear candy" for my
listeners, most of whom are urban dwellers. So I first try to avoid
anthrophony as much as possible (which is itself an editing decision).
And when man-made sounds intrude, as they inevitably do, I edit around
them -- carefully, but without guilt. I fully understand that I'm
cobbling together a sanitized illusion, but that's the aesthetic I'm
after. To me, it's no less honest than the nature photographer who
might capture a lovely wild landscape mere steps from the paved
highway where his vehicle stands parked on the shoulder.
Curt Olson
http://www.minnesotasoundscapes.com
PS: David, you're not only an excellent recordist, you're a skilled
writer, too.
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