Infrared Aerial Photographs for Immediate Download
Color infrared aerial imagery whether acquired using color aerial infrared film or a digital sensor is sensitive to a portion of the non-visible spectrum of light. Because color infrared film is highly sensitive and easily subject to degradation which can affect colors, this quality needs to be taken in to account when interpreting color infrared photographs initially acquired using film media. For the most comprehensive analysis of infrared aerial photography or for legal applications, the services of a professional photointerpreter are advised and information concerning such services is available at the conclusion of this page. However, some guidelines regarding the meaning and interpretation of colors of infrared film may be useful to the lay person viewing color infrared aerial photography. Red tones in color infrared aerial photographs are almost always associated with live vegetation and the tone of red can be a guide to the density and health of the vegetation and how vigorously it is growing. Dead vegetation will tend to appear as various shades of tan or green. Thus infrared imagery is particularly useful for crop, forest, wetland, vineyard and other agricultural analayses. Ground areas appear as various shades of green, blue or white depending on the composition of the ground area and its moisture content. Sand will appear as white or light tan and soils with a high clay content will appear blue, green or a combination of these, or a tone of tan. The darkness of the soil tones provides information regarding the moisture content of the soil, darker areas containg more moisture. Color infrared aerial photography is also useful for discriminating between the composition of road surfaces and other man made materials. For example, asphalt roads will appear dark blue or black, concrete roads using a relatively clean concrete will show light color tones, and dirt or concrete roads will show colors lighter than asphalt which are dependent on the composition of those roads. Similar compositional analysis is possible for other man-made structures including environmental sites, plants and other urban areas. Therefore, color infrared aerial photography can be particularly useful for certain environmental analyses. Color infrared aerial photography is also useful for analysing water depth and sediment content. Clear, clean water will appear very dark, close to a black tone. As sediment content increases the shades shift to blue color tones. Color tones of very shallow water may reflect predominantly the color tones of the soil beneath this water. Color infrared aerial photography is therefore uniquely useful for analyzing sediment flows. This infrared aerial photograph of Sacramento river deep water ship channel shown above is available for immediate online license or prints or, to obtain it optimized to your needs please contact Aerial Archives directly and reference the ID number in the caption to the photograph. For professional color infrared aerial photography interpretation services, or additional information on how color infrared aerial photography could be used for your specific project, please contact us. |