Fascinating bird’s eye view. Aerial photographs and their scientific importance
What a revelation the first photographs of a place taken from the air must have been for the people who lived there! Until then – in the 18th and 19th centuries – only a handful of (wealthier) men and even fewer women had the time, courage and means to climb high mountains and see what the world looked like from above.
The latest story on Explora delves into the world of aerial photographs. Find out how historical aerial photographs, such as by Swiss aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer, came about. Exciting insights shed light on the importance and use of historic and current photographs in research. You will also gain an overview of the large collection of historical aerial photographs in ETH Library’s Image Archive and the archival processes that go on behind the scenes. And last but not least, we show how you can use these collections for free.
Read the story “Fascinating bird’s eye view. Aerial photographs and their scientific importance”
New: Explora goes audio
We keep honing Explora to give the stories new functions and features. The latest novelty is the audio function: listen to the story “Swiss glaciers – an eternal world of ice?” and learn how glaciers were researched in the past and what the prospects are for the future of the ice world. Download the story for when you’re on the go or stream it.
Explora is ETH Library’s multimedia storytelling platform.