10th September 2018. Skråfoto: A superb new and free, Danish aerial imagery service.

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Monday 10th 62F, breezy and overcast. Showers or rain, possibly clearing later. It stayed dry for my walk up to the woods and back across the prairie. Where three large tractor were busy ploughing, raking and sewing.m I took lots of pictures trying to get all three in the view but failed. I took this final image from across the fields on the walk back.

It looked too threatening for a ride today but it still didn't rain. Tomorrow's forecast is wet all day! I'd better stock up on sun cream and work on my tan.

Tuesday 11th 56F, heavy overcast and steady rain all day. It seems there will be an end to prepubescent, Danish supermarket staff after the combined management of several conjoined chains has called for an end to the [illegal] practice to avoid fines. A horribly wet and overcast day and quite windy.

Denmark has a new and free online aerial image service. Called Skråfoto [Oblique-photo?] it covers Denmark with nicely sharp images from Cardinal viewpoints. NSEW.

Only Danish keyboards offer the correct letters for a search so I have linked below. I'm not sure whether this will work outside Denmark. If not try searching for skraafoto.

 SDFE Skråfoto

The service is provided by the Danish Data Research and Effectivity Department. 

I have added images here starting with a screen grab showing Egeskov Palace. A popular tourist attraction on Central Fyn with transport museums and varied gardens, etc. Well worth a visit!

Multiple angles are shown as large thumbnails around a map. Each viewpoint can be changed to full screen and zoomed in. The imagery seems to be mostly from spring of 2017 so that the trees are bare and more detail can be seen on the ground. Figures are clearly seen on the streets of Copenhagen when I had a quick look at Amalienborg [royal] Palace.

Previous [free on demand] aerial imagery services have almost always seen from almost overhead. The aerial imagery and Street View of Google Earth are often years old in Denmark. Which greatly reduces its usefulness. 

Then there is Grundkort [Ground Map] run by the Fynske Kommune. Fyn's city Councils. This leaves Google for dead on image quality but is again, usually viewed only from overhead.

Grundkort too is completely free on demand for those with an internet connection. Many layers can be added for those who need to know their coordinates, terrain, property lines, etc. All a very far cry from paying through the nose for a dated and poorly detailed, paper map of 20 years ago!

Grundkort aerial images are updated annually and retained as a "clickable" list alongside the open image. Which makes checking changes very easy. No doubt useful for the council checking who is cheating with a vast new extension on the back of their house. Conversely, it is very easy to see who keeps their garden tidy behind the concealing hedges! Family arguments about the age some new feature are soon resolved.

Talking of time, there is also an excellent, historical, aerial image service run by the Royal Copenhagen Library. Many Danish properties were photographed by private aerial photography services going right back to WW2 in some cases. Their vast archives have been digitized and made freely available online. They use a clever system of thumbnail images down the left border of the aerial view with clear markers showing where images are available. This can sometimes mean borrowing an aerial view of the local farm or other house accidentally showing your own property next door. 

It is fascinating to see how the majority of Danish rural properties were still thatched back in the 1950s. This often changed to corrugated asbestos cement sheeting when thatching became too expensive for most home owners. Some of the images are even in colour from the 1980s onwards. The public can access the website and correct details after registering.

Back to Skråfoto: A closer view of Egeskov Slot [Palace] at about half zoom. I have had to downsize all of these images for the blog so I am seeing far better quality on my own 23" screen. While it would be rather difficult to recognise any particular individual, vehicles are certainly seen with considerable detail.

I can imagine Skråfoto having a major impact on Estate Agents' property websites. In addition to a gallery of external and internal photos they sometimes provide their own imagery from photo drones for expensive rural properties. This service is obviously not usually possible in towns and cities or any area where drone flying is forbidden. It also demands the property has enough value to warrant the effort and expense.  There was a fad for taking pictures from tall poles but these lacked drama compared with a drone.

It is fascinating to see how the technology has developed and been taken up by government, local authorities and commerce. Which often directly impacts beneficially on the public. Many Danish businesses have websites these days and usually have a map and directions service added. This has usually been ageing and tired old Google Earth. Often with Street View where available [often extremely limited and very dated in Denmark]. Though Google SV is hardly useful if a business property has changed hands several times in the meantime. It hardly sells the current business if some other name is on the shop front or big shed facade!

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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