The **Public Lab Timelapse Kit**: fight polluters by catching them on film! _Above image via @glennwalquist -- [read more](/notes/glennwalquist/12-04-2016/monitoring-sargent-sand-mining-operation-in-ludington-michigan#c16131)_ A number of folks are working across the Public Lab network to set up cheap #timelapse cameras. Help out and hold polluters accountable! ## How it works It doesn't completely -- yet! We're testing this approach in a few places around the country, and looking to prove it out more. But the basic idea is to point a timelapse camera at a place where you hope to catch pollution happening, to collect evidence and to pressure them to stop. [](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/690/original/Screen_Shot_2017-02-28_at_2.34.17_PM.png) (above, timelapse of [blasting at a mountaintop removal site](/notes/LauraChipley/09-18-2015/hacking-trail-cameras-to-document-blasts-on-mountaintop-removal-sites#c16250) via @LauraChipley) This could be used at: * refineries * mine sites * industrial facilities * anywhere you can safely place the camera ## How to help We're collecting well-documented examples of this technique in action, and we need: * great photos of camera setups * example footage * easy instructions on how to share your images ## Questions [questions:timelapse] **** ## Try it out We're organizing meet-ups to assemble kits, test them out, document and install them, so that lots of people have a chance to learn how to do this and spread the word. The basic kit is based on: > $103 (with 16g SD card) [Crenova Trail Camera](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016OASTDY/) - 12 megapixel, 8 AA batteries (note that it's actually 5 megapixels, but it stretches images up to 12, unfortunately) Get in touch (jeff@publiclab.org) to organize a local group to assemble, document, and test, and report back how it goes. **** ## Activities [activities:timelapse] **** **Flyer handouts:** timelapse-kit-card.pdf and 4-up version for printing: timelapse-kit-card-4up.pdf **** [](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/546/original/tmp_15415-IMG_20170214_121228_354-1789056372.jpg) (Above, prototype box mock-up) ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| warren | "Hi, in case it's helpful, here are the instructions! " | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| stevie | "That's so smart! " | Read more » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 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 » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| mathew | "On mac, the easiest way is to use Quicktime 7, File --> Open Image Sequence " | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| xose | "Hi Glenn! You can also use an unexpensive tool combined with your amazing monitoring on the ground that is using the Google Earth "map over time" f..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| warren | "Oops, link: https://publiclab.org/questions/warren/12-05-2016/how-do-i-make-a-video-from-a-series-of-photos " | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| warren | "Thanks, Chris - i figured it's a good idea to compile a bunch of options, so I posted a question and added your response as an answer, along with a..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Video editing programs usually have some way of converting photos into the frames of a video. In Adobe Premiere Elements if you click Add_Media/Fi..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| warren | "Oh, this is great to see. I know that in this note, @cfastie made a video from his timelapse using the same Crenova trail camera. Chris, how did yo..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Scott, There is no problem. The Mobius can do interval shooting at any interval, and it can also do motion detection. The trail camera has NIR LED..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
| eustatic | "Is the problem that the mobius can t do intervals greater than a certain amount? or mostly it's the NIR and motion capture that you are looking fo..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
| warren | "Sorry, I meant make an activity out of this, with step by step instructions and such, not one taking the next step. So, yes! I'm hoping @stevie an..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago |