The **Public Lab Timelapse Kit**: fight polluters by catching them on film! _Above image via @glennwalquist -- [read more](/notes/glennwalquist/12-04-2016/monitoring-sargent-sand-mining-operation-in-ludington-michigan#c16131)_ A number of folks are working across the Public Lab network to set up cheap #timelapse cameras. Help out and hold polluters accountable! ## How it works It doesn't completely -- yet! We're testing this approach in a few places around the country, and looking to prove it out more. But the basic idea is to point a timelapse camera at a place where you hope to catch pollution happening, to collect evidence and to pressure them to stop. [](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/690/original/Screen_Shot_2017-02-28_at_2.34.17_PM.png) (above, timelapse of [blasting at a mountaintop removal site](/notes/LauraChipley/09-18-2015/hacking-trail-cameras-to-document-blasts-on-mountaintop-removal-sites#c16250) via @LauraChipley) This could be used at: * refineries * mine sites * industrial facilities * anywhere you can safely place the camera ## How to help We're collecting well-documented examples of this technique in action, and we need: * great photos of camera setups * example footage * easy instructions on how to share your images ## Questions [questions:timelapse] **** ## Try it out We're organizing meet-ups to assemble kits, test them out, document and install them, so that lots of people have a chance to learn how to do this and spread the word. The basic kit is based on: > $103 (with 16g SD card) [Crenova Trail Camera](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016OASTDY/) - 12 megapixel, 8 AA batteries (note that it's actually 5 megapixels, but it stretches images up to 12, unfortunately) Get in touch (jeff@publiclab.org) to organize a local group to assemble, document, and test, and report back how it goes. **** ## Activities [activities:timelapse] **** **Flyer handouts:** timelapse-kit-card.pdf and 4-up version for printing: timelapse-kit-card-4up.pdf **** [](https://publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/019/546/original/tmp_15415-IMG_20170214_121228_354-1789056372.jpg) (Above, prototype box mock-up) ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| marlokeno | " My first suggestion is to photograph on a cloudy day. Compensating for the sun is difficult. A polarizing filter helps, as does a uv filter, but ..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| stevie | "Hi, This is great! Really helpful, we'll be sure to post back about it. @marlokeno can you loop in with Dwight about this thread? think he'd find ..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "(I'm reposting this as an "Answer" because a bug is preventing "Comments" from displaying sometimes.) Hi Stevie, @xose is right about snow and ic..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Hi Stevie, @xose is right about snow and ice making exposure tricky. The glare from an ice surface can also be a problem with exposure, but that w..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| xose | "Hi stevie!! Cool experiment! In relation to white or high reflecting surfaces It's important to have in mind that reflected light meters are calibr..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "I also wanted to note that folks may be left with a photo series, not a video -- like with the #timelapse trail cameras folks. While we have a ques..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Just to put this out there, for folks who do have all the software set up and such, perhaps as more folks make timelapses, we could be mailing the ..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| glennwalquist | "Thank-you, xose! I will look into how I might be able to accomplish that over the next couple of days! " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| mathew | "Yes, OpenStreetMap is an open project to crowdsource a map (they have a lot of institutional partners too, like my fair city, Portland, OR). Mapil..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| xose | "Just for the record, It can be easily done using GNU/linux. Here two tutorials for Kdenlive (just GNU/linux) and OpenShot (the only multiplatform, ..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| xose | "Wooow @mathew thanks a lot! It looks great! I understand this is a crowdsourced app to collectively create a map isn't it? (I'm downloading right n..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| mathew | "@xrose, https://www.mapillary.com/ is also an open source, OpenStreetMap based system for doing the same thing-- placing images on a map, with time..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| mathew | "On mac, the easiest way is to use Quicktime 7, File --> Open Image Sequence " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| mathew | "On mac, the easiest way is to use Quicktime 7, File --> Open Image Sequence " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| xose | "Hi Glenn! You can also use an unexpensive tool combined with your amazing monitoring on the ground that is using the Google Earth "map over time" f..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Oops, link: https://publiclab.org/questions/warren/12-05-2016/how-do-i-make-a-video-from-a-series-of-photos " | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Thanks, Chris - i figured it's a good idea to compile a bunch of options, so I posted a question and added your response as an answer, along with a..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "And @cfastie provided some guidance for using Adobe Premier: https://publiclab.org/notes/glennwalquist/12-04-2016/monitoring-sargent-sand-mining-op..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "I did find a bunch of YouTube videos of how to use different programs, but haven't done so myself: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ma..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| cfastie | "Video editing programs usually have some way of converting photos into the frames of a video. In Adobe Premiere Elements if you click Add_Media/Fi..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "@glennwalquist is having some good successes with a Crenova trail cam in this post -- just wanted to connect the dots! https://publiclab.org/notes..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Oh, this is great to see. I know that in this note, @cfastie made a video from his timelapse using the same Crenova trail camera. Chris, how did yo..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Sounds like the interface for setting the cameras to timelapse isn't very clear -- can anyone who's gotten that working photo the section of the in..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Also -- just a thought -- there are a few others testing this out too, so if you could take some contextual photos of how you set it up, what it's ..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago |