AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

&
PHOTOGRAMMETRY
GISc 3075

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Contents
1. Introduction to Aerial photography and photogrammetry
2. Elements of Photographic System
3. Introduction to Air photo Interpretation
4. Photogrammetry &photogrammetric processes
5. Relief Displacement and instrumentation

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 Introduction to Aerial Photography and
Photogrammetry

 Aerial Photography
 Aerial Photography is one of the most common, versatile and economical
forms of remote sensing.
 Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated
position.
 The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a
ground-based structure
 It is the action of taking photographs from an airborne platform such as
aircraft, helicopter, balloon, kite, blimps or unmanned aerial vehicle.
 Photogrammetry

 Aerial photogrammetry is the science of obtaining accurate geometric

measurements using photographs taken from an aerial platform.
 Photogrammetry is the science or art of obtaining reliable measurements by
means of photographs.

 The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) defined
Photogrammetry as the art, science and technology of obtaining reliable
information about physical objects and the environment, through
processes of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images
and patterns of recorded radiant electromagnetic energy and other
phenomena.
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 Principles of Photogrammetry

 Photogrammetric analysis procedures can range from obtaining

approximate distances, areas, and elevations using hardcopy
and simple geometric concepts to generating precise digital
elevation models (DEMs), orthophotos, thematic GIS data,
and other derived products through the use of digital raster
images and relatively so­phisticated analytical techniques.
 Digital photogramme­try is changing rapidly and forms the basis
for most current photogrammetric operations.
 All the process make use of “TRIANGULATION” principle.
 Eyes use the principle of TRIANGULATION to gauge distance
(depth perception).
 By taking photographs from at least two different
locations, so-called "lines of sight" can be developed from
each camera to points on the object.
 These lines of sight are mathematically intersected to
produce the 3-dimensional coordinates of the points of
interest.
 Aerial Photography Vs. Satellite Imagery

 Aerial photography
 Satellite imagery
• Slow and time consuming
• Capable of collecting large amounts of
data in short time
process
• Reside several hundreds kms above the
• Provide detail information earth’s surface and hence provide
• Provide possibility of lower resolution
photographing areas in thin and • Thin cloud that may not stop aerial
cloud and bad weather condition photography can still have a large
w/c stop the use of satellites effect on the quality of satellite imagery
• Border limited and need to • Satellite can be positioned to take
communicate to cross imagery of anywhere on the planet.
international boundary/ies • Imagery acquired by satellite usually
• Post-processing in software consists of far fewer SHOTS than that
taken by the aircraft; analyzed in
environment is not common and
software environment
analyzed in tradition
 Types of Aerial Photographs

 Related to camera angle

• Vertical – when the camera axis is directly above the feature, about 1 0 to 30 is tolerated
• Oblique – it can be categorized as Low oblique and High oblique
Low oblique – when tilting of the camera is greater than 3 0 but horizon is not shown
High oblique – when photographs include an image of the horizon
 Relate to film
• panchromatic
• black and white infrared
• Color
• Color infrared
 Vertical Photography

 ‘Truly ’ vertical aerial photograph is rarely obtainable Vertical Aerial

Vertical Aerial
Photograph Over
Photograph Over
Level Terrain
because of unavoidable angular rotations or tilts, caused by the angular Camera
Camera
Level Terrain
film plane
film plane
attitude of the aircraft at the instant of exposure.
This is done unintentional.
Examp of Vertical
Altitude
aerial photo Altitude
above-ground-
above-ground- field
level (AGL) field
level (AGL) of view
of view

Optical
Optical
axis
axis

Principal point (PP)

Principal point (PP)


High Oblique Vs Low Oblique

High Oblique
Low Oblique
 Advantages of vertical over oblique aerial photographs

 Vertical photographs present approximately uniform scale throughout the photo

but oblique photos can not.
 Because of a constant scale throughout a vertical photograph, the determination
of directions (i.e., bearing or azimuth) can be performed in the same manner as a
map. This is not true for an oblique photo because of the distortions.
 Tall objects (e.g., buildings, trees, hills, etc.) will not mask other objects as much
as they would on oblique photos.
 Vertical photographs are simple to use photogrammetrically as a minimum of
mathematical correction is required.
 To some extent and under certain conditions (e.g., flat terrain), a vertical
aerial photograph may be used as a map if a coordinate grid system and
legend information are added.
 Stereoscopic study is also more effective on vertical than on oblique
photographs
 Elements of Photographic

 An oblique photograph covers much more ground area than a vertical photo taken
from the same altitude with the same focal length.
 If an area is frequently covered by cloud layer, it may be too low and/or
impossible to take vertical photographs, but there may be enough clearance for
oblique coverage.
 Oblique photos have a more natural view because we are accustomed to seeing
the ground features obliquely. For example, tall objects such as bridges, buildings,
towers, trees, etc. will be more recognizable because the silhouettes of these
objects are visible.
 Objects that are under trees or under other tall objects may not be visible on
vertical photos if they are viewed from above. Also some objects, such as
ridges, cliffs, caves, etc., may not show on a vertical photograph if they are
directly beneath the camera.
 Determination of feature elevations is more accurate using oblique photograph
than vertical aerial photographs.
 Because oblique aerial photos are not used for photogrammetric and precision
purposes, they may use inexpensive cameras.
 2.1 Introduction
 Historically, the most common use of photogrammetry has been to pro­duce

hardcopy topographic maps.

 Today, photogrammetric procedures are used extensively to produce a range of

GIS data products such as precise raster image backdrops for vector data and
digital elevation models.
 The­matic data (in three dimensions) can also be extracted directly from pho­

tographs for inclusion in a GIS.

 However, in this chapter we focus on the basic aspects of photogrammetry
 2.8 Basic Geometric Characteristics of Aerial Photographs

Geometric Types of Aerial Photographs

 We have seen that aerial photographs are generally classified as either vertical or

oblique based on its camera axis.

 Verti­cal photographs are those made with the camera axis directed as vertically as

possible.
 Vertical photography made with a single-lens frame camera is by far the most

common type of aerial photography used in remote sensing applica­tions.

 However, a "truly" vertical aerial photograph is rarely obtainable be­cause of
unavoidable angular rotations, or tilts, caused by the angular attitude of the
aircraft at the instant of exposure. These unavoidable tilts cause slight (1° to 3°)
unintentional inclination of the camera optical axis, re­sulting in the acquisition
of tilted photographs
 When aerial photographs are taken with an intentional inclination of the
camera axis, oblique photographs result
 Taking Vertical Aerial Photographs

 Most vertical aerial photographs are taken with frame cameras along flight lines, or
'flight strips.
 The line traced on the ground directly beneath the air­craft during acquisition of
photography is called the nadir line Successive photographs along a flight strip
overlap is called end lap or forward
overlap which is 50 – 60%
Lateral overlapping of adjacent
flight strips is called a side lap
(usually 30%).

Sidelap
 Flight path or photo run

 Position of camera at each exposure is called the exposure station.

 Aerial Photo Scale

 One of the most fundamental and frequently used geometric characteristics of aerial
photographs is that of photographic scale. Because photograph "scale," like a map scale,
is an expression that states that one unit (any unit) of distance on a photograph represents
a specific number of units of actual ground dis­tance.
 The most straightforward method for determining photo scale is to measure the
corresponding photo and ground distances between any two points.
 This requires that the points be mutually identifiable on both the photo and a map.
 The scale S is then computed as the ratio of the photo distance d to the ground distance D,

S = photo scale =
 Example
Assume that two road intersections shown on a photograph can be located on a
1:50,000 scale topographic map. The measured distance between the intersections
is 25 mm on the map and 30 mm on the photograph.
(a) What is the scale of the photograph?
(b) At that scale, what is the length of a fence line that measures 15 mm on the
photograph?
Solution

