I went to my first Nascar race last weekend. It was LOUD!
People had warned me about this, but I don’t think I quite understood it until I was there. Continue reading
Nascar! LOUD!
Field Recordings
Irish Coasts and Waterfalls
I just got back from a nice week long trip to Ireland. It was definitely a personal vacation, and while I didn’t intend to record much, I always had my PCM D100 along for the ride. I’m glad I did! Continue reading
The Sounds of Chicago When the Cubs Win the World Series
I don’t have to much to say about this post other than it’s a very special time in Chicago right now. After 108 years, the Cubs are now world champions once again. After the top of the 10th, I set up some mics outside our building to capture the environment after the game. Continue reading
Learning to Record on Two Wheels
One of the things I’ve had almost no experience in until this year is onboard vehicle recording. To be honest, I probably subconsciously avoided it for so long because of how difficult/time consuming it can be to get right. There’s a lot of things to factor in: Number of mics, Mic placement, Wind protection, Gear protection, Performances to capture, etc. Continue reading
Lifting Michigan Avenue
One of the things Chicago is known for is it’s some what infamous river. The Chicago river (as beautiful as it is today) was once so sludged full of sewage and other waste that rats could run across the build-up on the surface. Humans, on the other hand, had to build bridges to travel to the other side. Because many large ships used to travel the river regularly, the bridges had to be capable of lifting out of the way for them to pass.
So how do you lift a bridge? Continue reading
Grandpa’s Klaxon Horn
Every now and then when I visit my home town my Grandpa has some ideas of what might be fun to record. This weekend I went back and found out he had an old manual Klaxon horn in his basement. Little did I know how loud those things are! I had to use the pads on my Oktava mics for the first time. Continue reading
The Weirdos with Microphones
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’ve done some field recording. If you’ve done a lot of field recording, chances are you’ve had a few run ins with police, security, and the general public where they thought you were up to no good. I’ve written about one of my not so pleasant run ins with police while recording trains, but I’ve noticed a number of similar stories pop up on blogs and social media. I thought it might be fun to compile a list of these stories for everyone to read (and maybe learn from). Continue reading
Distant Highway Sounds – Lake Shore Drive
I’ve been recording all over Chicago for an upcoming Collected Transients library. The other night, around 2:00 a.m., I went out with the plan to record in a tunnel that ran underneath Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. I was hoping to capture the resonance of the cars whizzing by overhead, but as I approached the tunnel, I heard snoring. Continue reading
Lake Michigan Waves – Illinois Beach State Park
The weather was beyond perfect yesterday, so my girlfriend and I decided to make a trip up to Illinois Beach State Park for the day. It was our first time there, and we didn’t realize how huge it was. 4,160 Acres! When we first pulled up, there were quite a few other people enjoying the day as well. With how big the park is, it wasn’t hard to find a quiet place where I was able to capture this: Continue reading
