Drone Photography

Grid 23 had its first drone photograph this week. It's a time consuming process which begins the day before the photograph when the grid is cleaned and the shade cloth is dropped.  Once it is down, the grid is swept a second time to make sure it is clean and there are no visible footprints.

The next day, the race is on to beat the sun and the shadows it casts as it rises over the top of the tel. The drone photographer comes and lays out a series of anchor points, which are also surveyed in by GIS, that aid in the georectification of the photograph so we know exactly where we are. Next, the photographer walks around the grid taking photos every few steps. Later, those photos are stitched together to build an Agisoft Photo Scan which is used to build 3D models. 

Once that is completed, the drone goes up and another series of photographs is taken.

When the drone photographer is all done, the shade cloth goes up and everyone gets back to work. It may take a lot of time but the bird's eye view offers an invaluable perspective of the grid and all the architecture within it.