The area of ground coverage depicted on a small scale photo is more than at a larger scale. 1:70,000) means that ground features appear smaller and less detailed. The area of ground coverage depicted on a large scale photo is less than at a smaller scale.Ī small scale photo (e.g. 1:2,500) means that ground features appear larger and more detailed.

Not all scales are available for all areas.Ī large scale photo (e.g. The scale range of site-specific aerial photography is from 1:2,500 to 1:50,000. The scale range for block aerial photography is 1:10,000 to 1:70,000. Colour aerial photography is becoming increasingly available for more areas of the province.Ī photographic scale indicates that one unit of distance on an air photo is a representation of a specific number of the same units of actual ground distance. at a variety of scales and, in some areas, dating back more than fifty years. Most areas of British Columbia are covered by air photos that are less than ten years old, with large areas covered by medium scale photography.īlack and white aerial photography is available for all of B.C. Product DetailsĪerial photographs are exposed at various altitudes using a variety of conventional and digital cameras, providing overlapping (stereo) coverage of the ground. Government is continuing to convert historical air photos into a digital format so they can be accessed online. To date, about 500,000 air photos have been scanned from film into digital format. The provincial government h as over 2.5 million air photos of British Columbia, dating back to 1936. Air photos are used for a variety of applications, such as viewing an area over time and noting the changes in land use. Aerial photographs, or air photos, are images taken of the ground from a high altitude.