Poll: Photogrammetry hands-on workshop in SoCal

[beldridg]

I'm considering holding a hands-on photogrammetry workshop / class in Southern California. Before I go too far down the rabbit hole, I'd like to determine if there is enough demand for it.

The class would be in-person and would likely be three days long and would include two dives. I would likely limit the class to four participants (especially in the first few sessions) to ensure a lot of interactivity and discussion.

Day 1 would be lecture and would include photogrammetry basics, getting the software installed and running (trial license), photogrammetry build process and then build a sample model from a land-based project.

Day 2 would be a boat day (likely San Diego on the Marissa) with two dives to practice photography

Day 3 would be building models of the previous day and also tips / tricks with the software

I would need to charge people a fee but I'm not looking to make a living out of it.

Class prerequisites would be a working underwater camera setup (I have some equipment I can lend people if needed), experience taking underwater photos, and a laptop running Mac, Linux, or Microsoft.

So, my question is would people want to attend the class? Is there enough interest in learning photogrammetry from a "hands-on" perspective. I feel like I have enough experience at this point to really help accelerate other people who would like to get into this area of photography.

Thanks,

- brett

 

[beldridg]

PS - The last poll response option was a little bit tongue-in-cheek. But, just in case people don't know, photogrammetry is the art and the science of taking 2D photos and making them into a 3D model. It really helps to visualize the entirety of a structure and not just bits/pieces. Here is a screenshot of an example of an airplane we discovered off Point Loma and a link to the on-line model you can actually rotate, zoom, etc.:

F8F Bearcat - 3D model by Brett Eldridge (@beldridg)

F8F Bearcat - 3D model by Brett Eldridge (@beldridg)

sketchfab.com

Regards,

- brett

 

[Akimbo]

Sounds interesting but geographically undesirable. Will you also be discussing acoustic survey and imaging technologies?

A future video showing the concepts would be very interesting and might be useful for recruiting future students.

 

[L13]

PS - The last poll response option was a little bit tongue-in-cheek. But, just in case people don't know, photogrammetry is the art and the science of taking 2D photos and making them into a 3D model. It really helps to visualize the entirety of a structure and not just bits/pieces. Here is a screenshot of an example of an airplane we discovered off Point Loma and a link to the on-line model you can actually rotate, zoom, etc.:

View attachment 753288

F8F Bearcat - 3D model by Brett Eldridge (@beldridg)

F8F Bearcat - 3D model by Brett Eldridge (@beldridg)

sketchfab.com

Regards,

- brett

Is there a reason you don't include more of the sea floor around it? I would think it would be more visually interesting with more of it's environment included.

 

[beldridg]

Is there a reason you don't include more of the sea floor around it? I would think it would be more visually interesting with more of it's environment included.

Normally, I would. Here is an example of a recent model I built of a Corsair wreck off Point Loma:

In the case of the Bearcat, the full story of the dive is posted below, but essentially it was a target dive 230 feet deep and I was diving solo. I wasn't sure what I would find (or if I would even find it) and when I finally did find the target, my main objective on that specific dive was to take photos to try to identify the wreck and not necessarily to take photos to build a model.

Taking photos for composition, features, etc is different than taking photos for a photogrammetry model.

About 10 or 15 minutes into my bottom time, I thought that maybe I would take some extra photos to see if I could also build a model. At some point, I'll go back and dive it again to build a "proper" model.

Here is the Bearcat story:

F8F-1 Bearcat (Point Loma, CA — 230 fsw)

Background We have located the wreck of a rare F8F-1 Bearcat airplane deep in the waters off of Point Loma, California. This post details the discovery of the wreck, identifying the type of airplan…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

Regards,

- brett

 

[beldridg]

Sounds interesting but geographically undesirable. Will you also be discussing acoustic survey and imaging technologies?

A future video showing the concepts would be very interesting and might be useful for recruiting future students.

I hadn't thought about it but it might be interesting. My main thought is that it would be for people who are already underwater photographers but might want to learn a new tool.

The video is a good idea. I think it would help explain what photogrammetry is. It is still a relatively new tool for underwater divers.

- brett

 

[L13]

Normally, I would. Here is an example of a recent model I built of a Corsair wreck off Point Loma:

View attachment 753296

In the case of the Bearcat, the full story of the dive is posted below, but essentially it was a target dive 230 feet deep and I was diving solo. I wasn't sure what I would find (or if I would even find it) and when I finally did find the target, my main objective on that specific dive was to take photos to try to identify the wreck and not necessarily to take photos to build a model.

Taking photos for composition, features, etc is different than taking photos for a photogrammetry model.

About 10 or 15 minutes into my bottom time, I thought that maybe I would take some extra photos to see if I could also build a model. At some point, I'll go back and dive it again to build a "proper" model.

Here is the Bearcat story:

F8F-1 Bearcat (Point Loma, CA — 230 fsw)

Background We have located the wreck of a rare F8F-1 Bearcat airplane deep in the waters off of Point Loma, California. This post details the discovery of the wreck, identifying the type of airplan…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

Regards,

- brett

I would love to do this kind of diving! But, I'm not there yet and can't afford to get there quickly. So I guess I will just have to enjoy it vicariously for now.

 

[beldridg]

I would love to do this kind of diving! But, I'm not there yet and can't afford to get there quickly. So I guess I will just have to enjoy it vicariously for now.

Photogrammetry itself actually doesn't have to cost that much.

I used a simple GoPro with no artificial light to build a pretty cool model of an landing craft off Kona, Hawaii:

The license for the "standard" version of Metashape is US$179 and there is a 30 day trial license for free.

My hope is that by giving a workshop, the "expensive" part of trial-and-error and doing a ton of dives to learn the tricks will be minimized.

- brett

 

[L13]

Photogrammetry itself actually doesn't have to cost that much.

I used a simple GoPro with no artificial light to build a pretty cool model of an landing craft off Kona, Hawaii:

View attachment 753303

The license for the "standard" version of Metashape is US$179 and there is a 30 day trial license for free.

My hope is that by giving a workshop, the "expensive" part of trial-and-error and doing a ton of dives to learn the tricks will be minimized.

- brett

It's more:

San Diego + sonar + deep experience + rebreather experience + TIME.

The camera/photogrammetry is just the tip of the iceberg! Some of those things I could buy or borrow, but there is no shortcut to experience or time. I would jump at your seminar if I had the prerequisite experience.

 

[beldridg]

It's more:

San Diego + sonar + deep experience + rebreather experience + TIME.

The camera/photogrammetry is just the tip of the iceberg! Some of those things I could buy or borrow, but there is no shortcut to experience or time. I would jump at your seminar if I had the prerequisite experience.

Yes and no.

Photogrammetry is one tool in the toolbox and a very useful one to learn and you don't need to know rebreathers or have sonar systems or anything other than a single tank and some kind of camera.

Just to be clear for anybody reading -- the dives we do for the workshop will be recreational depth. No rebreather required. It will likely be either the Yukon or Ruby E. The top of the Yukon starts at about 65' and the sand is 100-ish.

The first couple of projects would be to focus on just one "feature" of the wreck, similar to what I did when I built models of the guns and the prop/rudder on the Yukon.

The idea behind the workshop is to focus on the photogrammetry aspect of what we do and jumpstart people who want to learn that tool.

- brett