Hempton leaned over to his partner at their home in a wooded, rural neighborhood on Washington’s Puget Sound.
“And I said, 'Kate, do you hear birdsong?' And she said yes. I knew my life was going to be different.”
Hempton's eyes get watery as he describes the cruel irony of his situation. More than twenty years ago he trademarked his nickname as “The Sound Tracker.” Sharp hearing defined his career as an Emmy award winning sound recordist. It also led to his activism against noise pollution.
He has circled the globe three times in search of the perfect sounds of nature.
Those are howler monkeys in a tropical rain forest in Belize. Closer to home, coyotes howl in an eastern Washington canyon.
He also found places so quiet that he could hear the soft sound of a hummingbird's wings.
Hempton says his hearing loss is quickly getting worse; creating what he says is a “real urgency” to finish his project.
“I'm not totally deaf. But I have lost most of my hearing. So I am running a race to finish the Quiet Planet collection.”
That's the title of a planned 19-volume set of nature recordings.
Volunteer assistants now help Hempton review and edit sound files and identify imperfections.
“I miss it. I feel so connected when I can listen to the place I am. And the difference between hearing where you are and not is like the difference between being awake and not.”
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25