I just finished my latest piece on the Gorham mill for NHPR. One of the most challenging things with audio stories is capturing all the sounds, to make the listener really feel like they are there. I went to the Berlin indoor farmer’s market yesterday, where there was a fantastic band (Shelburne Addition) playing, lots of people shopping and all types of sounds and noises. It made interviewing harder, but it gave me the opportunity to work a little harder at capturing the atmosphere of the place.

Again, I can’t over emphasize how nice it was to catch up with so many people over the course of the day reporting that story. It was a little hard to get my work done because so much of my time was spent saying hello to people I hadn’t seen in three months.

But I was able to capture enough sound and talk to enough people to get a good idea of how people are feeling about the mill. It is nice to report something positive happening up there, even if there are serious concerns about where it will go.

And it was nice to get to practice using sound a little more creatively (and surgically). Shelburne Addition did a great job of covering up some of the more difficult edits and making things sound good. Their music helped me bring the feeling of the market into people’s homes and cars. Or, at least, I hope it did. I think it did. I’d love to hear if anyone disagrees.

Sound is a hard thing to capture, but I’m getting better. Two weeks in Iraq should give me a real opportunity to test myself, without any distractions. And the story I just finished should give me the money to get a new microphone before I go. It all works out sometimes.

Oh, by the way, I took this photo yesterday off East Mason Street. It was a stunningly beautiful morning, although my fingers were so cold I could hardly work the camera.

Listen tomorrow morning for my story on NHPR. Probably around 7:15 a.m. I’ll post it on here when I’m finished as well.