About Aerial Photo InterpretationOne of the most effective tools that a geographer can use for the interpretation of the landscape is the aerial photograph. Aerial Photo Interpretation is a key skill for many types of aerial photogrammetry analysis. Highly skilled photo interpretation specialists have a wide range of specializations in classifying such things as: wetlands, forestry land use, and other forms of image analysis. There are two main methods of exposing aerial photographs, vertical and oblique. Vertical photographs are generally the ones used for Aerial Photo Interpretation. Vertical aerial photography occurs when film is exposed with the camera sitting level and is pointing straight downward toward the ground. Oblique photographs are more often a tool for public information or displays. Oblique aerial photography occurs when the film is exposed with the camera intentionally directed at an angle other than vertical to the ground. Oblique angles come in two categories, low oblique and high oblique. There are many benefits to Aerial Photo Interpretation including: When a scene is being viewed through an aerial photo, there will be an immediate feeling of "naturalness," so the images can be intuitively understood by the observer. Aerial Photographs do not suffer from human error in the way that maps sometimes do. Whereas maps have symbols with an established meaning, aerial photos have different tones and patterns which must be distinguished and given a meaning by their interpreter. In measuring the size of an object of an object, the photo interpreter must use an object or shape he/she recognizes and from this absolute size other objects in the photograph can be placed into their relative size brackets. Of all the properties of an object, shape is frequently the factor that provides the key evidence for the interpreter. This is especially true in land form interpretation where the external form of a feature is its identifying mark. Also important are pattern and texture. The spatial distribution of man-made or natural object is frequently a vital clue to their identity. While texture may be a difficult property to describe, it is essentially a way of characterizing the smoothness or coarseness of the image on the photo. Texture involves the total sum of tone, shape pattern and size, which together give the interpreter an overall feeling for the landscape being analyzed. This property is not one that can be pegged down accurately, in definitional terms, but is nevertheless vital to Aerial Photo Interpretation. No matter which cities you need Aerial Photo Interpretation for, where it be Atlanta, Georgia or Kansas City; make sure that you get a quality interpretation from a trained professional. |