(a) First determine the ground distance between the intersections from
topographic map
0.025 m x50,000 = 750 m
 Now calculate the photo scale

Photo scale =

 (b) The ground length of the 15-mm fence line is

0.015m x 25,000 => 37.5 m
 The scale of a photograph is also determined by the focal length of the camera and the vertical height of
the lens above the ground.
 For a vertical photograph taken over flat terrain, scale is a function of the focal length of the camera used
to acquire the image and the flying height above the ground, H' , from which the image was taken. In
general

A camera equipped with a 152-mm-focal-length lens is used to take a vertical photo­graph from a flying
height of 2780 m above mean sea level. If the terrain is flat and located at an elevation of 500 m, what is the
scale of the photograph?
Solution
The focal length (f) of the camera is the distance measured from the center of the camera lens to the film.
The vertical height of the lens above the ground (H - h) is the height of the lens above sea level (H), minus
the height of the ground above see level (h), when the optical axis is vertical and the ground is flat.
 These parameters are related by formula S = => 1:15,000
 Ground Coverage of Aerial Photographs

 As with photo scale, the ground coverage of photography ob­tained with any given format is
a function of focal length and flying height above ground, H' .
 For a constant flying height, the width of the ground area covered by a photo varies
inversely with focal length.
 Consequently, photos taken with shorter focal length lenses have larger areas of coverage
(and smaller scales) than do those taken with longer focal length lenses.
 For any given focal length lens, the width of the ground area covered by a photo varies
directly with flying height above terrain, with image scale varying inversely with flying
height. Ground Area =

Eg. If area of a given town is 82.4 cm2 on a I :8000 vertical photograph, what is ground area of the town?
Ground area = photo area X 1/s2 = 0.00824 m2 x 80002 = 527,360 m2 = 52.7 ha
 Photographic Resolution

 Spatial resolution is an expression of the optical quality of an image produced by a

particular camera system.
 Resolution is influenced by host of parameters such as resolving power of the film and
camera lens used to obtain an image, any uncompensated image motion during exposure,
the condition of film processing
 The effects of scale and resolution can be combined to express image quality in terms of
Ground Resolution Distance (GRD). This distance extrapolates the dynamic system
resolution on a film to ground distance.
GRD =
Ex. Photography at scale of 1:25000 taken with a system having a dynamic resolution of
40lines/mm would have a ground resolution distance of 0.625 m
3. Introduction to Visual Image interpretation

 When we look at aerial and space images, we see various objects of different
sizes and shapes.
 Some of these objects may be readily identifiable while others may not.
 When we can identify what we see on the images and communicate this
information to others, we are practicing image interpretation.
 The images contain raw image data.
 These data, when processed by a human interpreter's brain, become usable
information.
 Fundamentals of Visual Image Interpretation

 Aerial and space images contain a detailed record of features on the ground at the
time of data acquisition.
 An image interpreter systematically examines the images and, frequently, other
supporting materials such as maps and reports of field observations.
 However, based on the physical nature of objects and phenomena appearing in the
images interpretation can be made.
 Interpretations may take place at a number of levels of complexity, from the simple
recognition of objects on the earth's surface to the derivation of detailed information
regarding the complex interactions among earth surface and subsurface features.
 Success in image interpretation varies with the training and experience of the
interpreter, the nature of the objects or phenomena being interpreted, and the quality'
of the images being utilized.
 Elements of Image Interpretation
 Shape - refers to the general form, configuration, or outline of individual objects.
Eg. natural forest and social forest
 Size- objects on images must be considered in the context of the image scale. eg
bus and train
 Color/Tone- refers to the relative brightness or color of objects on an image. Eg
uses to distinguish between deciduous and coniferous trees on black and white
infrared photographs
 Texture- is the frequency of tonal change on an image
 Pattern- the spatial arrangement of objects.
 The repetition of certain general forms or relationships is characteristic of many
objects, both natural and constructed, and gives objects a pattern that aids the
image interpreter in recognizing them
Site- refers to topographic or geographic location and is a particularly important aid
in the identification of vegetation types
Association- refers to the occurrence of certain features in relation to others
Shadow - important to interpreters in two opposing respects:
1. The shape or outline of a shadow affords an impression of the profile view of objects
(which aids interpretation) and
2. Objects within shadows reflect little light and are difficult to discern on an image
 Shape
 cultural features - geometric, distinct boundaries
 natural features - irregular shapes and boundaries

