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Tool application
Name of the tool
Visual assessment (photo montage)
Who applied the tool in the case?
This tool was used by National Wind Power in North Hoyle Offshore Wind farm.
Time taken to fully apply the tool
A few hours.
Any other interesting information about the tool
A CCW report outlines the limitations of photomontages in respect to their application to wind turbines:
"The photomontages may appear to be very accurate and what appears to be a realistic view of the proposed turbines. There are however several factors that need to be considered when viewing the photomontage. Firstly, the appearance of the wind turbines when viewed in reality are likely to appear larger than in the photomontage. This is basically because the human eye records more detail in the field than is perceived when viewing a photograph. The turbines may appear to be larger when a familiar object is seen within the same view, as the human eye will have a known object to compare the turbines to.
The movement of … wind turbines will not be recorded by the photomontage (unless techniques such as video montage are used) and is likely to be a highly visible element of the wind turbines. The use of video montage is not widely used and costly but may become more available in the future. The movement of the turbines when seen in the field will also be detected by the peripheral vision of the human eye and therefore be far more noticeable in the field compared to a static photomontage. It is likely that the wind turbines will be in motion for approximately 90% of the time, although the blades of the turbines will not always operate simultaneously and sometimes, if the wind speed is to slow or too fast, the rotor blades will not be moving at all".
CCW ´Visual Perception versus photomontage´ Non-technical summary http://www.ccw.gov.uk/images_client/reports/non%20Technical%20summary-English.pdf
An example of photomontage can be seen on the website of a Welsh Planning Consultancy http://www.wtgl.co.uk/LVIA.htm#
According the Countryside Agency report "current guidance and best practice advocates the use of a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera using a 35mm and a 50mm focal length lens that is representative [of] what a human eye sees. The study has found that a more accurate impression of the perceived view is recorded using a 70 or 80mm focal length lens". CCW ‘Visual Perception versus photomontage´ Non-technical summary www.ccw.gov.uk/images_client/reports/non%20Technical%20summary-English.pdf
Case study/ies where tool is in use