Collection of Things
A few years after undergrad, I worked as a museum educator at the Shelburne Museum in rural Shelburne, Vermont. If you've ever driven up Route 7 toward Burlington and seen a big steamship perched on a grassy hill to your left, you've passed by its 45-acre campus. The museum features 39 exhibition buildings, including 25 historic fully relocated structures—like one of Vermont's few remaining round barns, a general store, a schoolhouse, a lighthouse, a railway station, and the steamship Ticonderoga. Founded by Electra Havermeyer Webb in 1947, the museum offers visitors a chance to take a true-to-life-size glimpse into the past through her vast, eclectic collection.
While Electra preserved Vermont's heritage by physically uprooting and relocating structures, I see photogrammetry as a cost-effective, non-destructive way to capture and preserve the essence of things.
The challenge I want to address is how to make digital collections more accessible and engaging. Physical museums offer a tangible experience—an immersive sense of place and time that is hard to replicate. But virtual galleries offer infinite expanses, with potential for novel mixed-reality interactions that could reshape how we connect with history, art and one another.
As a collector, I often find myself thinking, "I better keep this because it could amount to something." For now, I'll consolidate captures here until I find a more suitable space for them.
Studio 419
Captured on iPhone 14 Pro and rendered in RealityCapture
Studio Globeville
This was the my first private studio. It was situated in the corner of the building and there was not much wall space. A master carpenter friend of mine visited and built an adjustable plywood wall to cover the firebrick underneath. Then, voila! There was more room to maneuver. When I ran out of wall space, I would then roll out yards of paper outside, weigh them down with wood and make my mark until the weather become too chilly. Although I only spent a year here, I was very productive in this space and have fond memories.
Captured on Samsung Galaxy S9 and rendered in RealityCapture
sculpture test
Despite the look on my face, I was very excited when the news broke that Reality Capture released a free tier for individuals and small businesses. I was even more excited when I saw the solid results. Not only can you produce quality models, you can also upload them super fast to SketchFab directly from the app or after downloading locally.
Captured and rendered on RealityCapture
Keep out cabin
In late November 2022, I was driving home from a hike just outside of Denver when this cabin caught my eye. Growing up in Vermont, I developed a fascination with dilapidated barns—there's something captivating about their resilience, even as wooden planks fray from the foundations. I often slow down to take in their state of decay, and through those blurred inspections, I sometimes find that the interiors are surprisingly neat and organized, with just enough functional clutter to add to the charm.
This time, I couldn't resist pulling over to take a closer look. The "Posted: No Trespassing" sign felt trivial, given how exposed the cabin was to both nature and passerby. Still, I kept to the perimeter, and before someone—or Mother Earth—claimed it for good, I made sure to capture it in as much detail as possible.
Captured on Samsung S9 - Rendered on 3DF Zephyr
A corner peace of mine
A corner of a room with verdant plant arrangements sitting atop a white cabinet, all resting in front of a large window with its horizontal blinds drawn open to let light in. A red Daruma woodcut is nestled behind the greenery. A mask split in two hangs like a necklace around some succulents.There are several works of art - one hanging on the wall - a printout of John Singer Sargeant's 'Fumée d'ambre gris’ and on the table lays an abstract pastel portrait of a man - made by me. Nearby is a green embroidered patch inspired by Kerry James Marshall's ‘Scouts’ portraits, and a drawing of two men playing chess in a NYC park by Zac Crawford. I got the gyroscope from Burning Man.
Underneath it all are Mouse’s cat bowls, a misplaced printer and a purple pot awaiting new vegetation.
Captured and rendered on RealityCapture
neighborhood stuMp
Just a cool stump I stumbled upon during a neighborhod stroll. I lived in Denver at the time and I always appreciated the landscaping. Both the intentional and happenstance.
Captured on Samsung S9 - Rendered on 3DF Zephyr.