Acquiring Aerial Photos Where and how to get

Acquiring Aerial Photos Where and how to get aerial photography

Different options n n n Buy or download existing photos Hire a professional company to acquire new photos Acquire the photo yourself

Buy or download existing photos n n n USGS http: //edc. usgs. gov/products/aerial. html Terra. Server USA http: //terraserver-usa. com/ NASA astronaut photos http: //eol. jsc. nasa. gov/sseop/clickmap/ USDA Aerial Photography Field Office http: //www. fsa. usda. gov Corona photos http: //edcsns 17. cr. usgs. gov/Earth. Explorer/ n n n Listed as declassified satellite imagery Geospatial One Stop http: //gos 2. geodata. gov/wps/portal/gos State and local GIS or planning offices

Hire a professional n n n Several companies available around the world Depending on the services to be provided it can be very expensive Clearly define technical and legal specifications n n May be necessary to hire someone to help with this Carefully evaluate the delivered product to make sure it meets the specifications n May be necessary to hire someone to help with this

Do it yourself n n n Often used for reconnaissance information and collecting land cover validation and training data Usually not appropriate for precision mapping Becoming increasingly popular Usually small and medium format frame photography and videography Sophistication ranges from hanging a camera out an airplane window to sophisticated systems with integrated sensors, mounts, and location and navigation instruments.

Flight planning considerations Scale (flying height and focal length) n Overlap (forward and sidelap) n Exposure interval (ground speed, film size, and forward overlap) n Flight lines including turns for aircraft n Filters n Film type n Shutter speed n Time of day and time of year (lighting conditions) n Camera mount and controls Note: software exists to facilitate this process n