Arial Photos of Maps in Historical Fiction and Nonfiction

Historical researchers use many different tools in their work. One of the tools they use is maps. Although maps come in different shapes and sizes, they don't all give the same information.

The aerial photo is a type of map. However, it is neither a traditional map nor a picture. It is somewhere in-between. More and more people are talking about these photo-maps. Newspapers are full of articles concerning them. But, their use and how they differ from traditional maps is not always clear to the layman.

The following will give the historical researcher a basic idea of the aerial photo-map.

The Same, But Different
1) Like traditional maps, aerial maps give us a bird's eye view of an area.
2) Unlike traditional maps, aerial maps are photos taken from airplanes, balloons, or satellites. The traditional map is a drawing.

Beginners often find working with aerial photo-maps difficult. The difficulty comes from the unfamiliar scale and the position of objects.

These three items describe the main problems:
1) Distorted topography.
2) Things close to the camera look bigger and those further away look smaller.
3) Unless the distortion is corrected, measurement is not reliable.

Earth To Google
Google has an interesting web site which gives us a 3-dimentional interface of the planet. This is interesting for authors.

Imagine writing a novel about a faraway country and actually being able to see a real photo-map of the area at a snap of the fingers. It's even possible to zoom in on an address or click on a different view and see land and buildings in 3-D.

Three Types of Aerial Photo-Maps
There are three types of aerial photo-maps.
Black and white
True color
Color infrared.

Both the black and white and true color photo-maps record reflected radiation.
On the other hand, colored infrared, change the color of objects according to the original reflected color:
- Blue comes out black.
- Green comes out blue.
- Red comes out green.

Aerial photo-maps:
1) Are used to create topographic maps.
2) Record evolution in environmental conditions.
3) Records modification in species and habitat.

I don't use aerial maps as much as traditional maps. When I do use them, it is to reinforce the effect of a traditional topographic map. It helps me feel the differences in elevation.

Each tool available gives us another aspect of our research. The more aspects we have the fuller the view.