Paul Illsley (bio)






Paul Illsley   
Paul Illsley



With over 40 years of photographic experience Paul's work has been published by National Geographic, used by The Royal Canadian Mint in the form of a coin, by Canada Post in the form of a stamp and featured in a number of international publications.


Paul has served as imaging specialist on a NASA and National Geographic sponsored airborne laser (LiDAR) mapping project in the Peruvian Andes and as an instructor of Cartography, Remote Sensing, and Research Imaging on the NASA and National Science Foundation sponsored Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) in Alaska. Paul is an award-winning graduate and former instructor of Remote Sensing, Airborne Imaging and Digital Mapping in the Cartography department at the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) in Nova Scotia, Canada.


Paul has been a cartographic consultant for the Discovery Channel, underwater imaging consultant for the History Channel, bathymetry mapping consultant for the Hawaiian Coral Reef Alliance and has processed satellite imagery for the Canadian Space Agency. He has recently been creating Google Street View 360-degree panoramic images of trails and natural places.


Paul is a retired airborne imaging specialist in the Applied Research department at COGS where he was responsible for piloting and maintaining advanced drones containing Viable Spectrum, Multispectral, Hyperspectral, Thermal imaging sensors as well as active LiDAR laser mapping systems. He holds an Advanced Operations drone pilot's certification from Transport Canada.


In addition to his cartographic and research imaging experience Paul has served as a reconnaissance specialist with the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves and holds certifications in both parachuting as well as SCUBA diving. Paul enjoys free time activities such as kayaking, hiking and nature photography.


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