naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Anthrophony in "nature" soundscapes

Subject: Re: Anthrophony in "nature" soundscapes
From: "Gordon Hempton" pipestonecanyon
Date: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:05 am ((PDT))
Hi David,

This is an interesting topic of which has parallels with photography.  Is i=
t
OK to Photoshop a nature photo from different pictures and combine them
together?  Yes, for sure but it is distinctly a creation of technology and
artistry and not of nature-and should be clearly labeled (although it rarel=
y
is) as such. There are plenty of beautiful nature sound recordings that
include background human noise, particularly when that includes hand
farming, agriculture, and ranch animals in third world countries.  Or when
the deep rumble of oil consumption accentuates the precariousness of a
songbird delivering a passionate solo.  I also love train sounds balanced
with the natural environment.  However, I think the most awakening sound
portraits are from pure nature without any kind of human presence-a
increasingly rare opportunity.  There is something deep about it that I
cannot describe. Soul changing.  If a nature sound recording is edited,
EQ'd, or mixed from different times and sometimes places, it should be
clearly marked as such, otherwise the listener will wrongfully assume that
they could achieve this experience just by going to that national park or
wilderness area and listening.  Back to photography, if I saw a beautiful
frog on a leaf and later learned that the frog was placed there in Photosho=
p
I would feel deceived.  I was surprised to learn for example that Ansel
Adams added a full moon to night photographs-I felt deceived, why did he no=
t
mention it?  Perhaps he felt differently than I do.  My style is to  seek
out the purist places that I can find and then record. To go even further, =
I
use binaural microphones primarily, because I want my audience to know that
if they like my sound portraits they will love the live concert and it is
worth seeking.  We live on a beautiful planet-that is the message-and Earth
is worth saving.  I want the audience to fall back in love with Earth, not
technology. An edited recording, in my opinion, delivers a different
message.  Unedited and noise-free nature sound portraiture is worth the hun=
t
and the wait.

Best,
Gordon

Gordon Hempton
The Sound Tracker
POB 550 Port Angeles WA 98362
mobile: 360-477-9588












<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU