The 1,000 Year Project is deploying several time-lapse cameras to serve as an initial proof of concept and to help us learn for the next stage. The initial time-lapses will capture trees in different stages of growth while we learn ideal conditions for the next phase where longer-term, higher quality cameras will be used. In this phase, we hope to learn as much as possible about automated time-lapse photography spanning many years.
Trail Cam 1
Our first camera is a trail camera with a 12 megapixel sensor and 4G connectivity. The camera takes several photos per day, then we will choose the best match for collecting a daily photo to stitch into a time-lapse video. This trail camera uploads all photos to a remote server for later processing.
Our initial configuration of this camera was unsuccessful – the camera is in a remote part of the redwood forest in Northern California. Remote enough that it must be powered by solar and battery. With our first attempt, we found a tree worth viewing, but we were unable to get enough natural light to the solar panel to sustain the camera for a usable length of time. We are in the process of reconfiguring the camera and solar panel for better reliability.
Fieldbrook Cam
The Fieldbrook Cam is our second time-lapse camera in action! This was made possible due to the generosity of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive – They graciously allowed us to install a custom built time-lapse camera based on the Raspberry Pi platform. This camera takes four photos each day and uploads them to a remote server for later processing. This camera is overlooking a group of clones from the Fieldbrook Stump, which was 35 ft. in diameter when it was cut down over 100 years ago.
Untitled Oregon Cam
We are working to test out a new camera on a ~12 year old redwood in Oregon. We will keep you updated as we progress.
Untitled UK Cam
After we test out the success of our new camera in Oregon, we will deploy to a camera to Yorkshire, UK in a fun partnership we’ve developed! Again, we’ll keep you updated.
Your Tree Here
Have a long-living tree growing in its infancy in a great location? We’re always on the lookout for our next location. We’d love to hear from you and discuss. Bonus points if your tree is within WiFi range as it significantly opens our options for cameras and helps keep our costs minimal.