Proposed system for 35 mm. large scale aerial photography in natural resource management

TLDR: In this paper, an aerial photographic system based on 35 mm cameras was described, where the camera was operated by hand and a special device for advancing the film enables the operator to take photos from an altitude as low as 400 feet above ground elevation whilst achieving 60 per cent forward overlap.

Abstract: This describes an aerial photographic system which is based on 35 mm. cameras. The design for the camera mount is explained in det a i l . The or i g i n a l i t y of this equipment IS due to the fact that the camera i s operated by hand and that the special device for advancing the film enables the operator to take photos from an altitude as low as 400 feet above ground elevation whilst s t i l l obtaining 60 per cent forward overlap. More than 10 flying hours were spent in order to study the f e a s i b i l i t y of this method in the various fields of natural resource management and others. The outcome of these test fli g h t s i s illustrated with stereo pairs and single prints for the fields of w i l d l i f e management, f i s h management, range management, agriculture, forestry, c i t y planning, erosion and pollution problems. The basic film type used was Kodak Tri-X panchromatic black and white. The problems which arose during the f l i g h t are illus t r a t e d and discussed, e.g. shutter, scale, speed of the a i r c r a f t , requirements for the plane and p i l o t , f i l t e r s and films, weather conditions etc. The f e a s i b i l i t y of this new method was substantiated in presenting a series of sharp photos. The high resolution power of modern 35 mm. film material allows the trained interpreter to use the large scale photographs taken by this system for: 1. Estimates of big game populations and spotting game with the aid of tracks on snow, 2. Detecting beaver ac t i v i t y , 3. Population estimates of muskrats by a house count, 4. Waterfowl census by pin pointing the individuals on the prints, 5. Detection of spawning grounds for salmon, and the estimation of algal production. 6. Detecting water and land pollution. 7. Determining erosion problems. 8. Habitat and range evaluation of game and livestock. 9 0 Inventory work in range management, agriculture, and forestry, 10. City planning and landscape architecture. TABLE OF CONTENTS i v page INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose • 1 Scope 2 EQUIPMENT 4 Air c r a f t 4 Special device for the Camera 4 Longitudinal Position of the Camera . 6 Mount of the Suspension into the Ai r c r a f t 6 Levelling of the Camera and Reloading 6 TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS TO CAMERA 9 PHOTOGRAPHY TEST 10 Films and Fi l t e r s 10 Exposure 12 Flying Height and Scale 12 Speed of Ai r c r a f t and Time Interval Between Exposures 13 * Image Blur 13 APPLICATION 16 Wildlife Management 16 Habitat Evaluation 16 Census Method for Big Game 21 Beaver Ac t i v i t y 25 Muskrats 32 Census Taking of Waterfowl 36 Fish Management 39 Pollution Problems • 42 Erosion 46 Range Management 50 Agriculture • 56 City Planning (Residential Areas) 67 Forestry 70 LARGE SCALE PHOTOGRAPHY, C r i t i c a l Analysis 90 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 7 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS