Northwest Soundscapes

My daughter and I did a little cold-weather camping this weekend. I think it's the last time she'll go with me until I promise to bring a heater. We went to the Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park. I've always wanted to see it during the winter. The rainforest transforms form a mystic, lush wonderland to a frozen, but still jaw-droppingly beautiful, frosted museum during the winter. We cam...

The Pacific Tree Frog or Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris regalia)is a keystone species on the much of the West Coast of North America. It is also the state amphibian of the State of Washington. It is tiny but loud, and lives in large raucous communities. One local community here in Seattle is located in the Frog Ponds of Magnusson Park. Go there any spring or summer day near dusk or pre-dawn and y...

From August 2015, this recording is a small stream crossing the path of a trial heading out to Lake Serene. My daughter and I had gone out early to hike and record. Something about the deep cut, yet very small (barely 6 inches wide) stream determined to make its way through the forest struck us both as lovely. recording miscellany: Sound Devices 702 mid: MKH8020 side: MKH30

Recording pre-dawn forest silence can be deceiving. We think nothing's out there, that nothing's awake. After all, our ears confirm it for us don't they? Little do we know, and little can we tell, but there's a whole world of life up where we can't hear it. In fact, it's a life that' so loud, that our recordings can distort without us even hearing it. The bat vocalizations in this recording, and Y...

On a road trip with my daughter, we spent a lovely afternoon on Mt St Helens. We each have our quiet-time meditative styles, but it starts the same. We walk out into the middle of a place. She pulls out her pad and pen and starts a landscape of the spot (see some of her work, mostly NON-landscape here: http://sofiaverbena.deviantart.com). I walk ahead a bit and pull out microphones and a recorder....

single prop, piston-driven, STOL bush plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver

single prop, piston-driven, STOL bush plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver

single prop, piston-driven, STOL bush plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver

single prop, piston-driven, STOL bush plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver

single prop, STOL bush plane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-3_Otter

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 3-T Turbo - Otter by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 2 Beaver by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

De Havilland Canada DHC - 2 Beaver by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

Not long ago, on my birthday in November 2015, I was out wandering the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie Wilderness (as one does) and thought, ooooooo..... lots of great places to pull over record some Pure Mountain Air™. Now, it had snowed just a week ago, the first substantial snow in the Cascades since the previous year (2015 wasn't a good year for the Cascades). And it was warming up. Loose gravel mountains...

While hiking past Bridal Veil on the way up to Lake Serene with my daughter, we noticed a rock outcropping near the falls that was sheltered from the torrent, yet was dripping and overgrown with moss. It was soft and meditative, yet slightly on-edge with the sound of the falls in the background. We start a little outside the alcove, moving closer in around 2 minutes. Recording errata: Sound Device...

A Day of Humanity in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, or An Ode For AR-15, Power Lines, Nature, and a Plane Backstory: A sunny morning in the Wild Sky Wilderness of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. My morning ambience recording ended by the encroachment of distant chainsaws, I'd packed up to leave when I stumbled upon power lines tearing through the forest. I stopped to look, only to...

They really can sneak up on you, going from dull booming to ear-bleed in just a couple seconds. recorder: SD702 mid-side configuration mid: MKH8060 side: MKH30

They really can sneak up on you, going from dull booming to ear-bleed in just a couple seconds. recorder: SD702 mid-side configuration mid: MKH8060 side: MKH30

Back-and-forth all afternoon. recorder: SD702 mid-side configuration mid: MKH8060 side: MKH30