justing.net/field-recordings

Almaden Quicksilver County Park

2024-01-08T00:00:00-08:00

Recording: 12 m, 15 mb, and there is a 28 m version on YouTube, with some video that I’m not too happy about. From 23DEC11MON

You can see some new equipment in the picture that I am starting to use. I’m pretty happy with it, and the audio. The video that I took with my now getting very old camera is something that I am less happy with.

I had a lot of time on my hands while I was sitting around waiting for the sound to record. One of the things that I thought about was that the daytime sky on a cloudy day is probably pretty similar to what our prehistoric ancestors would have seen. I think this was after someone else had made the point that sea is a similar view that we have and still can share with our oldest forebears. It set me off thinking of what other things we can still share with them, and what things we have lost that they had. In some sense we have traded those things for what we have today that they didn’t and couldn’t have. I’m still thinking about that.

To Reply: Email me what you still hear.

Mountain View Light Rail Arriving

2023-12-30T00:00:00-08:00

Recording, 33 s captured 23NOV03FRI in the afternoon.

A VTA light rail passing and arriving at the platform in Mountain View, California. The sound that I noticed was the rails that the rails make before the train is very close. It’s the sound of the wheels rolling, transmitted through the rails themselves.

To Reply: Email about unique sounds that you've noticed.

2023-08-17: LIRR Train Arriving

2023-10-29T00:00:00-07:00

Recording, 1 m

WARNING: this one can get LOUD. The sound of a LIRR train arriving at the platform. I did some light compression so that the announcement isn’t so faint against the train arriving.

To Reply: Email replies are the best replies.

2023-08-20: Long Island Church Bells

2023-10-29T00:00:00-07:00

Recording, 1 m

Took a little more editing to get the church bells out of the noise. I was a block away when they started.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2023-10-21: Joshua Tree National Park, Trail Sounds

2023-10-21T00:00:00-07:00

Recording, 30 s

I recently hiked the California Riding and Hiking Trail (more recordings to come), and this is the sound that accompanied me basically the whole way.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2023-10-21: East Jesus, Slab City, CA

2023-10-21T00:00:00-07:00

Recording, 20 s

Slab City is a homeless camp? Or an art commune? Or a anarchic society? In the East Jesus part of the “town” there is a very beautiful wind chime, and this is a recording of it.

To Reply: Email replies are the best replies.

2023-10-20: Joshua Tree National Park, Passing Plane

2023-10-20T00:00:00-07:00

Recording, 3 m

One night the nearby military base was doing some practice fliying (I assume), and these planes made quite a few passes. For this one I filtered out sounds above 2500 Hz, which is all (or most) of the crickets.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2023-10-19: Joshua Tree National Park

2023-10-19T00:00:00-07:00

I went backpacking for 4 days in Joshua Tree. Night in the high desert has a lot of crickets. Also a surprising amount of air traffic, both civilian and military. The first night is near enough to town to have a few suburban sounds: dog barking and maybe a car. I think there was an owl, but I’ll have to listen again.

To Reply: Email replies are the best replies.

2023-09-06: Meridian, ID

2023-09-06T00:00:00-07:00

Recording: 17 m, 24 mb

Night in late summer. Passing brief shower, drains, drops on a glass table. Suburban sounds abound: far away traffic, an air conditioner, a dog barks in the distance, a passing jet. There are some crickets in the beginning before the rain.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2023-08-26: Pittsburgh, PA

2023-08-26T00:00:00-07:00

Recording: 15 m, 25 mb

Evening in late summer. The location is quite suburban. Many cars and human generated sounds. There are crickets and cicadas.

To Reply: Replies by email are appreciated.

2023-08-22: Middletown, CT

2023-08-22T00:00:00-07:00

Recording: 73 minutes, 105 mb, hosted on my S3 bucket. alternate on Google Drive.

Short version: 17 minutes, 25 mb

Night time in the late summer. The location is on the edge of town. There are a lot of insects, and a few other animal sounds. There are also some passing cars, and some very high jet airplanes.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2023-08-17: Mill Pond, Wantagh, NY

2023-08-17T00:00:00-07:00

Recording: 10 minutes, 17 mb

Mid-morning in late summer. This is a very urban/suburban area with lots of human sounds: traffic, airplanes, gardeners, etc. There are also insects and birds. My footsteps on the path are also audible.

To Reply: You can reply by email.

2022-09-04: Poipu Beach, Kaua'i, HI

2022-09-04T00:00:00-07:00

Recording: 14 minutes, 25 mb

Early morning. Waves.

My first recorder was a Zoom H1n. I only found it usable in the best circumstances.

To Reply: Comments by email are welcome.