Hello Dustin,
When I went to AA in early sobriety, there was one student I remember who did the same thing you're talking about.
He took notes, but did not name names (which nobody at meetings really divulge anyway) and absolutely no pictures are ever allowed.
He was quiet, sat in the back and basically captured the emotions of the stories that were shared, how people interacted with each other during the break and after the meeting.
Nobody minded because he did not probe or try to investigate - he just observed and listened. Some meetings are closed. Even a meeting that is open might frown on the project idea, but there are typically plenty of open meetings available to try. Good luck.