This is the second post from composer/performer/instrument builder Cheryl Leonard as she makes her way to Antarctica for a month of recording, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program.

Antarctica Bound, part 2

By Cheryl Leonard

Punta Arenas, Chile 12/29/08



Finally got power for my computer and an Internet connection. Yay! We are supposed to leave on the ship tonight, but the port is closed at the moment due to wind so perhaps we will be delayed. If all goes well on the crossing my next blog entry should be from Antarctica.

After about 24 hours of grueling plane travel, my luggage and I have arrived safely in Punta Arenas, Chile. What a relief, I am finally on my way to Antarctica!

It is very windy here today. I don’t know the official wind speed but I can tell you that when I walk around outside the wind is either hurrying me along or pushing me backwards with a strength that periodically threatens to knock me over.

Earlier today I was at the beach, looking at boats out in the Straights of Magellan, giant cruise ships docked at the pier, and getting my face sandblasted. Fortunately the rest of my skin was shielded by Gore-Tex and fleece. I was planning on shooting some video of the white-capped seas, but soon thought better of it as it would be pretty bad to scratch up my camera lens before I even reach Antarctica.

Everywhere I wander here on the streets of Punta Arenas a maze of power lines hovers above my head. They swing violently back and forth, and strange whistling and howling squeals are coming out of them. I worry that one will break free, whip into me and electrocution will result, but luckily so far it hasn’t happened. I’d like to record the strange power line voices, but my microphone windscreen is back in the hotel, and even if I had it with me, I’m not sure it can neutralize winds this strong. Because I know that wind will be a major factor when I try to record outside in Antarctica (aka the windiest continent on Earth) I bought a fancy Sennheiser zeppelin, shockmount, and furry windmuff for this adventure. We still have a lot farther south to go, and it’s likely that I will encounter winds stronger than these, so it looks like I will be testing the limits of my new windscreen.

At Palmer Station it will also be cold and wet. Yep, overall it’s an environment that is pretty darn hostile to recording equipment. This means that most of the gear I am bringing with me is designed for uses like location sound and nature field recording. Also, I decided I should have backup equipment. In Antarctica, if something breaks or falls into the ocean a replacement is not just a few mouse clicks away. There is no FedEx service and mail comes about once a month, with the next ship, which would be the boat I’m scheduled to leave on. Thus, I have two complete field recording systems with me, plus a little hand-held recorder and a bunch of other fun microphones to experiment with.

My primary system is a Sound Devices 702 field recorder, Sennheiser MKH 40 (cardioid) and MKH 30 (figure-eight) microphones for recording in mid-side stereo, and the above-mentioned Sennheiser windscreen system. After researching my options I chose this equipment specifically because it has a reputation for being durable and working well in harsh conditions. I also needed the system to be portable, easy to use, low-noise, and able to record in stereo at 96 kHz, 24-bit.

I’m a composer, and therefore really far from wealthy, so my backup system had to cost significantly less than my primary system but still be suitable for recording quiet sounds at 24/96. For this I have a Fostex FR2-LE, a Rode NT4 microphone (X-Y stereo), and a zeppelin/shockmount/windmuff system from Cinecity in India. For a point-and-shoot style recorder I am using Edirol’s R-09HR. Additional mics I will be playing around with include H2-XLR hydrophones from Aquarian Audio, a pair of Audio-Technica 3032 omnis, a pair of Shure WL183 lavaliers, and several homemade contact mics.

Tonight we will board the Lawrence M. Gould, a research icebreaker, and tomorrow evening we will start sailing south to The Ice. Hopefully the wind will die down before we cross the Drake Passage. One of the scientists told me a few weeks ago they had 65 foot seas, and that does not sound like fun. It sounds downright scary. In the meantime, tonight I’ll be digging out a UV filter to protect my camera lens and unearthing my microphone windscreens. I think I’m going to be needing them.