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Kite Aerial Photography
SethJohnson writes "People have been attaching cameras to kites for quick-and-dirty aerial photographs for almost a hundred years. Hobbyists have progressed the art far beyond it's quick-and-dirty origins to produce stunning results. NASA even has a fairly detailed how-to using a disposable camera. Looks like a fun science fair project for those dads out there with kids."
Those along waterfronts know that daily patterns of onshore and offshore breezes can aid in getting good wind.
Brooks Leffler pioneered the art with a magazine (!!!) that he still has back issues of. He even sells stabilizing tails. The most stunning pictures in my opinion have been by the vastly-experienced Chris Benton... he inspired my finally getting into this. $100 for the kite, $80 for the camera, $100 radio+misc, and you're up and going.
I run a kite site and am fanatical about the sport, so i should hope to have a little authority on the subject. While i haven't done any KAP myself, i've read extensively on the subject. There are some amazing photos coming back from people lofting cameras on their kites. There is also some interesting tech going into the works too. I've seem plans for radio controlled microcontrollers that will depress the camera trigger, hold it till a beep for the camera to focus, then press the trigger harder to take the photo. There are setups using small video cameras and transmitters that allow the user to see what he's about to take a photo of. There are a bunch of pan-rotate-zoom setups using servos and the like. It's mostly R/C tech, but still quite cool.
My fav site for KAP is here.
My website (in sig) doesn't have much for KAP resources, but it is useful to look at to see some of the other spiffy stuff.
By the way, the kite obelisk folks are still at it, planning an even bigger lift, and with period materials. Should be exciting, but I don't have the full scoop, they are keeping it quiet until they pull it off.
While it's a good idea to keep things light, it's not the over-riding factor. The kites being used for KAP are usually capable of lifting considerable weights. There are quite a few kites out there (in the $300 or more price range) that need about 250-300 pounds of sand anchors to be safely operated. I've heard of large inflatable show kites that will pull two dumpsters full of sand across the beach.
As for control, it's all R/C servos. It can be done with as little as one servo to pull the trigger but most people like to be able to at least pan some, so that's another servo. There are also some triggers out there that are just timer based... you set the timer, and hope you can get the rig up to altitude and pointing at the target by the time the trigger goes off... not flexible, but cheap and effective.
Even first world countries have long used kites for reconaissance. A lot of kiting development has taken place for military applications. Check this page for more details.
Wide-angle or zoom lens
while I've never done KAP, I have flown kites before (ie, big kites) and you need quite a big kite to hoist a decent camera. the reason disposables are so often used is because a) they're cheap and b) they're light.
the kind of camera's that have zoom lenses are heavy beggars, and how do you control the zoom? wires? remote control? thats all more weight. now a big power/traction ktie can carry alot but it's hardly secure.
with a light camera you can tie it down so that as long as you keep the kite steady then it should be good. with a heavier parcel then the weight will be harder to tie down as although a bi kite can undoubtedly take the weight, it's all concentrated in one spot which is bad news for a parawing style kite.
you can of course use something like a big delta too, but they are harder to carry around.
I'm no expert a KAP though, I have to admit, I did some reading on it a few years ago but never tried it. some of the KAP images I've seen in the last have been pretty stunning though.
dave
PS. current kites: pbsk warrior and VP (favourite 2 line kites ever flown), spirit of air omega xs, elliot ekko 2.8, revolution EXP (would love a speed series one day, esp if resailed by peter betancourt), a nice Rok and a few others
People have been attaching cameras to kites for quick-and-dirty aerial photographs for almost a hundred years.
Either this story has been in the queue for way too long, or you need to verify your sources.
Kite Aerial Photograhy began at least as early as the late 1880's with the work of Arthur Batut in Labruguiere, France - including this 1889 image of the city. He went so far as to use an altimeter to automatically adjust the focal length of the camera
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KAP seems like a great application for one of those X10 wireless cameras. Outdoors they have a range of maybe 200 feet and that could probably be enhanced with a directional antenna.
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It is entirely a hobby for us, everyone is 100% volunteering for it, most of us do it for the thrill of the chase! (imagine the Twister scene, looks about the same...) We do carry scientific missions also, most recently upper atmosphere mercury sampling.
Wind doesn't matter too much, the balloon isn't tethered, and has gps and radio telemetry on it for recovery. EVERY package except for #1 has been recovered, and that one was more of a platform test/throwaway anyway.