The Geographers

Aerial photography, photogrammetry and aerial photo interpretation are relatively recently developed techniques. Their development has closely been connected with the development of aeronautics, high precision aerial camera and photogrammetric and photo interpretation instruments. An aerial photograph is a photographic image of the earth’s surface, usually taken from an aircraft, while photographic interpretation is an act of examining these photographic images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance. Photogrammetry is the art of making reliable measurements from the air photographs.  Air photo survey and the preparation of map with their help was first initiated by Aime Laussedat, a French military engineer in 1840. In 1858, a French photographer and balloonist, G.F. Tournachon took the first aerial photograph of Paris city from a balloon and that was the beginning of scientific photography from air. It was Lucida who had started preparation of m