I believe everything in nature is a story. There is birth, death, joy, sorrow, drama, humor, mundanity, and the extraordinary. My goal as a recordist is present these characters and their passions, their activities, their desires, and their trials as honestly as possible. These are not my recordings, but Nature’s Stories.

Wandering Stories

Long-form recordings have unpredictable plots. Some of the basics can assumed: the sun rises, the sun sets. Wildlife makes-do within that cycle. The rest is the improvisation of nature at its finest. My job is to show up as an unobtrusive audience. It’s always delightful to hear what unfolds on the stage.

Olympic National Forest Awakening

Chattery Pacific Wrens, lonesome Varied Thrushes, polite American Robins, and mischievous Kinglets try to make sense of another busy day. 

Conner’s Lake, A Chilly Spring Dawn

I can’t imagine a better morning to sit with a warm mug of cocoa or coffee to warm what part of the heart this scene hasn’t. Blackbirds, geese, turkeys, ducks, owls, and some distant cattle jostle for attention without ever taking control. (April 2019)

Sonic Mmabolela

Occasionally I do get to travel outside my home region. When I do, I try to montage travelogues of the trip. This is two weeks of African listened condensed into 26 minutes. It’s a slow journey with some bright surprises. (2018)

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High Country, Okanogan

As a recordist I seek to bring attention to quiet places throughout the Pacific Northwest that are free from noise pollution, and consequently bring the sounds of those places to listeners that need the sounds of nature to still their minds and escape the noise of human life. It is vitally important to me that the natural stories happening in such quiet places are recorded and transmitted, both to document their soundscapes before they are lost forever and to inspire others to work to conserve their soundscapes for the future. The following stories represent life over the course of three days high in the Okanogan Mountains.

Thirtymile Meadows, Dawn

A wet sub-alpine meadow at it’s Northwest Finest. A natural shallow bowl collects moisture and bog as much as it does wildlife. (July 2019)

Long Swamp, Dawn

Awaken in a hidden high mountain wetland, from the crisp twilight silence to the busy activity of the day. (July 16, 2019)

Long Swamp, Dusk

What stirs in the morning, falls asleep in the evening. Allow yourself to slowly unwind and relax as Swainson’s Thrushes and sparrows drift off to sleep themselves. (July 16, 2019)

Long Swamp, Dawn

Lose yourself in sweet morning songs of thrushes and sparrows. The rising sun itself is not up early enough to outshine their voices. (July 17, 2019)

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