 Shape helps us distinguish old vs. new subdivisions, some tree species,

athletic fields, etc.

Interior Alaskan
village (note airstrip
near top of image)

Meandering river
The pentagon
in Alaska
 Size (length, width, perimeter,
area)
 relative size is an important clue
 big, wide river vs. smaller river or

slough
 apartments vs. houses

 single lane road vs. multilane

 Color/Tone
 coniferous vs. deciduous trees

CIR - Spruce forest CIR – Deciduous CIR- Mixed spruce

(black) with some (leafy) vegetation And deciduous forest
deciduous (red) trees. (red). on hillside with tundra
in valley bottom.
 Texture
 coarseness/smoothness caused by variability or uniformity of image tone
or color
 smoothness – tundra, swamps, fields, water, etc.

 coarseness - forest, lava flows, mountains etc.

CIR- Marshy CIR - Bare rounded CIR - Tundra showing

tundra with Mountains (blue) drainage pattern
many surrounded by
small ponds. tundra
 Pattern
 overall spatial form of related
features
 repeating patterns tend to indicate

cultural features - random is most

probably natural
 drainage patterns can help

geologists determine bedrock type A dendritic pattern is

characteristic of flat-lying
sedimentary bedrock
 Site
 site - relationship of a feature to its
environment
 differences in vegetation based on
location: Meandering
 In interior Alaska, black spruce dominant Alaskan river
on the north side of hills and deciduous
trees on the south side.
 Vegetation is often has different
characteristics by rivers than away from
them
N

Interior Alaskan
hillside
 Association
 identifying one feature can help identify another - correlation

The white cloud and black

The long straight airstrip near the top of
shadow have the same
the image indicates that there might be a
shape, they are related
village or settlement nearby
 Shadows
 shadows cast by some features
can aid in their identification
 some tree types, storage tanks,

bridges can be identified in this

way
 shadows can accentuate terrain

The mountain ridge on the right side of this

image is accentuated by shadow
Application of AP
• Land Use/Land Cover Mapping
• Geologic and Soil Mapping
• Agricultural Applications
• Forestry Applications
• Rangeland Applications
• Water Resource Applications
• Urban and Regional Planning
• Applications
• Wetland Mapping
• Wildlife Ecology Applications
• Archaeological Applications
• Environmental Assessment
• Natural Disaster Assessment
 4. Photogrammetry & Photogrammetric Processes

•Photogrammetry &photogrammetric processes

Components of a simple camera
Exposing the Depth of the film
Geometric elements of a vertical photograph
Determining horizontal ground length directions and angles from photo
coordinates
Ground control for aerial photography
Horizontal and vertical control points
Use of ground control in determining the flying height
Flying height determination

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Camera Parts
Lens

Controls direction of light

coming into the camera;
focuses the photo

Aperture
Controls the amount of light
admitted into the camera. How
much light is allowed in.

Shutter
Controls length of exposure.
How long the light is allowed in.
 Photo-Coordinate System
The photo-coordinate system serves as the reference for expressing spatial
positions and relations of the image space.
It is a 3-D Cartesian system with the origin at the perspective center.

