Kite Aerial Photography
Somewhere back in 2001 while web surfing I stumbled upon a rather intriguing website. A young man had attached a cheap disposable camera to his kite and was able to capture via a time-release mechanism, pictures from the air! This was very interesting to me as it opened up a whole new world of Photography! Imagine, being able to snap pictures of familiar ground based objects from a birds-eye view. INCREDIBLE some may say!
Well that's exactly what I said, I also said "I need to do this ASAP!". And so the quest began. It started off with a purchase of a kite, line and the timer device, the rest was from scraps I had laying around. So, the first round was vry inexpensive, but inexpensive more often than not translates into "inferior". Although I was very thrilled to get my first batch of Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) pictures back from development, I was rudely awakened at how crude and random that simple system was. Back in the early days there was about a 5:1 throw away ratio. Hardly the thrilling return rate one with child-like enthusiasm anticipates.
That's right, remote control. Not the kite, but the cradle that holds the camera. Grab an R/F transmitter, receiver, a few servos and a battery pack, slap those into a neat little package and now you've got panning and tilting abilities. Some even go as far as adding the Portrait/Landscape orientation, WOW!
This allows you to leave the camera up there while you fire off as many shots as you want. At this point though you've likely added a lot of weight to the rig with the servos and all, so you'll likely need to upgrade your kite (which is the route I took) or just wait for stronger wind.
We make no guarantees, warranties, or imply endorsements to these products, these are simply what we have and what works for us, we are in no way affiliated with any of these brands in any manner. Hanging an expensive camera off a kite line is inherantly dangerous, do so at your own risk. Do not fly a kite near power lines of any kind. Use common sense and ask permission if flying on private property. Your mileage may vary. All images copyright 2009 William P. Mitchell.