Aerial Photos
A little history of Aerial photography
The first aerial photograph was taken over Paris in 1858 by French photographer and balloonist Gaspar Felix Tournachon, better known as "Nadar." Unfortunately, these early images have not survived. The oldest known aerial photograph still in existence is James Wallace Black's 1860 image of Boston, captured from a hot-air balloon. It wasn't until 1863 that the first successful aerial photographs were taken from a balloon in England. The earliest surviving aerial photographs of England were taken by photographer and balloonist Cecil Shadbolt between 1882 and 1892.
As photographic technology advanced, it became possible to attach cameras to pilotless flying objects. In 1882, English meteorologist Douglas Archibald successfully captured a photograph using a string of kites. A few years later, Arther Batut managed to attach a timer to a camera, enabling it to trigger the shutter shortly after launching his kite.
During World War I, balloons and kites proved too vulnerable to enemy fire, leading some armies to turn to pigeons for aerial reconnaissance. The Bavarian Pigeon Corps utilized pigeons equipped with lightweight breast-mounted cameras, invented by Dr. Julius Neubronner in 1908. These miniature cameras were set to capture images at 30-second intervals during the pigeons' flights. Despite their usefulness, the photographs were often unpredictable, and the pigeons sometimes fell prey to hungry troops.
In 1897, Alfred Nobel, who later established the Nobel Prize, successfully mounted a camera on a rocket. Seven years later, Albert Maul took an aerial photograph from 2,600 feet using a rocket.
Shortly after the Wright Brothers' first powered flight, the first aerial photograph from an airplane was taken in 1908 by cinematographer L.P. Bonvillain, who captured an image from an airplane piloted by Wilbur Wright over Le Mans, France. By World War I, both sides were using battle maps created from aerial photos taken from aircraft. Cameras were designed specifically for airborne use, although stability and shutter speed remained challenges. Near the end of the war, Sherman M. Fairchild developed a camera with the shutter located inside the lens, significantly improving image quality.
The technological advancements in aircraft and photography during World War I led to the establishment of Britain's first commercial aerial photography company, Aerofilms Ltd., in 1919. Founded by aviation pioneer Claude Grahame-White and wartime observer Francis Wills, Aerofilms paved the way for a new industry, serving clients ranging from manufacturing businesses to local authorities.
By World War II, aerial photography had become commonplace, with images from the war front frequently featured in newspapers, magazines, and movie theater newsreels for propaganda purposes.
In the UK, aerial photography has been instrumental in documenting the evolution of landscapes and urban areas. From capturing city expansions to monitoring rural changes, these images provide a unique perspective that enhances traditional historical research methods, offering valuable insights into the development of infrastructure, land use, and architectural styles over time.
What types of photos can I find?
Oblique and vertical aerial photography are two distinct types of aerial imaging techniques, each offering unique perspectives and applications:
Vertical Aerial Photography:
Vertical aerial photography involves capturing images directly from above, with the camera pointed straight down towards the ground.
These photographs provide a top-down view of the terrain, buildings, and features below, with minimal distortion.
Vertical aerial imagery is commonly used in cartography, urban planning, land surveying, and environmental monitoring.
It is particularly useful for creating accurate maps, measuring distances, and analyzing land use patterns.
Oblique Aerial Photography:
Oblique aerial photography entails capturing images at an angle, rather than directly from above. The camera is typically tilted or angled towards the side.
These photographs offer a more three-dimensional perspective, allowing viewers to see objects and structures from multiple angles.
Oblique aerial imagery is often used for visual inspection, site reconnaissance, and landscape assessment.
It provides detailed views of buildings, terrain features, and vegetation, which can be helpful for architectural analysis, disaster assessment, and tourism promotion.
What can I find online?
Lucky for us house historians there are a number of free online resources with literally millions of aerial images, so it’s likely you will find an Aerial image of your local area somewhere in these collections!
The Historic England Aerial Photograph Explorer
The Historic England Aerial photograph explorer is one of the best online tools for finding aerial photos of your house
The searchable collection includes 400,000 images from 1919 to the present day have been added to the tool, covering nearly 30% (about 15,000 square miles) of England.
Around 300,000 of these are from Historic England’s Aerial Investigation and Mapping team which was founded in 1967. The remaining 100,000 images come from the Historic England Archive aerial photography collection, which numbers over six million images in total, and includes important historic photography, including interwar and post-war images from Aerofilms Ltd (discussed above) and The Royal Air Force. They also recently added a United States Army Air Forces Collection which contains 20,000 photographs captured by reconnaissance aircraft over England during the Second World War
It is free to search and free to view the images. You can even share them online.
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/
2. Cambridge University
The Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography (CUCAP) is an invaluable resource for house historians, offering nearly 500,000 images that provide a detailed visual record of Britain's landscape since 1947. The collection's extensive coverage and variety of perspectives—ranging from oblique views to survey-quality verticals—allow historians to trace the development of specific areas, understand historical land use, and uncover architectural changes over time. This rich archive aids in piecing together the story of individual properties and their surrounding environments, making it an essential tool for thorough historical research.
https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com/location/zknod56/
3. NLS- Ordance Survey Mosaics
Covering 20% of the British landscape at a detailed 1:10,560 scale, and 16 towns and cities at an even finer 1:1,250 scale, these mosaics provide a valuable reference for understanding how landscapes and urban areas appeared immediately after World War II. Originally used by Ordnance Survey as a temporary solution before updated maps were created, these mosaics now serve as a critical resource for historians tracing post-war changes in land use and urban development.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=5.5&lat=55.20597&lon=-2.98946&layers=11
4. NCAP- National Collection of Aerial Photography
The National Collection of Aerial Photography offers one of the world's largest collections of aerial imagery, with tens of millions of images capturing historic events and places globally. This extensive archive allows historians to explore the evolution of landscapes and structures over time, providing critical insights into the historical context of specific properties. While accessing detailed zoom features requires a subscription, the collection's breadth makes it an invaluable resource for anyone researching the history of a location or building.
5. Britain from Above
Britain from Above was a four-year initiative focused on preserving 95,000 of the earliest and most significant photographs in the Aerofilms collection, dating from 1919 to 1953. The project not only safeguards a crucial visual record of Britain’s past but also invites the public to engage by sharing memories and insights about the places depicted, enriching the historical narrative captured in these images. Certainly worth checking out!