A Gentle Introduction to GDAL

GDAL — the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library — is a powerful but cryptic command line tool for working with the data behind maps. This series is my attempt to write the guide to using GDAL I didn’t have.

Subtleties of Color

A guide to effective use of color in cartography & data visualization.

From Space to Story in Data Journalism

How satellite imagery and data are used to provide context to the news, document events, and aid investigative reporting.

Earth at a Cute Angle

The history and applications of highly oblique satellite imagery, why it’s effective, and how that relates to scientific communication.

Thumbs Up Viz: Handcrafted

What we can learn about data visualization from those who make maps & graphics by hand.

What’s False about True Color

Why there is more than it first appears to creating realistic satellite imagery.

Making Sense of Satellite Data, An Open Source Workflow

A guide to accessing and processing public satellite data with open source tools.

Making Space Data Easier to Use: Overcoming Challenges and Expanding Access

In this essay I describe the obstacles I see inhibiting the widespread use of remote sensing data, and outline some solutions that I think would help expand use of these datasets.