MCN2015

Through lectures and demonstrations, this workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of computational photography and its application to cultural heritage. The workshop will offer an intensive means to get introduced to or updated on the technologies, software, photographic equipment, and methods for Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), and Photogrammetry. These techniques are being applied to a variety of art objects and artifacts. RTI is particularly useful for documenting low-relief surfaces like paintings and engravings. New research techniques using these data sets will also be presented. Photogrammetry creates accurate and measurable 3D models in a wide range of scales. It can be used for documenting sculptures, monitoring changes to historic sites or objects, and a wide range of other uses.The workshop will include demonstrations and ample time for discussion and Q&A, including presenting the required and optional equipment involved. There are no prerequisites. Anyone from novice to expert is welcome.The workshop will take place in the Visual Resources studio at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, about one mile from the MCN conference in downtown Minneapolis.

Outcomes for Participants1.
Clear understanding of these computational photography imaging techniques, how they are used, what they can show, and what is involved in adopting them in museum practice

2. The RTI software tools are open source, with freely available User Guides and other supporting materials. Participants will be updated on available materials and software, and also where to find all the resources.

3. Photogrammetry image capture is independent of the software you use to process it. The most complete software for photogrammetry is currently commercial, though there are several available options. The focus in the workshop will be on the overall concepts and the software independent image capture. Discussion will use the Agisoft Photoscan Pro software. Some discussion of software options will be included.

4. Updates about the latest software for all techniques, especially RTI including planned and in-progress software work.

5. The workshop will include demonstrations and ample time for discussion and Q&A, including presenting the required and optional equipment involved.