5 May 2023

Irrigation

by | posted in: Binaural Microphone, Field Recording, Idaho, SASS, Sound Effects | 0

Irrigation is a collection of water flow ambiances captured in and around the Treasure Valley of southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, Owyhee and Burnt rivers drain into the Snake River. Follow the flow of crystal clear water as it travels from mountain-fed streams and rivers down into large reservoirs. Listen as water courses through the pipes and along the canals that carry it to sprinklers large and small. Finally, the water fans out onto verdant golf courses, people’s front yards and farmland.

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Miles upon miles of crop circles seen during a flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle on April 17, 2021 highlight the extent to which center pilot irrigation plays a part in the landscape of the arid West. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Miles upon miles of crop circles seen during a flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle on April 17, 2021, highlight the extent to which center pilot irrigation plays a part in the landscape of the arid West. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
A center pivot irrigator sprays water down upon a field of sugar beats at sunrise south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
A center-pivot irrigator sprays water down upon a field of sugar beats at sunrise south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon

Be inches away from the sweeping spray of center-pivot irrigators. These create acres and acres of green circles in an otherwise barren landscape. They make agriculture here possible. As a sonic side benefit, they produce cadenced sounds that will lull you to sleep.

Water allocation, i.e., who gets how much when there’s not enough to go around, is a huge, polarizing issue confronting residents, industries, politicians and wildlife in the western United States. Farmland is turning into subdivisions at an alarming rate.

Use these recordings, captured in pristine 24-bit/96 kHz quality by field recordist Richard Alan Hannon, to illustrate subject matter that will be in the headlines for years to come. Seamless loops have been meticulously crafted from sounds that allow for it, giving you more opportunities to utilize these sounds in your projects.

While capturing many of these recordings, I was also recording the sounds for the Hydroelectric Power sound effects library. Out West, these two man-made resources go hand in hand.

Library Key Features

  • 73 minutes of content
  • 24-bit/96kHz broadcast .wav files
  • 21 pristine stereo ambiances (including seamless loops)
  • above water and underwater perspectives
  • UCS (Universal Category System) compliant filenames
  • recorded with Sound Devices 702 with Line Audio CM3 (in ORTF), Audio-Technica 3032 (SASS), Aquarian H2A hydrophone x2 and Clippy EM 172 (binaural) microphones, plus Sony PCM D100 recorder with Luhd PM-01AB (quasi-binaural).
  • Sounds recorded in the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho and Fremont Canyon in Wyoming
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The New York Canal, as seen from above at Barber Observation Point, flows west toward Boise and beyond on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
The New York Canal, as seen from above at Barber Observation Point, flows west toward Boise and beyond on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of wheel line irrigation in a field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of wheel line irrigation in a field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Sound recording of center pivot irrigation in a sugar beat field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Sound recording of center pivot irrigation in a sugar beat field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Sound recording of center pivot irrigation in a sugar beat field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Sound recording of center pivot irrigation in a sugar beat field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of the State Lateral irrigation canal south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of the State Lateral irrigation canal south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the underwater sound of Settlers Canal as it flows past the entrance to Hyatt Hidden Lake Reserve in Garden City, Idaho on Monday, August 24, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the underwater sound of Settlers Canal as it flows past the entrance to Hyatt Hidden Lake Reserve in Garden City, Idaho on Monday, August 24, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the underwater sound of Lucky Peak Reservoir from Spring Shores Marina east of Boise, Idaho on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the underwater sound of Lucky Peak Reservoir from Spring Shores Marina east of Boise, Idaho on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording sound with a SASS microphone upriver from Lucky Peak Dam in south-central Idaho on April 15, 2021. Completed in 1915 by the Bureau of Reclamation, the dam was the tallest in the world at 315 feet. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording sound with a SASS microphone upriver from Lucky Peak Dam in south-central Idaho on April 15, 2021. Completed in 1915 by the Bureau of Reclamation, the dam was the tallest in the world at 315 feet. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Using a binaural head and Sound Devices 702 to record the sound of a center pivot irrigator spraying water down upon a field of sugar beats south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Using a binaural head and Sound Devices 702 to record the sound of a center pivot irrigator spraying water down upon a field of sugar beats south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of tripod sprinkler irrigation with a pair of Line Audio CM3 microphones in ORTF 20 feet away with a Sound Devices 702 south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of tripod sprinkler irrigation with a pair of Line Audio CM3 microphones in ORTF 20 feet away with a Sound Devices 702 south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of tripod sprinkler irrigation with a binaural microphone head and Sound Devices 702 south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of tripod sprinkler irrigation with a binaural microphone head and Sound Devices 702 south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of wheel line irrigation in a field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of wheel line irrigation in a field south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of an irrigation stand pipe with a pair of hydrophones south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of an irrigation stand pipe with a pair of hydrophones south of Meridian, Idaho on June 27, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of Irrigation water gushing from a standpipe with a binaural microphone head south of Meridian, Idaho on July 17, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of irrigation sprinklers at Falcon Crest Golf Club in Kuna, Idaho on Friday, July 10, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Recording the sound of irrigation sprinklers at Falcon Crest Golf Club in Kuna, Idaho on Friday, July 10, 2020. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon

Center-Pivot recording location

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