Three Surprises

The most surprising thing about Drift 1 was the sonic character of my neighborhood. Even though it was mid-day, it was almost silent outside. Consciously capturing sounds really made me aware of this.

Following my sound-walk, I was surprised that there actually was some decent material in my recordings. I was expecting to have to go on a second walk, but I was pleased to find that was not the case.

Finally, I was surprised at the videos I made on Drift 2. In the field, they seemed varied and interesting, but in the studio, I was bored by them. I thought I had discovered some interesting strategies, but I don't think they translated into the actual images well.

At Ease

The experience of listening to my natural surroundings, amplified, is always a calming one. All of my attention goes to the sounds. Something about the headphones and microphone really causes me to focus in a way that just normal listening doesn't. While recording dogs barking across an entire neighborhood, the sense of distance seems to recede.

The second experience I had was the late-afternoon sun at the lake, during Drift 2. This caused the shadows from the trees - it was just a really beautiful scene.

My Frustrations

My neighborhood is sort of stuffy. It really stressed me out to be walking around with headphones and a camera. People are very protective of their gated communities, and they're not afraid to stare you down if you're in their neighborhood. It took me a while to finally get over my apprehension and to really settle into the experience.

My neighborhood was also very quiet on the day I went out to capture audio. I really had to strain to keep quiet enough, so as not to obscure the natural sounds. I never knew how loudly my nose could whistle. The few sounds that I did capture were somewhat serendipitous, and I welcomed them readily.