Frame Number

Date of
Photography

Nadir Point
Principal Point

Fiducial Marks

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 Measurements of photo coordinates may be obtained using foot or metric
scale.
In chapter two have discussed how to determine single vertical Aerial
Photography scale is (S = ).
Since the topography of land has not uniform elevation the scale is not the
same on the photographs.
Hence, it is convenient to compute an average scale for an entire
photograph.
This scale is calculated using the average terrain elevation for the area
imaged.
Consequently, it is exact for distances occurring at the average elevation
and is approximate at all other elevations. Average scale may be expressed
as Sav= where havis the average elevation of the terrain

Average Height
The result of photo scale variation is geometric distortion.
points on a photo taken over varying terrain are displaced from their true map positions but
All points on a map are depicted in their true relative horizontal (planimetric) positions
This difference results because a map is a scaled orthographic projection of the ground
surface, whereas a vertical photograph yields a perspective projection.
The differing nature of these two forms of projection is illustrated in figure

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 Determining horizontal ground length and angles from photo
coordinates
The scale of a photograph expresses the mathematical relationship between a
distance measured on the photo and the corresponding horizontal distance
measured in a ground coordinate system.
Unlike maps, which have a single constant scale, aerial photographs have a range
of scales that vary in proportion to the elevation of the terrain involved
This all things can be done computed by the help of GCP

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 Ground Control for Aerial Photography
Ground control refers to physical points on the ground whose ground positions are
known with respect to some horizontal coordinate system and/or vertical datum
When mutually identifiable on the ground and on a photograph, ground control
points can be used to establish the exact spatial position and orientation of a
photograph relative to the ground at the instant of exposure.
Ground control points may be horizontal control points, vertical control point/ts, or
both.
Horizontal control point positions are known planimetrically in some XY
coordinate systems (e.g., a state plane coordinate system).
Vertical control points have known elevations with respect to a level datum
(e.g.,mean sea level).
 A single point with known planimetric position and known elevation can serve as
both a horizontal and vertical control point
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Research is now extremely active and promising in developing means to minimize
the effort needed to establish ground control in photogrammetric operations.
One approach uses a pair of interrelated GPS receivers, one stationed at a ground
control point, and the other in the aircraft transporting the camera
Ground coordinates of points determined in this manner are used to calculate
horizontal distances, horizontal angles, and areas.
As depicted from the following figure a vertical photograph taken at flying height
H above datum, Images a and b of ground points A and B appear on the
photograph.

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The measured photographic coordinates are x a, ya, xb, and yb ; the ground coordinates XA, YA, XB,and
YB .
From similar triangles LOAA’ and Loa’ .

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 Use of Ground Control Points
The accuracy of photogrammetric measurements is usually premised on the use of
ground control point/ts.
These are points that can be accurately located on the photograph and for which
we have information on their ground coordinates and/or elevations (often through
GPS observations).
 This information is used as "geometric ground truth" to calibrate photo
measurements.
 For example, we commonly use ground control to determine the true (slightly
tilted) angular orientation of a photograph, the flying height of a photograph, and
the airbase of a pair of overlapping photographs (the distance between successive
photo centers).
This information is critical in a host of photogrammetric operations.

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 Flight Planning
Whenever new photographic coverage of an area is to be obtained, a photographic
flight mission must be planned.
This process begins with determining boundaries of the area to be covered, selecting
an image scale, camera lens and format size, desired image overlap, the average
elevation of the area to be photographed and the ground speed of the aircraft to be
used.
Once these elements have been fixed, it is possible to compute the entire flight plan
and prepare a flight map on which the required flight lines have been delineated
The height planner can then determine such geometric factors as the appropriate
flying height, the distance between image centers, the direction and spacing of flight
lines, and the number of images required to cover the study area.
Based on these factors, a height map and a list of specifications are prepared for the
firm providing the photographic services.
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Flight plans are normally portrayed on a map for the flight crew.
However, old photography, an index mosaic, or even a satellite image may be
used for this purpose.
Steps used in the plan
1. Choose the direction of flight lines- this minimizes the number of lines required
and consequently the number of aircraft turns and realignments necessary, the
lager extent should be selected for end overlap
2. Find the flying height above terrain
3. Determine ground coverage per image from film format size and photo scale
4. Determine ground separation between photos on a line for 40 percent advance
per photo (i.e., 60 percent endlap)
5. Detrmine the speed of aircraft and time

