10th September 2012, 11:15 AM
Photography is very important as a source of "proof" and a way of catching things in pictures that the photographer may not have noticed at the time (or didn't think important until way too late...), but it is a skill that needs taught on site. Skills are variable, and there are some folk who shouldn't be let loose with a camera! At least with digital cameras "on site" training can be effective because the results can be reviewed straight away.
I got no formal camera training as an undergrad (long, long, ago, in a Uni far, far, away...), and as a Masters student I still got no piccy training, but did get a full term of ink drawing with Rotring pens. Not sure what happens these days. (My general camera skills were self-taught, followed by dig-specific stuff like scales & ID boards & record-keeping learned on the job.)
While I've seen interesting results with UV and IR (based on special film and/or gear), I seriously doubt these are skills for the untrained. And don't get me started on point clouds! Once you start down the photogrammetry route you need serious knowledge to avoid wasting time producing garbage, and I can't see it being anything but the preserve of those with a specialist bent. (And I've done it as well as taught it to site staff...) With any tech on site you need somebody in the chain with the knowledge (theory & practice) to QC the results and troubleshoot, because many of the newer toys give results regardless (rather than just failing if something is wrong) and these may or may not be correct even if they look pretty to the untrained eye. That doesn't mean cutting out the general staff from the process - just that they need a lot of hands-on skilling & supervision to get up & running.
I got no formal camera training as an undergrad (long, long, ago, in a Uni far, far, away...), and as a Masters student I still got no piccy training, but did get a full term of ink drawing with Rotring pens. Not sure what happens these days. (My general camera skills were self-taught, followed by dig-specific stuff like scales & ID boards & record-keeping learned on the job.)
While I've seen interesting results with UV and IR (based on special film and/or gear), I seriously doubt these are skills for the untrained. And don't get me started on point clouds! Once you start down the photogrammetry route you need serious knowledge to avoid wasting time producing garbage, and I can't see it being anything but the preserve of those with a specialist bent. (And I've done it as well as taught it to site staff...) With any tech on site you need somebody in the chain with the knowledge (theory & practice) to QC the results and troubleshoot, because many of the newer toys give results regardless (rather than just failing if something is wrong) and these may or may not be correct even if they look pretty to the untrained eye. That doesn't mean cutting out the general staff from the process - just that they need a lot of hands-on skilling & supervision to get up & running.