Photo Monitoring
photo-monitoring

Photography is a powerful and affordable way to document all kinds of environmental issues. We'll be collecting different techniques and tips here -- stay tuned and pitch in where you can! We'll be starting with a focus on #timelapse photography: ## Why Timelapse photography is a visual form of data collection that: - is relatively cheap to collect (~$100, [see below](#Get+a+timelapse+camera)) - produces easier-to-read data: photos - can give good visual context to a problem, compared to (or paired with) sensor data - situates the data in a timeline #### What environmental problems might this apply to Timelapse photography, or photographic monitoring is a good way to document the changes in a landscape over time, or an incident you need images of when you might not be there to capture them in person such as: - [sediment runoff](https://publiclab.org/notes/mlamadrid/06-22-2016/documenting-runoff-with-photography) in a stream from a disturbed site - the changes in [opacity](https://publiclab.org/wiki/visual-pm) of a smoke stack or blowing off of a pile - an explosion at a [mountaintop mining site](https://publiclab.org/notes/LauraChipley/09-18-2015/hacking-trail-cameras-to-document-blasts-on-mountaintop-removal-sites) - activity [at sand mines](https://publiclab.org/notes/glennwalquist/12-04-2016/monitoring-sargent-sand-mining-operation-in-ludington-michigan) ![image description](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/621/medium/Screenshot_2017-02-23_at_4.17.53_PM.png "Screenshot_2017-02-23_at_4.17.53_PM.png") (Above: monitoring a mountaintop removal site: [see this note](https://publiclab.org/notes/LauraChipley/09-18-2015/hacking-trail-cameras-to-document-blasts-on-mountaintop-removal-sites)) #### Limitations - To set up the camera, you will need access to a secure location where your site of interest can be seen. - Depending on how often you have the camera set to take photos, you could end up with a lot of images to go through. - There have been documented challenges in capturing images with glare (from the sun, snow and water) (see [Frequently Asked Questions](https://publiclab.org/wiki/photo-monitoring#Frequently+Asked+Questions)) #### Conversations & collaboration * Discussions around photographic monitoring are happening on the Midwest group through a few on-going projects, as well as on publiclab.org through this page _(see the [Activities](https://publiclab.org/wiki/photo-monitoring#Timelapse+Activities), [Frequently Asked Questions](https://publiclab.org/wiki/photo-monitoring#Frequently+Asked+Questions), and [Updates](https://publiclab.org/wiki/photo-monitoring#Updates) sections below)_ Midwest group: publiclab-midwest **** ![timelapse-camera](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/554/medium/IMG_20170202_132917_566.jpg) ### Get a timelapse camera Timelapse cameras can be found at sporting goods stores and online. They are also called "trail cameras" or "game cameras." See the [Timelapse Kit page](/wiki/timelapse) for more, and to borrow one (if available) ### Case studies [notes:timelapse:story] [map:tag:timelapse-story:44:-91] **** ### Related techniques Timelapse photography may also make use of a number of other techniques, such as: * [Triggering cameras](/wiki/camera-trigger) * [Photo sharing](/wiki/photo-sharing) - different ways to share, distribute, upload LOTS of photos online There are also possibilities with cell-network-enabled trail cameras, though they're mostly a bit more expensive; they'd need a mobile phone plan and a SIM card to work. Many are around $400, but these (pretty poorly rated) ones were around $100: * [E-TECHING](https://www.amazon.com/E-TECHING-Camera-Infrared-Digital-Integrated/dp/B01KX3M5XI/) - $100 * [Docooler](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DSS7Q4I?psc=1) - $90 * [SUNLUXY](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ZX1478?psc=1) - $109 **** ### Updates [notes:photo-monitoring] ### Timelapse Activities Timelapse photography is a way to automatically trigger a camera on an interval -- for example, every minute, or every hour. Here are some posted activities related to timelapse; we're still seeking a clear guide to setting up and using a #trail-cam to do timelapses, so **please reach out if you're able to help document this**! [activities:timelapse] ### Frequently Asked Questions We're collecting and working our way through a wide array of questions about timelapse photography -- if you can contribute your own questions, or answer others', please do! [questions:timelapse] **** ### Frac sand photographic monitoring There's some good resources [posted on this page](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-action-oriented-resources#Photographic+Monitoring) which are specific to water monitoring or monitoring of frac sand sites -- check it out, and we're working to open some of these ideas up into questions and activities soon. **** #### About the data **Type of data** This method produces data in the form of images. Most cameras are also able to timestamp images. _Addons:_ - Some cameras also have the ability to capture GPS data. - This monitoring method can be paired with weather monitoring stations for a richer data set. - Sending images to the internet has been another add-on for these type of projects. **Uses for the data** - Government agencies often find photographic data useful evidence. [Read more about this here.](https://publiclab.org/notes/warren/11-22-2016/interview-chris-nidel-on-environmental-evidence-in-court#Photographic+evidence) - Photographs of events or land change are useful tools in persuasion for publications, or in public comment. [Read more about this here](https://publiclab.org/notes/mlamadrid/06-22-2016/using-photographs-in-fighting-mining-companies). ...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
