Insider Info

The next time you see a detailed map of your area, think about the people who worked to make that map a reality. Photogrammetric technicians are involved in the creation of maps from photographs. Their role involves using an instrument known as a stereo-plotter to make sure the details and the measurements are correct.

Thomas Asbeck owns a photo science company in Bangor, Maine. He is a civil engineer and also has a master's degree in business administration. "I didn't know I liked photogrammetry until I discovered it in school. I just kind of fell into it."

His workdays vary depending on the season. "Things get hectic during spring and fall. The photography comes in and everybody wants their projects right away. In a typical day, you sit down at the stereo-plotter, set up the models, compile the maps and then go on to the next model.

"At my end, as an engineer my day involves dealing with problems. If something is wrong with the maps, the problem can be with the photography, the design, the equipment, the hardware, the software....I have to sit down and troubleshoot."

Stress comes from tight deadlines and from incorrect data. "When you are given data that is wrong and you put hours into making the maps, then you find out they are not the way they should be. The other stressful part is that people want everything almost immediately.

"Working on the stereo-plotter is very labor-intensive. With modern software systems, we're trying to take the labor-intensive part out of it. But somebody still has to go back and review the data."

Over the years, Asbeck has worked on a variety of projects, including pipelines, coal mining, flood control, base mapping for utility companies and mapping wood fibers for paper companies.

"If you want to go into photogrammetry, you should decide how far you want to go. If you want to be a technician, then a two-year college course will be enough. If you want to go into it at the engineering level, then you need a degree," advises Asbeck.

"And try to get work with a land surveyor so you get the ground experience surveying. Secondly, you should be very familiar with computers," adds Mike Tully, the GIS and technology manager at a photogrammetry company in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

A typical day involves laying our photographs, determining and compiling maps and laying out projects. "The stressful part is meeting deadlines. Another stressful part is getting the production people to do quality work. I have to be sure they digitize the maps correctly.

"This is a small company, so I do a variety of tasks. The days are never the same. And I like the fact that the work is technically challenging."

Tully was first attracted to the field because he enjoyed the computer work. Since turning to photogrammetry, he has worked on a number of projects, including mapping highways, mapping coal piles from power paths and mapping statues or the facades of historical buildings.

"With old historic buildings, such as you find in England, they need to record and preserve what the buildings look like. So they take photos and make detailed maps of cracks, ridges, and then get a 3D representation of the system."

Tully's favorite project, however, involved a two-year stay in Egypt, where he worked with the installation of a big mapping system that mapped the Nile River Valley.

Mark DeGross is the general manager of an aerial mapping company in Kirkland, Washington. "My degree isn't typical for the industry. It is in chemical engineering. Most would get a civil engineering degree with an impetus in photogrammetry," notes DeGross. "But my father started this company, and after college it was the best offer I got. So I came to work here."

DeGross has learned the photogrammetry aspect on the job. "I picked some of it up working here while I was in high school and college. But engineering principles carry over regardless of the specifics," he explains.

"You really need good computer skills now. A lot of our work is digital," advises DeGross.

At DeGross's company, photogrammetrists work in two areas. One group is called compilers. They sit at the stereo-plotter and help the operator see 3D maps in 3D space.

The other group is called photogrammetrists. They use a machine to look at pictures and see where there are overlap areas. It almost looks as if you are seeing the image from a plane. In smaller companies, one person might do both of those jobs.

DeGross has worked on ski resort projects, glacier studies, airport runways, small insurance projects and even owl studies for spotted owl projects. Like the others, he finds timelines stressful. "Long periods of cloudy weather are stressful, too. We can't get good pictures unless the atmosphere is clear.

"You need good eyesight for this work. And you need good attention to detail. Having ordinary common sense is very important, too, and you must be willing to keep on learning the new technologies as they are developed."

Alison Billard is the mapping and quality coordinator for a geomatics company. "When I applied here, there was no advertisement, but I noticed markers on the side of a highway indicating that construction was going to happen. I made some phone calls and discovered that this firm had a contract coming up. I was hired," she explains.

"In [high school] I did a geography course where I had to learn to make maps. I became interested then, and so I went to find out what it was called. I was told to go into cartography.

"After my first semester, I had to choose between photogrammetry or cartography. The instruments intrigued me, so I went into photogrammetry thinking it was important to learn to operate these machines when I had the chance."

Billard enjoys her work because every project is different. "Every model you put in the machine is from a different area. Your role is somewhat investigative. Some things are not so easy to identify....It's a different perspective when you are looking down from above."

Billard has worked on projects with scales from 1:500 to 1:50,000. The work has included projects for government, utility companies, mining companies and survey companies.

"On one project, we had to find out whether there would be spillage if oil tanks leaked, or whether the dikes would contain the spillage. We took the photographs very low, created a digital model that could calculate the volume and determined that there were areas that needed to be built up."

Stress for Billard comes from tight deadlines and machines that are high off the ground and awkward for a small person to use. "With some machines, my feet were dangling in the air. They are not built for short people," says Billard. "It's also been a struggle to be a female in a male world. Changes will happen when we get more young women coming into the field."