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6. Compute the number of photos per flight line by dividing its length by the
photo advance
7. Determine side overlap
8. Find the number of side flight lines required to cover the study area width by
dividing this width by distance between flight lines
9. Find the spacing of flight lines on the map
10. Find the total number of photos needed
Use the following example to examine flight plan

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Example

A study area is 10 km wide in the east-west direction and 16 km long in the north-
south direction. A camera having a 152.4-mm-focal-length lens and a 230-mm
format is to be used. The desired photo scale is 1 : 25,000 and the normal endlap and
sidelap are to be 60 and 30 percent. Beginning and ending flight lines are to be
positioned along the boundaries of the study area. The only map available for the
area is at a scale of 1 : 62,500. This map indicates that the average terrain elevation
is 300 m above datum. Perform the computations necessary to develop a flight plan
and draw a flight map.

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5. Relief Displacement and instrumentation
Unlike maps, aerial photographs in general do not show the true plan or top
view of objects.
The images of the tops of objects appearing in a photograph are displaced from
the images of their bases.
This is known as relief displacement and causes any object standing above the
terrain to "lean away" from the principal point of a photograph radially.
This difference in apparent location is due to the height (relief) of the object and
forms an important source of positional error in vertical aerial photographs.

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The direction of relief displacement is radial from the nadir; the amount of
displacement depends on
(1) the height of the object and
(2) the distance of the object from the nadir.
Relief displacement increases with increasing heights of features and with
increasing distances from the nadir.

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Use and disadvantages of Relief Displacement
Relief displacement can form the basis of measurements of heights of objects,
but its greatest significance is its role as a source of positional error.
 Uneven terrain can create significant relief displacement, so all measurements
made directly from uncorrected aerial photographs are suspect.
 We should note that this is a source of positional error, but it is not the kind of
error that can be corrected by selection of better equipment or more careful
operation

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It is an error that is caused by the central perspective of the lens and so is inherent
to the choice of basic technology.
While relief displacement is usually thought of as an image distortion that must be
dealt with, it can also be used to estimate the heights of objects appearing on a
photograph

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The distance d between the two photo points is called relief displacement
because it is caused by the elevation difference
Δh between T and B.
the Equ. of displacement

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 Assume that the relief displacement for the tower at A is 2.01 mm, and the radial
distance from the center of the photo to the top of the tower is 56.43 mm. If the
.
Eg flying height is 1220 m above the base of the tower, find the height of the tower.

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Stereoscopic Parallax

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Numerous applications of photogrammetry incorporate the analysis of stereopairs
and use of the principle of parallax.
The term parallax refers to the apparent change in relative positions of stationary
objects caused by a change in viewing position.
 This phenomenon is observable when one looks at objects through a side window
of a moving vehicle.

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Parallax is the basis of stereoscopic vision
Human eyes, spaced a few cm apart, each see the world from slightly different
vantage points
This slight difference introduces a parallax that facilitates depth perception
In practice, parallax measurements can be made more conveniently using
devices that permit accurate measurement of small amounts of parallax

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When aerial photographs overlap, they also provide two views taken from
separated positions.
 By viewing the left photograph of a pair with the left eye and the right photo
with the right eye, we obtain a three-dimensional view of the terrain surface.
A stereoscope facilitates the stereoviewing process

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This is Stereoscopic parallax. These two photographs of the same scene were taken from slightly different
positions. Note the differences in the appearances of objects due to the difference in perspective; note also that
the differences are greatest for objects nearest the camera and least for objects in the distance
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