Products & Services Paid Image Search

Paid Image Search

How it works

NCAP holds over 30 million historical aerial photographs. More than one million are already digitised and searchable online through our online portal.

Much of the remaining material is undigitised but some of this can still be located through our internal catalogues, GIS resources, and original plotting information.

The NCAP team can conduct a Paid Image Search on your behalf. This service identifies all catalogued aerial imagery that covers your specified area.

 

Your Area of Interest (AOI)

To begin, we need to know:

  • Where you are looking (geographic point or wider area)
  • When you are looking (date or date range)

Providing a large AOI or a wide date range increases the complexity and time required. For the most efficient search, please supply details that are as precise as possible.

 

Pricing

Before any work begins, NCAP will provide a no‑obligation quote based on the estimated time required to complete your search.

The fee covers the time taken to conduct the search across our catalogues and resources. Because this work is carried out manually and requires specialist review of multiple datasets, the fee applies regardless of whether imagery is found covering your Area of Interest.

Paid Image Search Pricing EX VAT INC VAT
Minimum charge (30 minutes) £45.00 £54.00
Per each additional 15 minutes £22.50 £27.00

Quotes remain valid for 30 days and must be paid in advance.

 

Image Search Report

Once complete, you will receive an official statement of NCAP’s catalogued holdings that cover your AOI.

Your report will include

  • A list of all sorties reviewed
  • Catalogue reference details of frames that cover your AOI (if any exist)
  • Lower‑resolution reference copies of any identified frames, where available

All reports are checked and reviewed by area specialists before delivery.

Typical delivery time

Most searches can be completed within 15 working days from acceptance of the quote and receipt of payment.

Ordering Imagery

After reviewing your Image Search Report, you may choose to order selected images at full resolution through our Scan on Demand service.

If research quality copies were not available with your paid image search, we highly recommend that you add our Image Verification service to your Scan on Demand order. 

 

Start your Paid Image Search

To begin, get in touch with the team at ncap@hes.scot and we will send you details on starting the process. 

IN THIS SECTION

A black and white aerial photo of a very heavily bombed area of land. What land is visible is dark grey, and almost obscured with numerous white bomb craters. A road can be seen running from the bottom left corner to the top right.

Scan on Demand Services

Order images from the NCAP Collection which have not yet been digitised and made available on the Air Photo Finder.

A room filled with runs of white tables. On each run of tables are closed flatbed scanners flanked by pairs of film reels. Rolls of film run through the scanners. Two people in blue lab coats operate the scanners and look at computer screens.

Archival Digitisation Services

The National Collection of Aerial Photography offers expert archival scanning and digitisation services to a wide range of clients.

A figure in a white and black jumper leans in from the bottom left of the frame. The top of their head and the whole tabletop that is in front of them are visible from our vantage above. There are two black and white images of landscapes on the table top. The figure is wearing white gloves and appears to be positioning the images under a beige viewing apparatus which has two transparent viewing lenses. There are two cardboard boxes of images on the tabletop - one with more black and white images piled in it, and another with a white sheet in it.

Image Sales and Licensing Use

When using images from the NCAP Collection you will need to know the intended use in order to purchase an appropriate licence.

A figure in a dark blue lab coat stands with their right side to us. They are wearing purple gloves, and a black and white mask. They have their arms stretched into a desk top cabinet which has transparent plastic front and sides, and a white frame. A vacuum cleaner hose feeds into the cabinet. The figure grasps a brush and holds up an image to examine it. There are other pictures and boxes in the cabinet.

Subject Specialist Consultancy

NCAP employs specialists in imagery analysis, data management, and collections care. Specialist support consultancy is offered in a variety of areas.

A row of black and white aerial photographs fills most of the frame. We can see the central image fully, but the ones on either side are partially cropped by the image frame. They are lying flat and appear to be joined together. Irregularly shaped fields and roadways are visible on the images.

Research Copies

For images that are not yet digitised, purchases can be made with confidence by requesting a lower-resolution copy of an image before you place a Scan on Demand order.

A figure leans into the frame from the left. They have short blonde hair and wear a dark blue top. They have their back towards us, and are working with a large white boxy machine with a display screen. Under the screen a film runs between two spools. The image on the screen is of a monotone landscape. A colour aerial image is displayed on the wall and is partially obscured by the screen.

Search Room

Request to make an appointment in the NCAP Search Room to access and consult catalogued aerial imagery.