In preparation for field school, the class visited Greenville’s Town Commons to practice recording cannon using the Nautical Archaeology Society’s (NAS) proforma. Various measurements and details were recorded of our city’s “Old Brickell Cannon”. This provided an ideal practice ground because students were able to get comfortable with the recording process without the added challenges presented underwater.
One aspect of the recording process that Scott and I were extremely interested in exploring was testing a 3D modelling program called PhotoScan. PhotoScan works by identifying thousands of common points between uploaded photos to create a model. Using a simple point and shoot Canon digital camera, I took thirty photos of Old Brickell from eight angles at three different levels. By capturing the entirety of the cannon, PhotoScan was able to make a more complete model. With Dr. Richards’ help, these photos were loaded into the program and we created the following digital model.
Check out what we can do!
– Lauren