WEAVE Case Study: 3D digitization of daguerreotypes

a collection of 99 ancient daguerreotypes, fully available for reuse, was digitized in 3D and published in Europeana by partner CRDI (Ajuntament de Girona)

Posted on: 25 November 2022

Share

Triple camera setup in the digitisation booth – courtesy of CRDI and La Tempesta

The Centre for Image Research & Diffusion (CRDI) in Girona owns a large and diverse photography archive that reflects daily life in the region of Girona over the past two centuries. In 2022, CRDI digitised 99 items from its collection of daguerreotypes, the first form of photography created in France in 1839, in 3D and aggregated them to Europeana in the context of WEAVE project: an important achievement not only for the project, but for professionals in the field of photography at large.

Collating captures to form a 3D view – courtesy of CRDI and La Tempesta

3D digitization in photogrammetry is a stable and widely used technique, however, due to the specific characteristics of the daguerreotypes, the process posed challenges in order to get the best visual results. Handling these challenges required experiments and technical solutions to be deployed.

Following the work done, a case study was recently developed for WEAVE project to share the lessons learnt and the knowledge generated by this activity. Digitizing daguerreotypes has required specific research and a series of iterations through a pre-testing process. Photogrammetry was applied putting to best use its advantages while trying to subvert its limitations.

As for aggregating this content to Europeana, the process was quite straightforward via the Photoconsortium aggregation route, and not that much different from providing 2D-collections. The results can be viewed in Europeana, where each item is described in detail and linked to WEAVE 3D assets manager developed in the project.

Download the WEAVE Case Study (PDF, 700 Kb)

In addition to the case study,  a presentation of the major 3D digitization task performed by WEAVE partner CRDI was delivered by Marc Hernandez of La Tempesta, the specialized technology partner of CRDI in the important I&R conference in Girona in November 2022.

This blog is part of WEAVE – Widen European Access to cultural communities Via Europeana: a project funded by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facilities (CEF) aimed at developing a framework to link the tangible and intangible dheritage of cultural communities.

 

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

WEAVE goes to Image and Research conference
img: Eiffel bridge in Girona, photo CRDI / Ajuntament de Girona, Public Domain. Under coordination of WEAVE partners KU Leuven and Photoconsortium, a paper was submitted for the upcoming Image and Research conference in Girona (16-18 November 2022), where it was presented by Photoconsortium's vicepresident Antonella Fresa. The Image and Research Conference (Antoni Varés Conference) has been held in the city of Girona since 1990. This event brings together every two years experts and ...
Photoconsortium Annual Event, hosted by CRDI. Public seminar and general assembly.
img. Ajuntament de Girona, Vista exterior de l'absis de la Catedral de Girona, Public Domain. Hosted by Photoconsortium member CRDI, the 2017 Annual Event of Photoconsortium is organized in the beautiful city of Girona (Spain), seat of an important audiovisual archive of millions photographs, films, hours of video and hours of sound recordings, mostly from private sources. The archive is managed by CRDI, a body of the city Municipality created in 1997 with the mission to discover, protect, pro...
PREFORMA at the Study Visit of the Leonardo da Vinci Project
On 12th of May 2015, Sònia Oliveras from the Municipal Archive of Girona presented PREFORMA at the Study Visit of the Leonardo da Vinci Project in Girona. This study visit was developed through several workshops about digitalisation, publication in Europeana and digital preservation.
Why 3D Matters: accelerating 3D in the common European data space for cultural heritage
The Europeana conference "Why 3D Matters: accelerating 3D in the common European data space for cultural heritage" will take place on 18 April 2023 (9h00 - 15h00 CET). The conference under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will be hosted by the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm (invite only) and online (open to public). This hybrid event is made possible thanks to the support of the Swedish Ministry of Culture, and is organised in collaboration with the Swedish Natio...