geoportail

[Skipman]

This French site gives clearer images than google earth, I think? It certainly is a more recent, and clearer image of Y Ravine, Beaumont Hamel.

geoportail

Y Ravine

Google Earth view

Mike

[Fattyowls]

Mike

Another brilliant find; I've just been looking at the Pimple area above Souchez (not that I'm getting obsessive) and you can see where shell holes have been filled in. Its definitely clearer but I think Google Earth can zoom closer. As an example I found two lots of sheep in the field above the autoroute. I tried to count them but I fell asleep........

Pete.

[Guest]

Yes, I noticed the zoom is limited, but the images much clearer. There are many other useful functions; you can choose maps, or images, and using the slider controls you can mix them to your own needs. also shows water courses, woodland, and If I had better French, I'm sure there's much more.

Pete, you're obsessed with that pimple?

Mike

.

[Fattyowls]

Mike

Just to illustrate the more up to date status of Geoportail I looked at Fort Douaumont at Verdun and compared it to Google Earth; you can see where the moat has been cleared on Geoportail wheras the Google Earth version shows it as at 1/1/2007. I think from one of Healdav's posts that the moat has only been cleared recently in the run up to the centenary.

Pete.

[Fattyowls]

Yes, I noticed the zoom is limited, but the images much clearer. There are many other useful functions; you can choose maps, or images, and using the slider controls you can mix them to your own needs. also shows water courses, woodland, and If I had better French, I'm sure there's much more.

Pete, you're obsessed with that pimple?

Mike

.

I'll be obsessed with it for a bit then I'll find something else to get obsessive about. I just thought that since it cost the lives of so many French, German and Canadian soldiers it would only be right to pinpoint it properly; I had a look at the Holt's Guide section on Vimy and they had the Pimple in the wrong place too. With regard to Geoportail I am equally impressed with it.

P.S. There's a joke about Pimples and adolescent dermatological issues in there somewhere but I'm still to drowsy from the sheep counting to find it........

[Guest]

Regarding the Pimple, I'm sure you could squeeze a map out of one of the Canadian War Diaries

Mike

[J Banning]

I've been using Geoportail for years. The facility which enables users to to view and download aerial photographs of France from the 1930s onwards is superb.

It is also good for overlaying aerials and maps. Well worth spending some time on.

JB

[Fattyowls]

I've been using Geoportail for years. The facility which enables users to to view and download aerial photographs of France from the 1930s onwards is superb.

It is also good for overlaying aerials and maps. Well worth spending some time on.

JB

Jeremy

Sounds excellent; I don't know how good your French is but does Geoportail require degree of fluency or is it reasonably intuitive?

Pete.

[Guest]

I thought wiki said " available in English " mais je cannae find it?

Mike

[J Banning]

Type in the place name then click on 'Remonter le temps' (top right) and then click on 'les prises des vues aeriennes'

Scroll through years and you will see orange circles which you can click on for the area of aerial image. Telecharger l'image means 'Download the image'. It will save as a jp2 file rather than a jpeg. You may need to install a viewer that supports jp2 file ssuch as Irfanview http://www.irfanview.com/. You can then save them as jpegs. I can't really help with the technicalities of this as I got my IT chap to do this for me.

Apercu de l'image gives a preview.

I think Mac users should be alright with jp2 files.

Good luck!

JB

[Guest]

Thanks Jeremy. I was doing ok until I had to tick (or not) loads of file association thingys. Does anyone know which one(s) if any I should tick in the irfanview download?

Mike