I recently wrote a blog post for A Sound Effect detailing how I prepare for field recording trips. I touched on most aspects involved, from transportation to gear and beyond. Hope you'll find it useful.

Hi, I’m George Vlad and I like to point mics at things. I record all sorts of sounds, from ambiences and wildlife to machinery and aircraft and everything in between. I’ve released a few libraries through Mindful Audio and I often share free recordings on the MA blog.

I’m currently planning a month-long field recording trip to the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube Delta in Romania. As is always the case, I have to go through extensive preparations so that once I get there I can forget everything else and focus on getting the best recordings. Having done this many times in the past, I’m going to go into some detail about how I prepare for a recording trip, from a short hike to flying halfway around the world.

[Head over to the A Sound Effect blog to read the rest of the article.]

Field recording tools of the trade

At the lower end of the price spectrum, field recording equipment will yield relatively similar results. A few dB of self noise won’t make a huge difference if the recordist hasn’t mastered the other tools of the trade, the ones that can’t be bought. Let’s examine some lesser known but rather more important tools that are sure to improve your field recording practice.

Introduction to Freestyle field recording

Freestyle field recording is a flexible approach to recording nature and wildlife sounds outside of the studio or any controlled environment, developed by George Vlad. While traditional methods are prescriptive and rigid, Freestyle field recording encourages deliberate experimentation and a very organic workflow.

Listening session at the House of Lords in Westminster

I recently received an invitation to play some of my soundscapes and to tell stories about conservation. While there’s nothing unusual about that, the setting was definitely novel for me.

A collection of Owl sounds

Owls are awesome and worth learning about. What better place to start than a curated selection of owl recordings, captured by your favourite wildlife sound recordist!

The 2025 Soundscape Fund

How can field recording make a difference for conservation and environmental causes? I get this question a lot, and one of the answers is here. Once a year I team up with Thomas Rex Beverly and Andy Martin to raise money for environmental NGOs.