Progress:
We have taken photos of all of the Carleton Archives objects we plan to use for photogrammetry modeling. The photography set-up was not ideal, which led to a few problems with the photography. We have yet to see how this will impact the photogrammetry algorithm.
The narrative research is going quite well so far. We have been gathering sources from the College’s digital archives. Of particular use have been some overarching histories of the school, past archives and Perlman exhibits, and the digital collection of Algol yearbooks.
We have also been exploring potential site platforms and are leaning towards WordPress, as some of its styles will make for effective integration of narrative history, models, and potential data visualization.
Problems:
There were a few problems in the photography process, namely the lack of a controlled environment conducive to taking the photos. The setup I used wasn’t ideal; which is mainly a product of my own lack of knowledge regarding what set up the process required. I took photos of four different objects over a sheet of gray photography paper. The table was rather large, and I found myself unable to take photos of the objects from below, as they were all rectangular objects with a bottom face. I’ve written below the issues I associate with each set of photographs:
Adelphic society and “Jock Marvin” paddles:
- I had to flip the paddles over onto their other faces (reversing its direction too) because of uncertainty with how the software would interpret the “bases” of the objects; I am, yet, unsure as to how this will affect the final product.
- Navigating around the table made it difficult to keep consistent angles and intervals between photos as the table was very large.
Adelphic society pin:
- The model is made of metal and shines, there are multiple photos in the collection that appear to glow, which I fear may have an adverse effect on the photogrammetry software
- The object was in a box too; I deemed it unnecessary to remove it, as the irregular shape of the pin made taking photos of it very difficult, especially with the added glare of more exposed metal
- I deemed it to be unnecessary to take pictures of the bottom of the object, because of its casing.
Signature book:
- Sort of adjacently related to our project, this one wasn’t very difficult to photograph, though I did attempt to use sort of a mini pedestal, that still did not elevate it enough for me to clearly take photos of the underside.
We haven’t run into too many issues so far in the other sections. Our initial schedule and division of labor has been progressing pretty smoothly.
Tools and Techniques:
For our modeling, we have been using Autodesk’s ReCap Photo photogrammetry modeling software, which we will export to Sketchfab and embed in our final website. We are also considering using the literary society membership information from the Algol yearbooks to visualize membership rates in the college on Flourish or Rawgraphs.io. The final website will likely be hosted on WordPress.
Deliverables:
We are still pretty confident that we will be able to meet our initially proposed timeline. The next steps are as follows:
- End of Week 9: Write History and Model Objects
- End of Week 10: Have Site Draft Ready for Presentation
- End of Exams: Finish Site
Personal Messages:
- Clay: I have been helping keep the group organized and have been researching potential WordPress organization themes. Most of my work comes in the second half of the project, when I am responsible for the digital presentation of our final product.
- Scott: As per our team charter, I am focusing on archival research and history writing. They are both going well, and my time with the Algols has made me want to try my hand at visualizing membership counts, too!
- AJ: I am leading the modeling process. So far, I have done the photography of our chosen objects. I’m eager, but also nervous to try out the photogrammetry software with my collection of photos, as I’m unsure whether they’re of sufficient quality to make a 3D model.
Sources:
Carleton Archives. “Algol Yearbook.” Carleton Archives Digital Collections. https://contentdm.carleton.edu/digital/collection/Algol.
Headley, Leal A. and Merrill E. Jarchow. Carleton: The First Century. North Central Publishing Company: St. Paul, 1966. https://contentdm.carleton.edu/digital/collection/Archives/id/3603.
Carleton Archives Physical Objects:
- OA00055: Philo Society “Jock” Martin Paddle
- OA00022: Pin for Phi Sigma Alpha
6 thoughts on “Carleton Greek Life Final Project Update”
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I suppose it’s a bit relieving knowing that another group is having some issues involving photogrammetry, since my group also has some issues that might be due to the photography set-up. This might not be necessary for your group, but taking either more pictures or just starting over with the photography process might be what we do. It sounds like a fun project and that you’re all on top of working on it, so keep up the good work!
It sounds like you guys are on a good track with your project. I definitely can see the importance of getting all the angles for your photogrammetry. I know that when we took pictures of the Carleton artifact, we didn’t get underneath our object and that was some trouble for the Recap. Hopefully yours turns out better than that!
Good to hear that your group is working well together! I’m quite interested in the subject you chose. I think I’ve heard of the paddles but not the other two. It’s a fun direction to take this assignment because I had no idea Carleton had any kind of Greek past (which is why these projects are so interesting to me).
Really nice progress update! I definitely see how it can be difficult to grab all the pictures necessary for photogrammetry especially since my group struggled with that when we did photogrammetry earlier in the term. I’m sure you guys will get it all figured out in the end and make a fantastic project!
I honestly can’t wait to see your finished product. I have never heard of any Greek life at Carleton, so it would be very interesting to see everything once it’s all put together. I hope the issues in the photos don’t pose many problems. Great topic, and great work so far.
Like others I like taking it in the direction of exploring something that has not been at Carleton for a while now, and shining a light into Carleton’s past. I personally did not even know Carleton had ever had Greek life, so I’m interested in following your project and hope all the photogrammetry issues can be solved.