Team members can contribute photographs of the Clark Fork River delta for publishing here, and can also participate in monitoring efforts with the collection of “photopoints.”  Photographic points located throughout the site are collected twice a year:  once in the summer (July) when the Lake Pend Oreille is held at its highest elevation (2,062.5 feet) and then once in the winter (late-November) when the lake is drawn down to its lowest elevation (2,051 feet).

Photograph by Kris Cook

PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM PROTOCOL

PURPOSE:  The Photographic Team volunteers are responsible for providing images that record changes in vegetative and geological features in the Clark Fork Delta during the period of this project as well as the events and personnel involved in the project.

TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES:  The photographs fall into two broad types. The first type is of a monitoring nature and the subject matter is marked by a GPS defined photopoint which is determined by the Project Design and Monitoring Teams. These photographic images can be named monitoring photographs. These photopoints are subsequently rephotographed over a period of time to provide documented verification of the effectiveness of the restoration efforts.

The other type of photograph is often of a discretionary nature and may or may not be at a monitoring photopoint. Most often it would not be a monitoring photopoint. Examples of this second type might be: an artistic picture of a Glacier Lily, a picture of a team member taking soil samples or school children on a field trip to the delta. These are to record one time events and not to illustrate transitions over time and so there is not a later photograph of the same subject.

INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROJECT TEAMS:  Photographing monitored photopoints will be at predetermined times of the year and specified by the Design and Monitoring Teams. Other teams, such as the Outreach Team may request the photography team to take photographs of project public events. Yet another example could be taking photographs of contractor earth moving activity.

PHOTOGRAPHING GUIDELINES

MONITORING PHOTOGRAPHS: Prior to taking a set of monitoring photographs, a photograph is to be taken of the photopoint post at close range so that the identifying post tag is readable in the photograph. When photographing a monitored photopoint a series of four photographs are to be taken covering a continuous or near continuous 360°circle. The four photographs are to be taken in sequence with the camera pointed to 0° true north, 90°east, 180°south and 270°west. All four photographs would normally use the same zoom setting which should be as near to 90°of coverage as possible, but not exceeding 90°. It is realized that angle coverage may be less than 90°since many modern reasonably priced digital zoom cameras cannot achieve this degree range. The four photographs are to be taken from a position just above the photopoint post and to be at eye level, if appropriate. A complete monitoring photopoint set will consist of five photographs; one identifying the post tag and four panoramic views.

Vertical coverage of each of the panoramic photographs are to not include more than about 25% of the image area above the horizon. Since some of these photographs are likely to include water area with resultant glare, the use of a polarizing camera lense filter would be helpful.

When choosing file type and resolution for storing the image in the camera, use JPG file type and the image should have a resolution of approximately 300 pixels per inch for a 5 by 7 mage size. If you have questions about this please call the Photography/Photopoint Team Leader.

DISCRETIONARY PHOTOGRAPHS: These are any other images in the project area that do not fit the definition of monitored photopoint images as given above; some examples were given earlier in this text. Obviously, angle of coverage could vary as appropriate, but resolution requirements should be the same as for monitored photopoint images. It should be noted that discretionary photographs can be taken from a photopoint marker, but not identified as a monitoring photograph.

TIMELINE: Monitored images are to be taken twice a year; once at high water level, probably some time in mid-July as determined and once a year probably in mid-November as determined. Images will continue to be captured for the multiyear life of the project. Discretionary images can be taken at any time.

TRANSPORTATION: Much, but not all, of the area to be photographed requires access over water especially during high water in the summer. In the winter land access will be improved especially during Phase I of the project when temporary roads and bridges will be constructed across the log sluice and the North Fork of the Clark Fork River. Possession of a shallow draft boat such as a canoe, kayak or flat bottomed boat would be helpful. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) may have boats available during planned monitoring events; IDFG employees operate all Department vessels.

PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY STRUCTURE: Probably the most significant photographic contribution of the photography team will be the photographic gallery images on the website (see website menu bar ). Discretionary photos NOT taken at a defined monitored photopoint will be grouped on the website by the project’s designated areas (see below map). The same logic would apply as in the monitored photopoint images. Clicking on the discretionary thumbnail would display larger detailed images of the subject.

PHOTOGRAPH FILE NAME RULES:

MONITORING PHOTOGRAPHS:
FORM- PHOTOPOINT(no space)DIRECTION YYMMDD.JPG
EXAMPLE- 25S 140710.JPG
EXPLANATION- PHOTOPOINT # 25, CAMERA FACING SOUTH, 2014 JULY 10, FILE TYPE IS JPG
DISCRETIONARY PHOTOGRAPHS:
FORM- YYMMDD PRIME SUBJECT.JPG
EXAMPLE- 140710 GOVERNOR.JPG
EXPLANATION- 2014 JULY 10, PICTURE OF GOVERNOR
PHOTOGRAPH FILE METADATA IDENTIFICATION: Much metadata is automatically assigned by the camera and includes camera make, model, time, date and camera settings. Metadata is also included in the file name scheme given above. However, additional metadata can be added to a photograph file:
MONITORING PHOTOGRAPHS – Photographer’s name
DISCRETIONARY PHOTOGRAPHS – A more detailed explanation of the photograph subject than can be practically given in the file name plus visual background or event information.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR FILE NAMING AND METADATA ASSIGNMENT: The photograph file name rules given above are to be applied by the photographer when they download their camera images to their computer. This process can use the application software residing on the computer that was originally supplied by the operating system developer, such as Microsoft, or the camera manufacturer, such as Canon.

Additional metadata can be put in a particular photograph file(s) when the photos have been downloaded to the computer either through updating the Properties dialog box or through the use of the photo editing software that is being used on the particular computer. If you have questions about this please call the Photography Team Leader.

The Photography Team Leader is responsible to collect images from the individual team members via CD or thumb drive and periodically submit them to the Project Leader for consideration for use on the Project website.