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Any luck with the Kite Aerial Photography?
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I want to see your pictures!
Posted at 10:59PM, 14 May 2005 PDT
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Me too! I'm kinda surprised there hasn't been any posted yet.
Posted 39 months ago.
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Ok, I have put off posting this long enough. Back in 1998, I got it into my head to try this. I believe I was inspired by a photo taken at the turn of the century with a glass-plate camera on a tripod flown (with the Photographer!) under a very large box kite that I saw in a book on kites.
I had an early Sony Mavica that wrote 640x480 images to floppies, but its self timer wasn't long enough and there was no easy way to rig either a remote or a periodic shot.... so I suspended my several year old (but much more expensive) Sony Hi8 camcorder from a custom made frame.
These pictures of the camera and kite rig were taken with that Mavica:
  
The frame was designed to hold the camera at a fixed angle relative to the line, and included enough metal all the way around the camera to reduce the risk of destroying the camera almost enough to fly it. My friends all concluded I was insane to do it.
Aside from nearly braining a bystander when the kite decided to swing through about 90 degrees horizontally just after lifting the camera to 5' off the ground, and making a bee-line for the only rock in the park (visions of a smashed camcorder flashed though my head before it missed the rock!), the flight went pretty well. The video was definitely not for the weak of stomach, however.
I have misplaced the tape we shot that day, but since MAKE.01 arrived in my mailbox, I have been looking for it. When it surfaces, I will put some of the video online somewhere and follow up here.
Posted 38 months ago.
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There's been a Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) group on Flickr since March. It's quite active - see www.flickr.com/groups/kiteaerialphotography/
You'll find pointers there to several web-sites on the subject, including LOTS of advice on how to build rigs, electronics and video projects etc etc
Posted 38 months ago.
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Yeah, come and join up.
The members there include Cris Benton who featured in the MAKE article, along with past editors of the "Aerial Eye" a superb publication from the KAP committe of the American Kiteflyers Association. And there are many more, from the experts right down to those who are just starting out building their first rigs. Come on down, check out the superb pool and get inspired.
Posted 37 months ago.
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I built a rig and had some success, but trouble with the shutter mechanism has grounded it until I can upgrade it to to a RC radio and servo. I'm definately hooked, just need to find more time...
I also posted a couple of shots from the rig in the Make pool next to this one of my rig.
Posted 31 months ago.
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