I was working at home and could hear what sounded like kids singing in the distance so quickly hung my microphones out of the window. It turned out to be my daughter's class doing a bit of call and response singing on the way back from what might be their final primary school trip, before moving up into secondary school next year.

School Trip

A walk around Pier Amusements in Bournemouth.

Pier Amusements

2021.06.07 Wind through Steel. Winter.

Field recordings from Oahu and Maui, Hawaii. Recorded in June 2021 using a Zoom H4N Pro Handy Recorder and LOM mikroUsi microphones.

Wind Through Bamboo Forest On Pu'u Ohia Trail On Oahu

A major BNSF line runs along the Columbia River Gorge that forms the border between Washington and Oregon states, moving freight and other traffic between the coastal harbors and the interiors.

I took the opportunity of my wife's short business trip to Yakima (I'm the one with the vehicle)to camp overnight near the rail and record the comings and goings with minimal traffic. Not only do I love recording trains, these monstrous powerful beasts that roar like steel dragons, I had also just acquired my first 32-bit recorder and something this dynamic and loud seemed like a good test of it's capabilities.

These trains are long, and heavy, often requiring 2-4 engines to pull and another 1-3 to push. The spot I chose was in the middle of a long run where the trains are able to open full-throttle. A little rough-hand math can give us the length. At an assumed speed of 55mph/ 88.5kph (though usually faster), taking 1m46s to pass means this particular train was roughly 1.62 miles/ 2.6 km in length.

Minutes-to-pass divided by 60 minutes per hour gives us the fraction of an hour in time. Multiplied that by velocity yields length. Math!

(minutes/60)*mph=miles
(minutes/60)*kph=kilometers

This is just one sample of the 22 passes that came by that night.

As always, if you hear something you like or would like to hear more for licensing or general listening, please message me either directly through SoundCloud or click on one of the way-too-many social media links above.

Happy listening!

NWSFX - Trains

BNSF Freight Train pass 04

A major BNSF line runs along the Columbia River Gorge that forms the border between Washington and Oregon states, moving freight and other traffic between the coastal harbors and the interiors.

I took the opportunity of my wife's short business trip to Yakima (I'm the one with the vehicle)to camp overnight near the rail and record the comings and goings with minimal traffic. Not only do I love recording trains, these monstrous powerful beasts that roar like steel dragons, I had also just acquired my first 32-bit recorder and something this dynamic and loud seemed like a good test of it's capabilities.

These trains are long, and heavy, often requiring 2-4 engines to pull and another 1-3 to push. The spot I chose was in the middle of a long run where the trains are able to open full-throttle. A little rough-hand math can give us the length. At an assumed speed of 55mph/ 88.5kph (though usually faster), taking 1m37s to pass means this particular train was roughly 1.48 miles/ 2.38 km in length.

Minutes-to-pass divided by 60 minutes per hour gives us the fraction of an hour in time. Multiplied that by velocity yields length. Math!

(minutes/60)*mph=miles
(minutes/60)*kph=kilometers

This is just one sample of the 22 passes that came by that night.

As always, if you hear something you like or would like to hear more for licensing or general listening, please message me either directly through SoundCloud or click on one of the way-too-many social media links above.

Happy listening!

BNSF Freight Train pass 02

First Storm Of The Year

Some sheeps bleating outside on the sheepfold of the village. It was recorded on the south of france (La Drôme).

gear used :  Sound devices Mixpre6 + Sennheiser MKH 8040s ortf setup

August 2019

Sheep bleating outside - La Drôme, France

This is a recording taken under a massive tree and an umbrella. You can hear the wind blowing through the forest, and the big fat raindrops falling on the umbrella.

Recorded using a Tascam DR-05x and em172 stereo microphones.

Umbrella Rain 2

Rainstorm From Inside The Greenhouse

These are stereo recordings I've taken with handheld stereo recorders. I wish recording sound had the same recognition as photography - you can become completely immersed in an environment from a recording. Memories too, can be stirred from sounds, much like old smells remind people of places.

I started recording at the beginning of 2020, and I believe good ambience can be found in the most everyday moments - in cars, trains and shopping centres. I love interesting, busy recordings, especially with weather, people and machinery. I first started with a Tascam Dr-05x (with much wind noise on my early recordings), then added em172 microphones shortly afterwards. Later I purchased a Sony PCM-D100. 

I've categorised some recordings in the 'playlists' section. Suggestions/advice (even requests) always welcomed! 

Recorded in stereo for listening with headphones.

Umbrella Rain 2

Ambient sound recording

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