Question

What are the two major uses of an aerial photograph? Elaborate.

Answer 1

Aerial photographs are used in topographical mapping and interpretation. These two different uses have led to the development of photogrammetry and photo/image interpretation as two independent but related sciences.

1. Photogrammetry refers to the science and technology of making reliable measurements from aerial photographs. The principles used in photogrammetry facilitate precise measurements related to the length, breadth and height from such photographs. Hence, they are used as the data source for creating and updating topographic maps.
2. Image Interpretation is the art of identifying images of objects and judging their relative significance. The principles of image interpretation are applied to obtain qualitative information from the aerial photographs such as land use/land cover, topographical forms, soil types, etc. A trained interpreter can thus utilize aerial photographs to analyze the land-use changes.