This page is under development, feel free to add! _Lead image from http://publiclab.org/notes/gclout01/07-22-2013/pole-mapping-rig-making_ Pole mapping is fun and easy to do! Perfect for small areas, like urban lots or gardens. You can be very creative about what to use for a pole and how to attach your camera. These people sure were! Materials used include PVC, carbon fiber (a 50' fishing pole), bamboo, and other unknowns! **** ## Materials for pole _Below: from http://publiclab.org/notes/liz/09-17-2014/newark-green-garden-2nd-aerials_ [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/006/831/original/IMG_2318.JPG) [notes:grid:activity:pole-mapping] **** Another pole developed by the Public Lab Gulf Coast Chapter, see @ddileona [post for design.](http://publiclab.org/notes/ddileona/03-17-2015/spring-fling-building-a-better-pole-for-mapping) [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/009/545/original/20150314_160021.jpg) **** _Below: from http://publiclab.org/notes/stevie/10-20-2014/the-blitz-report_ [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/007/539/original/bsj_129.JPG) *** _Below: from http://publiclab.org/notes/patcoyle/04-21-2014/cal-poly-ewb-pap-pole-aerial-photography-mapping-for-india-project_ [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/003/768/original/DSC_0044.JPG) **** ##How to attach a camera to a pole Pretty much any way you can! I prefer to use the standard soda bottle rig to protect the camera. You might also employ tape, string, or even a picavet made of bamboo! _Below: from http://publiclab.org/notes/patcoyle/04-21-2014/cal-poly-ewb-pap-pole-aerial-photography-mapping-for-india-project_ [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/003/767/original/DSC_0006.JPG) ##Pole Mapping Kits [](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/009/663/original/polesample1.png)[](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/009/664/original/polesample2.png) If you end up purchasing one of the [Public Lab 11meter carbon fiber poles](http://publiclab.org/notes/Ecta64/03-10-2015/carp-poles-as-viable-imaging-platforms-in-windy-conditions), you can reference [Natalie](/profile/natalie)'s research note on assembling the camera mount [here](http://publiclab.org/notes/Natalie/03-06-2015/diy-pole-mapping-camera-mount). ##Cool pole imagery Straight-down imagery is great for map-making. Oblique imagery is also cool! _Below: from http://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/05-17-2013/pole-photography_ Check out [Ecta64](/profile/Ecta64)'s [research note](http://publiclab.org/notes/Ecta64/03-10-2015/carp-poles-as-viable-imaging-platforms-in-windy-conditions) on using the Public Lab carp pole (coming soon to the store). ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| natalie | "Super ideas and images. These poles were initially difficult to track down. After much searching though we were able to get a hold of the manufactu..." | Read more » | about 9 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Those Ron Thompson Carp poles are excellent tools. The trick to mounting a camera on these long poles for mapping (nadir photos) is to get the came..." | Read more » | about 9 years ago | |||
| gclout01 | "Yes, we used rubber bands around the camera to hole it to the pole....Let me know how it works out...Greg " | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| stevie | "oh interesting. I like it. I was thinking of using a Lot of rubber bands. :) " | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Stevie, I included some photos of a pole camera in this thread: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/plots-infrared/OoIAzTDshFE Let me know if ..." | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| stevie | "Loved this write up. I made one of these at a recent event. We were wondering though, do you have any suggestions for attaching the camera? Or pict..." | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| mathew | "The carbon fiber poles are very light weight (1kg or so). One person can stand one up. The momentum is a bit disconcerting, but its quite manageab..." | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| mlamadrid | "How did you get the 45' pole to stand? Was someone holding it or was it fixed? " | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| mathew | "Cool garden map! I haven't even seen such a small mapknitter map. good work. " | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| liz | "link to research note from field day: http://publiclab.org/notes/liz/07-28-2014/first-field-day-in-newark-s-green-garden " | Read more » | over 9 years ago | |||
| mathew | "nice simple mount-- the box makes it very easy to keep everything parallel. it also seems like running the pole straight through the box is a nice ..." | Read more » | almost 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "I love the picavet on a pole, Pat! Great idea for stability. " | Read more » | about 10 years ago | |||
| Marcelo | "Hi I triggered the rx100 mII that comes with WiFi and the play memories app from Sony in my android smartphone. It's pretty straightforward, one ju..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "I don't know what the range of your WiFi setup is, but I guess all you need to find out is a tape measure. Have you been triggering the RX100 with ..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| Marcelo | "Hi cfastie, thanks for your answer. I know it sounds crazy but I am planning to use the balloon close to the ground at around 10mt high at the begi..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Marcelo, I thought Kanarinka was brave to put her Sony Nex 5N on a pole, but threatening to put a new US$750 Sony RX100 II on a balloon goes beyond..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| Marcelo | "Hi all, its teh first time I post here and I am thinking about shooting with a balloon over the coast line here in Melbourne. The idea is first do..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| kanarinka | "Thanks everyone for the suggestions - these are great tips and I will employ them in the next round of creek photography. In particular I like the ..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| mathew | "I love the map, and your rig! nice! Ned was pointing to visualSFM. I haven't played with it yet myself, but Gerard Toonstra on the grassroots map..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| patcoyle | "Terrific map. Good tips in all the other comments. " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "This is a great map. Congrats on the success and especially on getting out to do a trial run. To sort photos by blurriness, sort the jpegs by fil..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Scott is right that georeferencing obliques is usually not very rewarding. Photosynth can be a solution. You can make a "synth" which aligns the o..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| eustatic | "if you have tips on Photosynth, i encourage you to write a note! i will read it! " | Read more » | over 10 years ago | |||
| eustatic | "Sean, the answer is no. in this case, we couldn't get the camera high enough in the amount of time we had, with the amount of wind we had. obliq..." | Read more » | over 10 years ago |