rectifying Doc Searls' window-seat photos of NYC

[Jeffrey Warren]

Doc Searls takes LOTS of photos from the windows of commercial airliners: http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/

Most are Creative Commons Attribution! I gave a couple a try over Brooklyn:

http://mapknitter.org/map/view/newtown-creek-docsearls

You have to zoom out a bit, or just try this full-screen version (embeddable if you want to put it on a blog post):

http://archive.publiclaboratory.org/leaflet/?tms=http://mapknitter.org/tms/newtown-creek-docsearls/&lat=40.7239029817&lon=-73.9606764107&zoom=12

We've talked about this before -- the idea of just getting lots of people to photograph key areas from their plane windows. Using Doc Searls' photostream, we can try this out. His were from quite high up -- 2-3 meter resolution -- i wonder if some on approach to LaGuardia could get intermediate resolutions like ~ 30-40cm/px. It'd be a great counterpart to the high-res balloon mapping, especially for places like the Gowanus Canal and New Town Creek, where periodic monitoring is the goal.

Jeff

[pablo k]

Good idea. I always make photos from up there.

Not have yet a public (nor private) archive, but here some I have from NY (compact camera): 

above manhattan: http://numeroteca.org/2011/09/10/sobre-manhattan/

landing in Newark: http://basurama.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/trash-mappers-ny-2.jpg

I have more from a trip BOS-LA,

p

[Michele Tobias]

That's a great idea to try to use airplane photos. 

Another collection I've been interested in trying to work with is the California Coastal Records Project: http://www.californiacoastline.org/  They are oblique photos taken from a helicopter every few years of the entire California coast.

best,
Michele

-- 
Michele Tobias

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Geography Graduate Group
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[Scott Eustis]

I've often thought about this while landing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The flight path offers an impressive view of the Exxon refinery, which is often flaring.  

scttt

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[Jeffrey Warren]

scott- we should try to organize a hyperspectral photo of the Exxon refinery. A regular photo would be a good start and good proof of concept... Shannon, aren't you flying in soon?

but if I build a hyperspectral camera, does someone want to try scanning the refinery? It might get you in trouble with the TSA... but it's just a Flip video camera with a small spectrometer taped to the front. Very early prototype: http://publiclaboratory.org/notes/warren/12-9-2011/hyperspectral-scan-apple-553-nanometers (basically takes a separate photo at every 5-nanometer range, and lets you see the whole scene at any of those "slices" of color)

But in general, maybe we should start tagging all aerial photos "passengerpigeon" or something ("windowseat"?) and anytime someone wants to try MapKnitter, we could source something from photos tagged that way. Doc's photostream is a great place to start, of course. 

Jeff

[Gary Mortimer]

I like this idea lots! PassengerPigeon is a cool concept

>>>> http://www.flickr.**com/photos/docsearls/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/>

>>>>
>>>> Most are Creative Commons Attribution! I gave a couple a try over
>>>> Brooklyn:
>>>>
>>>>

>>>> http://mapknitter.org/map/**view/newtown-creek-docsearls<http://mapknitter.org/map/view/newtown-creek-docsearls>

>>>>
>>>> You have to zoom out a bit, or just try this full-screen version
>>>> (embeddable if you want to put it on a blog post):
>>>>

>>>> http://archive.**publiclaboratory.org/leaflet/?**
>>>> tms=http://mapknitter.org/tms/**newtown-creek-docsearls/&lat=**
>>>> 40.7239029817&lon=-73.**9606764107&zoom=12<http://archive.publiclaboratory.org/leaflet/?tms=http://mapknitter.org/tms/newtown-creek-docsearls/&lat=40.7239029817&lon=-73.9606764107&zoom=12>

>>>>
>>>> We've talked about this before -- the idea of just getting lots of
>>>> people to photograph key areas from their plane

>>>> windows<http://publiclaboratory.org/passenger-pigeon>.

>>>> Using Doc Searls' photostream, we can try this out. His were from quite
>>>> high up -- 2-3 meter resolution -- i wonder if some on approach to
>>>> LaGuardia could get intermediate resolutions like ~ 30-40cm/px. It'd be
>>>> a
>>>> great counterpart to the high-res balloon mapping, especially for places
>>>> like the Gowanus Canal and New Town Creek, where periodic monitoring is
>>>> the
>>>> goal.
>>>>
>>>> Jeff
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Michele Tobias
>>>
>>> PhD Candidate
>>> Geography Graduate Group
>>> University of California, Davis

>>> mmtobias@ucdavis.eduhttp://ggg.ucdavis.edu/student/michele-m-tobiashttp://ucdavis.academia.edu/MicheleTobias

[Mathew Lippincott]

If you've got inflight wifi, Mondo Window could help keep track of upcoming locations of interest, even with partial cloud cover:

http://www.mondowindow.com

[Shannon Dosemagen]

Yes, but into New Orleans, not to Baton Rouge where Exxon is... if you a get me a hyperspectral, I'm sure we can find people flying over the region between New Orleans and Baton Rouge where there are more than enough refineries to try this out. Also might tap into the Houston network a bit. Yes can start with some regular imaging.

[Adam Griffith]

This California dataset Michelle is talking about is a great data set,
if oblique. Some of the wealthy homeowners there have been
unsuccessfully trying for years to get the site taken down on the
grounds that it is an invasion of privacy.

Passenger pigeon is a great idea in terms of getting citizens
involved. I like the idea of some multispectral data and will be
ecstatic if we can get some data of interest from it.

Adam

> >    http://archive.publiclaboratory.org/leaflet/?tms=http://mapknitter.or...
> >     <http://archive.publiclaboratory.org/leaflet/?tms=http://mapknitter.or...>

>
> >     We've talked about this before -- the idea of just getting lots of
> >     people to photograph key areas from their plane windows

> >     <http://publiclaboratory.org/passenger-pigeon>. Using Doc Searls'

> >     photostream, we can try this out. His were from quite high up --
> >     2-3 meter resolution -- i wonder if some on approach to LaGuardia
> >     could get intermediate resolutions like ~ 30-40cm/px. It'd be a
> >     great counterpart to the high-res balloon mapping, especially for
> >     places like the Gowanus Canal and New Town Creek, where periodic
> >     monitoring is the goal.
>
> >     Jeff
>
> --
> Michele Tobias
>
> PhD Candidate
> Geography Graduate Group
> University of California, Davis
>

> mmtob...@ucdavis.eduhttp://ggg.ucdavis.edu/student/michele-m-tobiashttp://ucdavis.academia.edu/MicheleTobias