Anyone that has walked along the Edmonds, Washington, waterfront is familiar with the “Seeing Whales” cast aluminum sculpture located at the south end of Olympic Beach Park.
Above is a photo of the “Seeing Whales” sculpture. Below is a 3D model of this sculpture. I created this model by shooting 287 photos with a GoPro Hero 5 Black camera mounted on a selfie stick. I set the camera to shoot an image every 2 seconds, then moved the camera around to get many different views of the sculpture. The selfie stick was so I could get the camera above the sculpture, and also more easily get the camera down low.
I then processed these 287 images with WebODM (Open Drone Map, web version) into a 3D model, then cleaned it up with Blender, a 3D editing and creation tool. The resulting model was uploaded to Sketchfab for viewing.
To view the model in 3D, click on the image below. It will take a little while to open the model. Once the model is open, use your left and right mouse buttons to spin it around to view it from all directions. Use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out on the model. For the best experience, view the model full screen – either click on the arrows at the lower right or press the “f” key.
If you are viewing this in your email client, you must go to the blog website or directly to Sketchfab to see the 3D model.
This is marvelous work, Gary. Congratulations on this apparently successful exploration of a fascinating technology. I am wondering if color can be added to the model or derived from the photos.
I enjoy reading of your technology adventures.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Gordon. There is color in the model, although this model is mostly gray. You should be able to see some green mildew on the sculpture :-). I edited out the surrounding blue garbage can and green shrubbery.
Wow! That is amazing!!