Kite Aerial Photography from Sanderling, NC - July 20, 2001
Taken with a variety of Xirlink VGA digital camera (exceptionally cheap CMOS camera, shown at right, received as a promo from Earthlink internet access) hanging off an 8 sq. ft. Sutton Flow Form kite. With a few pieces of electrical tape I was able to seal the camera enough to prevent it from dying when an unexpectedly high wave attacked it as it was resting on the sand after a flight.
(Oct 27, 2005 - As shown by the number of other aerial photos I've shot since 2001, still using the two Xirlink cameras, I like the cameras! The camera adds a smearing or blur to most shots, producing variation, randomly generating compelling images.)
The shadow shaped like a huge molar is from the kite.
Apparently, with less light, it takes the camera a little while to scan the image in horizontal rows, resulting in distortions as the camera swings wildly under the kite. Reducing that swinging oscillation should improve future pictures considerably. As it is now, there's a relatively narrow zone of wind speed which will allow the kite to lift the camera but not cause it to start swinging... hmm.
It seemed to me that the method I used to take these photos was a lot like fishing. Even excluding proximity to big water. Basically I had a lure, the camera, tied onto a long line, bouyed by a bobber. For each photo in this set, I started with the kite on the ground. The camera (the lure) was attached and made to 'wiggle' (the camera's 15-second timer was set). The lure and bobber were cast into a current, reeled out. Wait a little while. Reel in. Sip beer. Repeat.
With every cast I knew I caught something, but I couldn't know how good it was 'til I caught 30 or so and took them all out of the box at once.
(Update - Aug. 2001, research shows that hanging the camera a few dozen feet below the camera smoothes out the oscillations... my photos taken one week later at Byrd Park in Richmond, VA seem to agree with that.)
You can get a sense of how wind speed effected the photos by noticing the amount of blur as the series of photos were taken. The wind the first day was great, (The first 20 or so photos) but it really picked up the second day, and it kept up. The surf also picked up during this time. You can see a red "NO SWIMMING" flag at the bottom left of one of the only non-blurred photos within the mass of hugely blurred photos (specifically dsc_082.jpg).
You can probably pick me out of the photos by using a little deduction... :)
For lots more info on Kite Aerial Photography, visit the University of California at Berkeley KAP Site
