Get Image ID#:   NFS Photo Archive Browse Browse  Aerial    Aerial   All Images 1948 B&W Negs 1948 Photos 1967 B&W Negs 1967 Color Trans 1988 Color Trans Misc Slides  Ground-Level    Ground-Level   All Images 1896 Photo Book 1948 Photos 1960 Photos 1988 Slides 2005 Photos 2006 Photos Misc Slides  Maps & Charts    Maps & Charts   All Images 1896 Rookery Charts 1967 Rookery Maps  Supplemental    Supplemental   All Images  Related Groups    Related Groups   St. George East Cliffs East Reef North Staraya Artil Zapadni (St. G) St. Paul Ardiguen Gorbatch Kitovi Little Polovina Little Zapadni Lukanin Morjovi Polovina Polovina Cliffs Reef Tolstoi Vostochni Zapadni Zapadni Reef Search NFS Report Image Uses Image Uses Examples Presentations Posters NFS Species Info Fur Seal Bibliography Database

Here are a few examples of how to use the images. There are also posters and PowerPoint presentations that demonstrate how to utilize the images categorized in Related Groups or rookery section numbers; the posters and presentations are available on the website for viewing and downloading.

Photo Stitching - Ground-Level

Several ground-level images in this archive were originally intended to be large panoramic photos. During the digitizing process, the entire panoramic photo could not be scanned and saved as one picture. Instead, the photo was broken up and saved as several different images or "panels." The panels were created starting from left to right and slightly overlapped one another so that they could be stitched back together to recreate the original photo. Again, this only refers to ground-level photographs; however, the aerial photograph collection is comprehensive enough to generate panoramic photos via photo stitching using photo image editing software (i.e., Adobe Photoshop).

When browsing through this archive, the user can tell if an image is part of a larger panoramic photo by looking at the filename. For example, the "(1 of 4)" part of the filename 2005—Plate 5a (1 of 4)__Photos #20-23.tif indicates that it is the first panel out of four panels total. Another way the user can tell if an image is part of a larger panoramic photo is the Panel field on the details page of an image. If there are multiple panels to the image, it will be indicated in the Panel field. To continue the example, for 2005—Plate 5a (1 of 4)_Photos #20-23.tif, the Panels field lists "1 of 4 (see Panel 2, Panel 3, Panel 4)". The "1 of 4" part indicates that there are 4 parts to the entire original panoramic picture, and the "see Panel 2, Panel 3, Panel 4" part directly links to three other panels (files) of the original panoramic picture. This first image provides a good example of a photo with multiple panels; for a better understanding, click the filenames below to see the details page of each panel image.

An example of a recreated panoramic photo of the Polovina rookery, St. Paul Island. It was
created by stitching the images listed below (C.W. Fowler, 2005). This panoramic photo was created
for demonstrative purposes only, and is not included in the archive in its entirety.

2005—Plate 5a (1 of 4)__Photos #20-23.tif
2005—Plate 5b (2 of 4)__Photos #20-23.tif
2005—Plate 5c (3 of 4)__Photos #20-23.tif
2005—Plate 5d (4 of 4)__Photos #20-23.tif

Photo Time Series - Aerial

Unlike the ground-level collection, the aerial photographs did not attempt to replicate specific vantage points. Aside from logistical reasons, such a task seems impractical and unobtainable from a moving aircraft.

Even though the aerial photographs are not composed from the same view point, the aerial images in this archive span over several years and present comparable images. Therefore, photos of the same location can be compiled into a photo time series and used to compare a location over time.

Below is an example of a photo time series of the Zapadni rookery, St. Paul Island. It was created by stitching together two images to show the change in northern fur seal distribution in 1948, 1967 and 1988. These pictures were created for demonstrative purposes only, and do not contain Panels (as described above).

Created from 1948 Aerial Rookery 205.tif and 1948 Aerial Rookery 207.tif (V.B. Scheffer and
K.W. Kenyon 1948).

Created from 1967 Aerial Rookery 4617.tif and 1967 Aerial Rookery 4618.tif (Unknown 1967).

Created from 1988 Aerial Rookery 618.tif and 1988 Aerial Rookery 620.tif (M.S. Lowry, 1988).

Photo Time Series - Ground-Level

Much of the ground-level photographs were taken to replicate specific vantage points from earlier photographs, see Ground-Level Images. Thus, images intended for comparison were grouped together and given a unique Related Group name. In addition to images intended for comparison, other Related Groups were created by grouping photos that are comparable by general location.

If a ground-level image belongs to a Related Group, the group name will be listed under the Related Group field on the details page of an image. The following photos of Lukanin Sands provide a good example of a photo that was assigned to a Related Group; for a better understanding, click the filenames below to see the details page of each image.

Below is an example of a photo time series of evel photographs of Lukanin Sands on St. Paul Island, showing the change in terrain from 1895 to 2006.

Created from 1895—Plate 12a (1 of 2).tif and 1895—Plate 12b (2 of 2).tif (C.H. Townsend, 1895).

Created from 1948—Plate 52__Photos #100-101.tif (E.C. Johnston, 1948).

Created from 2006—Plate 2a (1 of 2)__Photo #9.tif and 2006—Plate 2b (2 of 2)__Photo #6.tif
(C.W. Fowler, 2006).