Why do people use Aerial Photography

I found this article at www.buzzle.com, I thought you might be interested in it.

Aerial Photography is becoming one of the most popular forms of Photography today due to its daring capabilities and cause for sudden excitement as well as having the ability to create great affects in photos. What most people didn't know however is that aerial photography has been around for quite some time now. It started back in world war 2 where photographers would hitch a ride in a war planes, hoping to capture that one great shot of a plane going down, or an enemy fighter aiming his guns at the camera.

It seems today that aerial photography has changed a lot. Aerial photography will always be a form of photography that most people aspire to doing one day in their careers as the photos photographers are able to create can be magnificent when done correctly. There is a myriad of settings all over the world that would look great from the air and many photographers are beginning to take advantage of these opportunities. In fact aerial photography is actually a stream of landscape photography and you can see why. From the air the most impressive photos are taken of vast landscapes, perhaps of mountains and deserts. One of the most popular places in the world for aerial photography nowadays in in the steep slopes of the Himalayas. Parasailing has become a well known hobby in this part of the world and along with it people are capturing some spectacular photos of amazing scenery mostly of the enormous Himalayan mountains in Nepal and Tibet.

Some Fields where Aerial Photography is Important. Of course aerial photography is not just a hobby for many people and organizations. The military use aerial photography for a more important reason. These days many countries use spy planes to take photographs of enemy units on the ground. It's an important piece of the military and in many cases has meant the difference when the time has come to send troops in to battle. Television stations use aerial photography as a means of discovering what the weather is like in certain areas and even to predict what the weather is going to be like in several days. Aerial photography is also used by real estate development companies in order to take photographs from the air of certain developmental sites. This is very important because it enables them to map out and plan how they are going to develop in a certain area. The same goes for construction companies who need to make sure the position they are building in is going to be safe and of the right width and diameters. The tourism industry likes aerial pictures because it can show off its vast golf courses, resort beaches, RV parks and campgrounds from above. City and state governments can use it for planning and development purposes. Trained environmentalists use aerial photography to study the earth’s climate and land conditions. Sports events can employ the use of aerial photography when they want to show the grandeur of a brand new stadium or illustrate the density of the crowds in the stands.

By joshua stantonPublished: 10/17/2006

Types of Aerial Photographs

Aerial photography is broken down into two main types, oblique and vertical configuration.

Oblique refers to pictures taken the side of an aircraft and vertical images are taken from directly above the subject being photographed. Vertical aerial photography is normally used in real estate advertising. The process of taking photographs in the air from an aircraft is called aviation photography, as is taking pictures of aircrafts themselves. The main types of aviation photography are:

Air-to-air Photography. This type of photograph is used most often in advertising and entails taking pictures of an airplane from different angles. Of course the photographer is in another aircraft, since there has to be at least two aircrafts involved in air-to-air photography. This type of photography is practiced mainly at air shows.

Remote sensing. Remote sensing is used to gather information on the environment and other land base features from a distance, particularly from an aircraft in the sky using special equipment to gather and collect data. This explanation is one of many, but is best suited to aerial photographs.

Satellite. One major use of satellite photos is to gather environmental images so that scientists and environmentalists can track changes on the earth’s surface. NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior are two of the major agencies involved in satellite scanning in the United States.

Kite. The camera is mounted into a cradle and secured to a kite and sent flying; the pictures are taken by controlling the camera with a remote control. In some cases the camera is programmed to automatically snap pictures once the kite reaches a certain altitude.

Also included in aviation photography is the use of model planes and helicopters to take pictures.
These are just some of the main types of aerial photographs.

Definition of Aerial Photography

Here is a definition of Aerial Photography that I like, I got it from Wikipedia,

Aerial photography is the taking of photographs from above with a camera mounted, or hand held, on an aircraft, helicopter, 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 photographs are analyzed in preparation of many Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for real property analysis. 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.
For amateurs without pilot license one of the easiest ways to make aerial photographs is using an Astrocam or an Oracle modell rocket.

Aerial photography. (2006, November 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:32, November 30, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aerial_photography&oldid=89695961

Welcome to The Aerial Photographer

Welcome to The Aerial Photographer.

Here you will be able to find lots of hints and tips about Aerial photography, how to make money from Aerial Photography, what kit you will need to take Aerial photographs, and much, much, more.....