For this project, I decided to try to model one of the townhouses on campus called Colwell House. The photo-taking process was harder than I had anticipated. There is not enough level ground around the whole house to stay at the same elevation when taking these pictures, which leads to some issues regarding the models. Polycam had a tough time when it came to building the model because of the difference in elevation between the front of the house(pictured) and the rest of the house. I tried to do my best by raising my phone as high up as I could while still getting good photos, but it definitely could have turned out worse.
This transition from being a passive observer to an active modeler has completely altered my perspective on sharing experiences or campus history. While a picture is worth a thousand words because it tells you a building exists, a 3D model enables a public audience to experience it. It enables an interactive history where the viewer can choose the angle they want to view it from and the minute details that make it real. Interacting with the environment in this manner has made me extremely interested in the history that these buildings have to offer, not just the history on the plaque, but the history etched on the wear and tear of the materials used. This process of photogrammetry is a definite encouragement of close looking. I found myself noticing things that I normally wouldn’t pay attention to. You can’t just gloss over the boring parts of the building when you’re recreating it, because the program requires this information in order to piece the world back together. It’s amazing to realize that every little crack in the foundation or shift in the roofline is a piece of information that tells a story about the way the building has settled over time. Overall, this was an interesting and sometimes frustrating process. However, it was cool to see the model be built just based off the pictures I provided to each program.
I totally agree with you. Being able to experience something as we see it in person makes it much easier to engage with the learning environment. You did a good job of getting another wall of the model textured. I was unfortunately stuck with only one fully textured wall. I think the more we get used to taking photos that align correctly, the better we will be with the Metashape program.
I have to sympathize with you on hardships with the captures. I also wasn’t able to get amazing photos of my building because there were other houses in close proximity so I wasn’t able to get many photos with the whole house in frame. Nevertheless you were able to make a pretty good model which allows viewer to get a better understanding of the building.