1. Info, Help, & How To
  2. Historic Aerial Photography

Historic Aerial Photography

Have a question? Email us at clear@uconn.edu or UConn MAGIC at magic@uconn.edu.

There are currently two resources for Connecticut historic aerial photographs on CT ECO. The first is the statewide 1934 aerial photography collection. The second is the Air Photo Archive viewer that is created and maintained by the UConn Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC), part of the UConn Libraries. The Air Photo Archive provides direct access to scanned historic photographs in an interactive map interface of photo centerpoints.

UConn MAGIC Air Photo Archive Viewer Help and Information

The UConn MAGIC Air Photo Archive viewer is designed for finding historical aerial photography that has been scanned. It is created and maintained by the University of Connecticut Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC), part of the UConn Libraries. 

Getting Started - Layers

The first step is to open the Layer List. It is an icon on the panel.

Layer List

Layers IconThe layer list is a long list of all datasets that are available. Check the box to make the photo centerpoints visible on the map. More than one dataset can be turned on at a time.

Layer Names

The layer names usually contain the year of capture, area of capture, and sometimes the map projection.

Layer Options

If a layer is checked on and visible, a > is visible to the right of the layer name. Clicking on the arrow shows the layer legend and the layer transparency.  Transparency is a sliding scale from 0% (opaque, nothing showing through) to 100% (layer is completely transparent and therefore not visible).

Layer Pop-up Window and Photo View

After one or more layers is visible (checked on in the layer list), centerpoints or rectangle extents are visible on the map.

Pop-up

Clicking on a point or rectangles opens a small window called the pop-up. It contains information about the dataset, the photo, and download links. The information varies based on the dataset.

View and Download

The pop-up contains links often with different formats.

PDF - pdf is the adobe format and can be viewed in Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, or in a web browser. The pdf is likely the smallest file size.

Tiff - Tiffs are a high quality image format that can be viewed in a range of software programs. The tiff format will be a much larger file size than a pdf.

Geotiff - Some datasets include Geotiff which is a georeferenced tiff format that can be used in GIS and other geographic software packages.

Moving Around the Map

Zoom in and out of the map using the + and - tools located on the toolbar.

To move around the map, click on the map and hold the left mouse button while dragging, then release the left mouse button. This pans the map to different areas, but does not change the zoom.

If you get "lost" on your map, use the home button to go back to the initial extent, which is the state of Connecticut.

Basemap

A basemap is what is shown underneath other layers on the map. The basemap icon on the icon panel opens a Basemap gallery. The Basemap gallery has a long list of options. The Imagery Hybrid is popular and a good one to try.

Measure and Location

The measure tool can measure area, distance, or report the coordinates of a point location. Click on the Measure icon on the toolbar to open the Measure tool.

Area - click on the first icon in the Measure tool which is Area. Change the units on the drop-down menu if necessary. Click on the start of the area you want to measure, then continue clicking to form the shape. When finished, double-click to close the shape and view the area in the Measure window. Repeat for multiple areas. Note that the measurements aren't saved and should be noted.

Distance - click on the Distance icon in the Measure tool. Change the units on the drop-down menu if necessary. Click on the map to start the measure line and continue clicking to form the line. Double-click when finished and view the distance int he Measure tool window.

Location - click on the Location icon in the Measure tool. Change to Degrees or DMS (degrees minutes seconds) if necessary. Mouse over the map to see the latitude and longitude coordinates change. Click on the map in order for the location to appear in the Measure window next to the green maker.

Share

The share icon  on the icon panel. Clicking it opens the Share panel which contains a link to the map as well as shortcuts to share it via email, facebook, and twitter.  Checking the "Share current map view" option and then sharing the link will result in the current map extent (how much is visible in the map window) being shared through the sharing channels.