A
trip through a local landmark is just a click away, thanks
to photographer Linda Francetich, of Grosse Ile.
She donated a “virtual tour” of the Wyandotte
Historical Museum to the city’s Web site in June.
Jody Chansuolme, the museum’s new director, was
delighted to hear the city would be receiving the unique
gift.
“The
idea was actually suggested by Joe Maher, an associate broker
at Century 21 Riverpointe,” Chansuolme said.
“He
had worked with Francetich on several real estate endeavors,
and realized such a tool would be a perfect fit for our
museum.”
Maher approached Francetich with the concept.
“I felt privileged to have done it,” Francetich
said, adding that that Maher was her “inspiration.”
Francetich has been interested in photography ever since
she purchased her first camera in 1980.
“I paid $400 for a Pentax K-1000. It was all manual,
and didn’t have a single automatic feature,”
Francetich said.
“I have always loved taking pictures. My dad used
to develop his own pictures. I think it’s in the genes.”
Although she was formally trained as a court reporter, she
wasn’t passionate about the job. In 1998, fate intervened
one day when her court reporting computer program crashed.
“I tried to put a DOS program into a Windows platform,”
she said.
The technical support personnel were so informative and
helpful that she was prompted to try her hand at a computer-related
job.
“I tend to be very technical and mechanical,”
she said. “I thought, ‘I can do this.’”
Francetich enrolled at Henry Ford Community College and
received her general associate’s degree in computer
science in 2002. Within the next year, she anticipates receiving
a degree in Web design.
In 2002, she took a two-day course on virtual tours at iPIX
in Tennessee.
“It was very exciting and appealing,” she said.
Her first client was Portofino on the River restaurant in
Wyandotte.
“I used to be a server there, so I approached them
and did a virtual tour and Web site for them,” she
said.
The tour was a hit, and now Francetich is busy at least
eight hours a day doing virtual tours of planes, boats,
and cars.
During the recent All-Star game in Detroit, she was given
an assignment to create a virtual tour of the Ameriquest
blimp, which she really enjoyed doing, she said.
For the Wyandotte museum tour, she spent more than five
hours photographing every angle available, including ceilings
and floors. Using a specialized fish-eye lens, Francetich
was able to create 360-degree tours.
“The fish-eye lens looks like a dome, just like a
fish’s eye,” she said. “It allows you
to photograph up, down, and all around. It’s much
more precise than the wide-angle lens most people use.”
Chansuolme, who began as the museum’s director in
May, is encouraged by reaction to the Web site’s virtual
tour.
“People are definitely delighted,” she said.
“They can, in the case of weddings, for example, view
exactly where the ceremony would take place.”
Both Chansuolme and Francetich believe technological advancements
such a virtual tours are the wave of the future.
“Advancements such as this will prove to be very rewarding
on multiple levels, by building awareness and interest as
to what our community has to offer not only its citizens,
but the Downriver area as a whole,” Chansuolme said.
Francetich said the demand for her services is high, and
that she has found a “niche” in providing virtual
tours.
Her work is for real estate agents such as Maher allows
prospective buyers to view more than just an outside picture
of a house. They can see the kitchen, ceilings – even
the neighborhood – without setting foot in the house.
“It’s a real time-saver for people who work
long and unusual hours, such as factory workers and nurses,
for example,” Francetich said.
“With virtual tours you get to see everything.”
The Wyandotte Historical Museum is housed in the Ford-MacNichol
Home at 3160 Biddle Ave.
