Technical and narrative mapmaking is a primeval desire of humankind—to imagine, document, and celebrate our place in the cosmos and there are rich examples spanning the centuries before it was possible to actually leave the ground to observe our habitat. Once we did achieve the ability to go aloft, the landscape that we saw, though intimately familiar, was seen in a startling new way which revealed truths about our habitat that were totally unanticipated before we left the ground.

Developments in aviation and photography created a synergy that was uniquely exploited by archaeological projects leading to the discovery of huge sites throughout the agricultural and arid landscapes of Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. Many of these sites were virtually invisible from the ground. Advanced photo sensors; infrared, hyper and multispectral, and the development of LiDAR and Drone based systems continue to reveal new sites throughout the world.

Today, with a light aircraft, high resolution cameras, and a thorough survey protocol, huge landscapes can be covered in a matter of hours with photographs capturing both quantitative data and relevant qualitative information about context, scale and character. The qualitative aspects of narrative photography not only add context to important data at the site, but in an increasingly visual culture, artistic and narrative photography provides a hook to draw people into the story of important landscape research.

The operational, technological, regulatory, and economic differences between conventional and unmanned aerial platforms; and software available to process imagery are changing rapidly and deserve careful attention when considering project design for survey and imaging of project sites. Attendees of this webinar will receive specific knowledge of the state of aerial imaging technology today and detailed options for its deployment in the service of archaeological research/documentation/communications. The webinar will address project design and provider selection, and will also discuss costs, regulatory issues, resolution at different altitudes and speeds, and general pros and cons of the technology.