Is the Sound Glass Half Empty or Half Full? Dawn Recording in My Backyard…..

Written By Darrin Wassom

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Being a person who absolutely loves the sound of nature, I can be a glass half empty or half full, depending on my location and conditions. This week, I think I find myself squarely in the middle of the age-old debate. My weekend recording plan went sideways from the beginning, so I was scrambling yesterday to come up with a recording to share this week.

My wife and I spent a few days on the boat and dropped anchor in one of our favorite anchorages, Bowers Harbor, which is on the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. The plan was to do an overnight recording from the rear cockpit while we slept to capture the essence of a night on the hook. We were literally the only boat anchored in the harbor, so there was a whiff of potential success in the air as I pushed record.

As always, the Zoom F6 and Audio Technica BP 4025 microphone performed flawlessly, but I quickly dashed my excitement as I scrubbed through the files. Voices that carried across the lake overwhelmed this perfect scene in the perfect location. I can’t be mad because it was a beautiful night, and it was the sound of cheerful people having a bonfire on the beach….. and they were very cheerful until around 6AM. I tried editing the files to get some usable audio, but luck wasn’t on my side.

Not wanting to give up and skip an episode, I took a chance on setting up my gear in the backyard. I am very fortunate to live on a small inland lake in northern Michigan. While it is a rural location, there are main roads to the north and south and the house is next to a meandering road called Hobbs Highway. It really isn’t a highway, but gets a few cars per hour even through the night.

Until I started taking field recording seriously, I always thought our location was the perfect spot to listen to nature. We are on a lake with a marshy area on the property next to us. We live in the middle of nowhere and people are pretty quiet out here…… but….. the sound of airplanes, cars, air conditioners, etc can be like nails on a chalkboard for me. I hear it all now. Going back to the half empty or full question, should I give this too much thought? I live in paradise, for crying out loud. I’m lucky to call this place home, so why do I let some fairly minimal noise pollution ruin it for me?

This recording isn’t perfect but I think it is good. You will hear some lingering airplanes and a few cars, but once you get past that, you will hear the Robins waking up and the deer snorting as they stir. I am sharing it with you with a glass half full mindset. I hope you enjoy!

Episode 3 Show Notes:

Darrin Wassom
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