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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a city arranged in a grid on a shoreline. The sea is towards the top of the image and very dark. There are undeveloped areas within the city.
 

Image of the Month:  

The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) cares for images from all over the world, including substantial holdings covering the Middle East. These provide a fascinating insight into the rapid development of cities and regions throughout the second half of the 20th century. 

This photograph was taken 50 years ago this month and shows the city of Abu Dhabi near the start of its rapid growth. Before the discovery of oil in the Abu Dhabi emirate in the 1950s, what is now the city of Abu Dhabi was a small coastal settlement with a population of just a few thousand. By the time this image was taken 20 years later, the population had grown to well over 100,000 people as a result of a policy of modernisation and expansion. Today, it is a city of millions with significant global influence. 

Photographs like this illustrate the value of the imagery held by NCAP in recording land use and environmental change around the world. Many of the NCAP images predate satellite imagery by several decades, and are vital for analysing our changing world over the previous century. 

Image credit: Collection: SIMMONS, Sortie: HSL/UAE/75/0023, Frame: 0268 (09 December 1975) 

View Image in Air Photo Finder


Welcome to the final newsletter of 2025! With the festive season almost upon us, now is the perfect time to reflect on some of our achievements over the last 12 months. Thanks to the hard work of NCAP staff, over 1 million images have been uploaded to our online portal, covering countries from Jamaica to Fiji, Iceland to Botswana, and reaching all the way back to 1924. You can read more about our regular online releases of imagery below. 

Our volunteer programme has gone from strength to strength. Thirty people have signed up to be NCAP Digital Connectors, and between them they have contributed over 1,000 hours of valuable time, creating nearly 15,000 footprints. We have released an article celebrating their achievements for International Volunteer Day this month. 

NCAP is a living memorial to the military personnel involved in photographic reconnaissance and photographic intelligence work – in particular to the many reconnaissance pilots and aircrew who lost their lives. We are therefore privileged to acquire and preserve material from ex-service personnel and their families. This month we foreground two of these collections relating to the Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing. 

We hope you enjoy exploring this month’s newsletter!    

Best wishes, 

The NCAP Team
   
   
A historic black and white photo of 2 men in shorts and with their shirts off processing photographs using metal tanks in a tent.   A historic black and white oblique aerial photo of a dusty landscape. The landscape is marked with numerous vehicle tracks. Arranged across it in a grid formation are tanks, each accompanied by a pair of soldiers.
           
The Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing in Depth  Celebrating NCAP Digital Connectors for International Volunteer Day 2025 
   
NCAP holds many small collections of photography which have been donated to us by veteran air force personnel or their families. This month, we’re focussing on two which have come to us from families of men who served in the Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing. 
 This International Volunteer Day, and to mark the completion of the first year of our volunteer programme, find out how our volunteers have been contributing to the work of the National Collection of Aerial Photography through footprinting thousands of images from across the world. 
   
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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a dam. The dam is to the left of the image, holding back a large body of water. To the right is a large wooded area.   An oblique colour aerial photo of heather-covered hills above a road and river. The image is overlaid with the text: ‘A History of Scotland’s Landscapes, Fiona Watson with Piers Dixon’.
           
Air Photo Finder Latest Releases  A History of Scotland's Landscapes 
   
The latest releases of imagery on Air Photo Finder comprise 20,209 frames from 100 sorties covering numerous countries across Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, bring the total number of uploaded images to 1,068,979. Also included are the Beer and Atencio Collections – the latter compiled by Disney Legend Xavier ‘X’ Atencio.  A History of Scotland’s Landscapes explores the many ways that we have used, adapted and altered our environment over thousands of years. Full of maps, photographs and drawings, it offers a remarkable new perspective on Scotland – a unique guide to tracing memories, events and meanings in the forms and patterns of our surroundings. 
   
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