HistoricAerials.com

HistoricAerials.com HistoricAerials.com is your one stop shop for aerial imagry and topographical maps that are orthorectified for a specific location.

Finally digging into the interviews with Dr. Emily Doucet and Dr. Daewook Kim. Listening, transcribing, and realizing ju...
04/14/2026

Finally digging into the interviews with Dr. Emily Doucet and Dr. Daewook Kim. Listening, transcribing, and realizing just how much depth theyโ€™re bringing to the documentary, Bird's Eye View. Their expertise shows, and itโ€™s going to really elevate this film.

By the way, Dr. Doucet's book, "Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts" is releasing a week from today! You can still pre-order it here: https://www.dukeupress.edu/inventing-nadar

03/24/2026

We finally did it. The Historic Aerials app is here.

If you already have an account, you can log in and access your saved imagery and work right from your phone.

For years, people have asked for a way to explore historic aerial imagery on the go. Now you can.

One feature we love: tap a button and see your exact location on imagery from decades ago. Stand somewhere today and see what it looked like in 1958.

For a long time people have been asking us: โ€œ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—”๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ?โ€ We've been quietly w...
03/17/2026

For a long time people have been asking us: โ€œ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—”๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ?โ€ We've been quietly working on it. Here's a sneak preview.

Itโ€™s been really exciting watching this come together. Looking forward to finally getting it into peopleโ€™s hands.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

In 1906, Americans saw the destruction of the San Francisco earthquake in a way no one ever had before, from 2,000 feet ...
02/26/2026

In 1906, Americans saw the destruction of the San Francisco earthquake in a way no one ever had before, from 2,000 feet in the air.

There were no airplanes. No drones. No satellites.

Just a 49-pound camera lifted by a train of kites over a burned-out city.

In 1906, Americans saw the destruction of the San Francisco earthquake in a way no one ever had before, from 2,000 feet in the air.There were no airplanes. N...

02/19/2026

If Nadar could send one message forward from 1858, it might sound something like this.

(Yes, this is satire.)

But the history is not.

Our latest article examines his aerial experiments, the volatile collodion process, and the origins of aerial photography as a technical discipline.

Read it here: https://blog.historicaerials.com/nadar-birth-of-aerial-photography/

02/05/2026

This is the oldest surviving aerial photograph ever taken.

Boston, 1860. Photographer James Wallace Black is in a hot-air balloon with Samuel Archer King, exposing fragile glass plates coated in wet collodion while the city drifts slowly beneath them.

The result, โ€œBoston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It,โ€ looks simple by todayโ€™s standards. But it only exists because photography had just learned how to move.

Nine years earlier, the wet plate collodion process changed the rules:
โ€ข shorter exposures instead of long, unforgiving minutes
โ€ข glass negatives that could be printed and shared
โ€ข a workflow that could survive wagons, fieldsโ€ฆ and balloon baskets

The invention of this process was the moment cameras became mobile enough to leave the ground and start showing us the world from above.

https://blog.historicaerials.com/how-wet-plate-collodion-opened-the-sky-for-photography/

As of January 1, works first published in ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป, and the fine print matters more than...
01/06/2026

As of January 1, works first published in ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป, and the fine print matters more than you think. For map researchers, historians, preservationists, and urban analysts, that includes a major milestone: 1930 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.

The article we just published breaks down:
โ€ข Why January 1 is the only date that matters
โ€ข How copyright used to be an opt-in system (and why that still affects maps today)
โ€ข Why some Sanborn sheets have been public domain for decades while others only became free this year
โ€ข How revision slips, renewals, and missed paperwork created a legal minefield for researchers

Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gqAUqWkD

Image analysts note an anomalous silhouette over Manhattan, winter 1953. Conclusions deferred until after the holidays. ...
12/19/2025

Image analysts note an anomalous silhouette over Manhattan, winter 1953. Conclusions deferred until after the holidays. ๐ŸŽ„โœˆ๏ธ

Sometimes historic imagery captures more than streets and buildings.

Happy holidays from all of us at Historic Aerials.

From all of us at Historic Aerials, Happy Thanksgiving!As you gather with family and friends, weโ€™re grateful to be part ...
11/27/2025

From all of us at Historic Aerials, Happy Thanksgiving!

As you gather with family and friends, weโ€™re grateful to be part of the way you explore the pastโ€”one flight line, one frame, one story at a time.

11/26/2025

Three days before Ohio State and Michigan line up, โ€œThe Gameโ€ looks like just another blue-chip showdown. But its roots run back to the 1830s, when bad maps, swampy ground, and a stubborn little port called Toledo pushed both states to mobilize militias and draw rival survey lines across the same strip of earth. Read more to learn why this fight has always been about more than football: https://blog.historicaerials.com/from-the-toledo-war-to-the-game-how-a-survey-error-fueled-the-michigan-ohio-rivalry/

11/13/2025

Itโ€™s wild how much the landscape can change.

For more than 50 years, the GM Desert Proving Ground in Mesa, Arizona was one of the toughest automotive test sites in the world. Engineers pushed new vehicles to their limitsโ€”extreme heat, choking dust, and nonstop punishment designed to expose every weakness.

Today, the entire site has been transformed into a master-planned suburban community. If you didnโ€™t know the history, youโ€™d never guess what happened on this land.

See the evolution from above and explore more forgotten proving grounds here: https://buff.ly/JATtR5H

Address

2055 E Rio Salado Pkwy, Ste 101
Tempe, AZ
85281

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Sunday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+14809676752

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when HistoricAerials.com posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to HistoricAerials.com:

Share