On january 1st, 2008 I began a project where I would take one
polaroid picture every day of 2008. It was a fun, challenging,
and sometimes frustrating endeavor, but I now have 365 polaroids
portraying the ups and downs and travels of a year in my life.
And 2009 is upon us...
The most rewarding aspect of that project was the fact that every
day I was forced to look at the world around me and experience
each day on a very visual level. Oftentimes, though, I'd pass
over what turned out to be a great photographic opportunity in
the hope a better one would be around the corner, resulting in
a mediocre photo for the day. However, the project was not about
the “best” photography but rather simply of a diary
of seeing for a year.
As 2008 drew to a close I set my sights to 2009. A picture-a-day
was very challenging, do Igive myself a break, freedom from carrying
the Polaroid with me every day, freedom from having to constantly
be on the lookout? Or, was the forcing of this creative project
on me every day a priceless exercise? Never one to rest, I have
decided that in 2009, starting on January 1st, of course, I will
carry a small digital audio recorder with me every day of the
year and record one sound per day.
As a musician I rarely work with “field recordings”
although I am familiar with them enough as a sound source and
have used them in my compositions from time to time. However,
I am always listening and find beauty and serenity in many of
the everyday sounds that surround me. This exercise will not only
force me to listen more carefully every day, but expand my own
sound palette. Like my polaroids, it will not be about capturing
a "perfect" sound, but be a simple audio diary of each
day. Undoubtedly, there will be many wonderful sounds that I capture,
but that is not the primary focus of the project.
I will not set a time limit on each day’s recordings, but
rather make each recording as long as it needs to be to capture
whatever it is i’ll be recording. The only rule I will set
on myself is that all of sounds must be recorded through a microphone,
no direct line connections into the recorder. This will assure
a certain quality (at times, poor) and character. These recordings
will be featured on my blog (12kblog.wordpress.com)
and, of course, this web page.
If 2008 was a year of seeing every day, 2009 will be a year of
listening. The death of Polaroid's instant film market has made
the Polaroid-a-day difficult to continue... My project was timely.
Needless to say, as a photographer, I will never stop looking,
nor will I rarely be caught without a camera, but to form a year’s
worth of living and travelling with an audio diary will be a new
way for me to experience each day.
OCTOBER
31
Pound Ridge, NY, around 8pm
my son sorting through his Halloween candy take. :)
OCTOBER
30
New Canaan, CT, 12:00pm
in a field, taking pictures with my Diana F+ Camera.
OCTOBER
29
Pound Ridge, NY,
a cold rain falling. i'm not sure what the low churning sound
is in the background. i may have been near the laundry room?
OCTOBER
28
Pound Ridge, NY, 5:20pm
my son casually playing the melodica. i thought his technique
wasn't bad.
OCTOBER
27
Pound Ridge, NY, 2:05pm
a very airy blow into a melodica. my favorite sound from this
instrument.
OCTOBER
26
no sound.
OCTOBER
25
no sound.
OCTOBER
24
Croton on the Hudson, NY, around 7pm
recorded in very low quality on my iPhone at a halloween pumpkin
festival in the rain.
OCTOBER
23
Somers, NY, early afternoon
at the beatiful Angle Fly Preserve in Somers. stunning autumn day, stillness, color, sunshine and a stream snaking through the woods.
OCTOBER
22
Pound Ridge, NY, 11:54am
a coffee-can rattle my son made in school last year.
OCTOBER
21
Pound Ridge, NY, ?
no idea what this sound is. outside, in the leaves…? broken pottery at the beginning? i’ve forgotten!
OCTOBER
20
Pound Ridge, NY, 1pm
acorns in my hand.
OCTOBER
19
North Salem, NY, around 3pm
the Mt. Lakes park, on a cliffside overlooking the valley.
OCTOBER
18
Pound Ridge, NY, 12:42pm
a music box resting on the strings of an old acoustic guitar. the microphone were inside the guitar body.
OCTOBER
17
Pound Ridge, NY, around 9am
the 4th and final in the series of Nord Modular randomizations.
this was my favorite, and a fitting way to end.
OCTOBER
16
Pound Ridge, NY, around 6:45pm
eating dinner at our favorite local mexican restaurant.
OCTOBER
15
Pound Ridge, NY, early-mid morning
the first snow of the year, always a great experience. wet and
crystalline, hitting leaves next to the house.
OCTOBER
14
no sound. thought i had a sound. can't find it.
OCTOBER
13
Pound Ridge, NY, 11:14pm
a recording through the wall of my studio where a drainpipe from
the kitchen runs. water draining in the sink upstairs.
OCTOBER
12
Pound Ridge, NY, 11:10am
very close-microphoned recording through a large pile of dried
leaves in the yard.
OCTOBER
11
Pound Ridge, NY, late morning
a 2nd variation on the previous nord modular sound, through heavier
randomization.
OCTOBER
10
Pound Ridge, NY, 8:30am
a randomized variation on the previous nord modular sound.
OCTOBER
9
Pound Ridge, NY, 9:30am
a self-running Nord Modular G2 sound i call "sleeper"
OCTOBER
8
New York, NY, 4pm
crossing the street, somewhere in midtown.
OCTOBER
7
no sound.
OCTOBER
6
Pound Ridge, NY, 3:20pm
home.
OCTOBER
5
Manchester, UK, around 11am
a games arcade in the manchester airport.
OCTOBER
4
York, UK, morning
my last full day in York, walking about in a field before heading
to the studio.
OCTOBER
3
York, UK, late morning
a street band in a busy tourist section of york. too energetic
to pass up.
OCTOBER
2
York, UK, some time in the late evening
just a simple gamelan bell instrument.
OCTOBER
1
York, UK, morning
looping a harmonium. absolutely love the creeking bellows and
incidental noises.