warren "Also glad to hear the trail cam arrived. Please take some good pictures of the setup if possible -- and it's probably a good idea to try an indoor ..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "I love the idea of a Dylos synced with a timelapse. We've been working on timelapse stuff over at the photo monitoring page and are also talking wi..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "Hi Liz, do any of the creators have public lab usernames? I'd love to learn more about the uploading process and whether other groups could use thi..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
glennwalquist "@warren Thanks for the copies of the trail cam instructions! " | Read more » about 7 years ago
mathew "@warren @rjstatic would know more about the modification, but the Open Pipe Kit installation you have should be modifiable to send an e-mail notifi..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "Hi, in case it's helpful, here are the instructions! " | Read more » about 7 years ago
stevie "That's so smart! " | Read more » about 7 years ago
glennwalquist "@stevie Yes, I guess I just kind of assumed that a 2x4 piece of treated wood would be less likely to stand out ( I wrote a fictional name on the p..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
glennwalquist "I haven't had to change batteries (yet) since we set it up near the end of October...I do believe that the twice daily pic set-up is the main reaso..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "Super photos, thank you! Have you retrieved images yet? I wonder how long it'll last at a lower capture rate, hopefully the battery will last longe..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
stevie "@tayreed that sounds interesting! Would love to hear more. @glennwalquist - great setup photos! Did you use the wooden block to camouflage it with..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
glennwalquist "Warren, What a putz I am. When I set up our Trailcam, I just kinda followed the the set-up feature intuitively because I lost the manual (actu..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "That's great to hear, @tayreed. I'm also asking around where I live to see if some folks are interested in putting together a guide on setting up ..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
tayreed "Hey Glenn! Shooting word over from the Traverse City area. I'd love to collaborate and do some spatial/statistical analysis and get some quantitati..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "@DMerwitz @marlokeno @stevie @bkleist @cfastie - just thought you'd be interested to see this effort -- great use of timelapse to monitor smokestac..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "I also wanted to note that folks may be left with a photo series, not a video -- like with the #timelapse trail cameras folks. While we have a ques..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
warren "Just to put this out there, for folks who do have all the software set up and such, perhaps as more folks make timelapses, we could be mailing the ..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
glennwalquist "Thank-you, xose! I will look into how I might be able to accomplish that over the next couple of days! " | Read more » over 7 years ago
mathew "Yes, OpenStreetMap is an open project to crowdsource a map (they have a lot of institutional partners too, like my fair city, Portland, OR). Mapil..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
xose "Just for the record, It can be easily done using GNU/linux. Here two tutorials for Kdenlive (just GNU/linux) and OpenShot (the only multiplatform, ..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
xose "Wooow @mathew thanks a lot! It looks great! I understand this is a crowdsourced app to collectively create a map isn't it? (I'm downloading right n..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
mathew "@xrose, https://www.mapillary.com/ is also an open source, OpenStreetMap based system for doing the same thing-- placing images on a map, with time..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
mathew "On mac, the easiest way is to use Quicktime 7, File --> Open Image Sequence " | Read more » over 7 years ago
mathew "On mac, the easiest way is to use Quicktime 7, File --> Open Image Sequence " | Read more » over 7 years ago