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This is an open source community effort to develop **simple, low-cost aerial photography** methods for a range of conditions. All accessible hardware and software efforts are welcome here! There are several sub-categories: * [Balloon mapping](/wiki/balloon-mapping) * [Kite mapping](/wiki/kite-mapping) * [Pole Mapping](/wiki/pole-mapping) Also: * [Kite making](/wiki/kite-making) - make your own! * [Balloon Mapping Materials](/wiki/balloon-mapping-materials) - where to get them! * [Camera selection](/wiki/camera-selection) * [Camera triggering](/wiki/camera-trigger) - snap a picture every second * [Photo rigs](/wiki/photo-rig) - connect your camera to your balloon/kite/etc! * [MapKnitter](/wiki/mapknitter) - Stitching images into maps! * [Mapping curriculum](/wiki/mapping-curriculum) - a range of useful resources **You can join in by:** * Reading about goals and [asking great questions](#Questions) * Trying (and adding to) our [community-made how-to guides](#Activities) * Building on others’ work; **adapt, hack and remix** the kits to refine and expand them **** ## Activities [activities:aerial-photography] **** ## Starter Kits Public Lab’s Kits initiative offers starter kits for kite and balloon photography. The point of the kits is to provide a shared reference design for building experimental setups onto. You can also use our guides as a resource for building or purchasing materials of your own. **[Public Lab Store's Aerial Photography and Mapping Kits](http://store.publiclab.org/collections/mapping-kits)** **** ## Questions Ask a question about aerial photography [notes:question:aerial-photography] **** ### Design philosophy These tools are being developed to provide a low cost, easy to use, and safe methods for making maps and aerial images. Over the last few years, we’ve built a global community of mappers who are engaged in discussion around the development and use of this tool and others. Normally aerial maps are made from satellites and airplanes. The balloon and kite ground-based approach introduces an on-demand capability where events or environmental conditions are mapped at a specific moment in time. Our community is particularly interested in applying this to civic and environmental issues. Maps are often used by those in power to exert influence over territory, or control territorial narratives. "Grassroots mapping" attempts to invert this dynamic by using maps as a mode of communication and as evidence for an alternative, community-owned definition of a territory. To date, our tools have been used to contest official maps or rhetoric by enabling communities to map sites that are not included in official maps. In Lima Peru, members of an informal settlement developed maps of their community as evidence of their habitation, while on the Gulf Coast of the US, locally produced maps of oil are being used to document damage that is underreported by the state. ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| asnow | "Hi @pataxte! Amanda here from the store. I can see how the different set ups are a bit confusing. I took a look at the mount and it seems that ther..." | Read more » | over 3 years ago | |||
| liz | "@liz awards a barnstar to cfastie for their awesome contribution! " | Read more » | over 3 years ago | |||
| pataxte | "Hello @natalie, and any others working with the pole mapping kit - This kit was my xmas gift, finally getting to set up and use it. However, the mo..." | Read more » | over 3 years ago | |||
| warren | " Look who it is!!!! hey there @gonzoearth good to see you!!!! :+1: :tada: :globe_with_meridians: " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| gonzoearth | "With vertical imagery being a significant barrier to entry at times, it would be wonderful to see the Atlas serve to as a place for field notes aro..." | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| gonzoearth | "Let's goooooo! Publish early, publish often. " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| jbreen | "This is great!!!!! " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| kaustubh_nair | " Awesome! Glad to see we're connecting with more people across the world and making a bigger impact :smiley: " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| gauravano | " Awesome!! Progress at Mapknitter is really great and we'll surely improve a lot till the end of summer :smiley: " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| warren | " I think that's a GREAT idea! We'd love to promote anything you do with them on social media too, now that we've announced the project publicly! " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| sashadev-sky | " This is awesome! This just made me think about how I could make a post out of all those videos I've been posting " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| se18023 | "Thank-you for your reply and clearing that up. That would be a very useful feature to have indeed! Unfortunately it doesn't recognise the tags on m..." | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| rexagod | "Hi @se18023! @warren and I are in the final stages of incorporating an "EXIF" module (better UI, as mentioned above) that will enable you to do jus..." | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| ROCKETMAN | "... " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| ROCKETMAN | " Yes you can...but only if your working in Civil 3d or Autocad. You need to download the lisp from autodesk first. Import image to 0,0 then type th..." | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| warren | "Yes, you should be able to -- see the sidebar where the images are listed and it should show a button if it can detect EXIF GPS tags! This one does..." | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| warren | " @rexagod @sashadev-sky this is perhaps something you could answer? Thank you! " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| factsexotic | " mindblowing blog Clever Buyer " | Read more » | almost 4 years ago | |||
| Kmckeown | "Thank you cfastie for your input. I invested in two new kites. I have not tried solar or balloon photography, but I'm looking forward to it. I h..." | Read more » | over 4 years ago | |||
| Zemans | "That is a great tip about downloading with the one button. Thank you! " | Read more » | almost 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "I was able to export like that and get a JPG: test-boys.jpg Hope that helps! " | Read more » | almost 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "And less distorted images can sometimes work better for the full export (on the export tab): " | Read more » | almost 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi, if it's only one image, you can use this download button -- the white one to the far right: " | Read more » | almost 5 years ago | |||
| Zemans | "Hi. I am not sure how to respond to bronwen (technically). Yes, we are attempting to use Mapknitter and want to print. Any clue for us? It was only..." | Read more » | almost 5 years ago |