Aerial photography

Encyclopedia : A : AE : AER : Aerial photography

The Georgian terrace of Royal Crescent (Bath, England) from a hot air balloon

Dulles Airport in Reston, Virginia, from an airplane

Aerial photography is the taking of photographs from above with a camera mounted on an aircraft, balloon, rocket, kite, skydiver or similar vehicle. It was first practiced by the French photographer and balloonist Nadar in 1858. The use of aerial photography for military purposes was expanded during World War I by aviators such as Fred Zinn.

Aerial photography is used in cartography, land-use planning, archaeology, movie production, environmental studies, espionage, commercial advertising, conveyancing, and other fields. Aerial photos are often processed by a GIS system.

Recent advances in radio controlled models has made it possible for radio controlled model aircraft to conduct low-altitude aerial photography. This has benefited real-estate advertising, where commercial and residential properties are the photographic subject. Full-size, manned aircraft are prohibited from low flyovers of populated locations. Miniature-size model aircraft offer full photographic access to these previously restricted areas. Of course, miniature vehicles do not replace full-size aircraft, as full-size aircraft are capable of longer flight-times, higher altitudes, and greater equipment payloads.

Because anything capable of being viewed from a public space is considered outside the realm of privacy, aerial photography may legally document features and occurrences on private property.

See also

• Aviation photography
• Kite aerial photography
• Orthophoto
• Pictometry
• Remote sensing
• Satellite imagery
• Aerial Archaeology

External links

• [UKAerialPhotos, Aerial photos of the UK from 1947 to present day]
• [Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing]
• [The UK from Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images]
• [Canadian Natural Resources: Introduction to Air Photo Interpretation]
• [Professional Aerial Photographers Association, International]
• [Getmapping, Commercial aerial photography website for UK]
• [Aerial Archaeology] AerialArchaeology.com focuses on near earth aerial photography technologies such as Kite Aerial Photography, R/C powered parachutes, balloons, and model airplanes and helicopters for archaeological research.

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