Kite Aerial Photography

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Posted by michael on Tuesday September 7, 2004 @05:22PM from the fish-eye dept.

j cherney writes "A great combination of digital photography, kite flying, and wireless remote control. Absolutely incredible pictures. Enjoy!" We've mentioned this expensive pursuit a few times before, including a bit on how to build one of your own.

17 of 170 comments (clear)

I've heard of upskirt pictures... by TheOtherAgentM · 2004-09-07 17:24 · Score: 5, Funny

Is the new trend down blouse pictures? I like it already.
Build your own webserver by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-07 17:26 · Score: 4, Funny

and put a camera on it so you can see when it dies. :p

I managed to see one picture before the site died. :/
1. Re:Build your own webserver by lewko · 2004-09-07 18:40 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Stupid kite-eating webserver....
  
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Hmm by g-to-the-o-to-the-g · 2004-09-07 17:29 · Score: 4, Funny

Hmm...I forsee great business opportunities for camera repair shops.

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Hi there
Why not video? by The+Green+Skeleton · 2004-09-07 17:36 · Score: 4, Interesting

What I think would be alot cooler is if someone stuck a small wireless camera (you can pick them up for like $30 on ebay) on a kite. It would be alot lighter as those things are tiny (the heavyest part would likely be the 9v battery), and you still make stills later if you really wanted to.
Just my 2c.
1. Re:Why not video? by JanneM · 2004-09-07 17:55 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The resolution is not good enough, I think. Since you are taking panoramic pictures with a lot of small detail, you really want high resolution or any particular ground feature will just devolve into a few fuzzy pixels. To take really good arial pictures, I would expect black and white film photography probably is by far the best (though perhaps least convenient) choice.
  
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2. Re:Why not video? by Anonymous+Writer · 2004-09-07 20:53 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  What I think would be alot cooler is if someone stuck a small wireless camera
  
  What about using a balloon instead of a kite with a wireless camera? It could stay up much longer with less supervision and probably provide a more stable image.
The kite just took some new pictures... by generationxyu · 2004-09-07 17:37 · Score: 5, Funny

Apparently there's a fire at the hosting company... Slashdot to the rescue! (batman theme song)

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I mod down pyramid schemes in sigs.
1. Re:The kite just took some new pictures... by servognome · 2004-09-07 17:45 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  POW! CLICK! DING! 503!
  
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  D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
Uh oh... by r00k123 · 2004-09-07 17:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Webmaster - please contact support as soon as possible. Sooomebodyss innn troouubllleee....
Re:Lacks composition by flacco · 2004-09-07 17:41 · Score: 5, Funny

Help a poor physics student buy an iBook [strangecharm.net]!
hey, get out there and shake your tits on a webcam like everyone else.

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pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
No need to break your camera by icecow · 2004-09-07 17:42 · Score: 4, Interesting

Inflate some pool rafts and kiddy pools with helium and start crafting some aerodynamics using the principals observed.

type 'pool raft' in google and hit that 'image' tab if you want to start visualizing it.

might be more like helium-raft-parachute photography but hey.

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Cheap Way and Fun Way! by ttroutma · 2004-09-07 17:57 · Score: 4, Interesting

Easier way to do this is to use a camera that just takes a pic every so many minutes and just tie it to a stable kite. It will dangle around randomly but it works and you get a decent picture sometimes. As to putting a wireless camera on a kite, just put a wireless camera on a really high performance stunt kite and then wear a head mounted display while you fly it around at 100mph. That would make an exciting vomit machine.
This should teach us all... by perseguidor · 2004-09-07 17:57 · Score: 4, Funny

(Reminds me of Ben Franklin!)
This should teach us all not to expose cameras to lightning when still plugged to servers!

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O make me a mask
Re:Ouch! by Soko · 2004-09-07 18:00 · Score: 5, Funny

I think thier ISP just pissed them off.

"Cut off my bitorrent, will you? Fine. I'll just get this ULTRA high bandwidth, pictures galore site that's hosted on my home connection posted on Slashdot's front fucking page, Mr. No-Copyright-Infrigement-For-You-Techy-Type. Just you wait, michael won't even check where it's hosted, asshole."

Soko

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"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
(Partial) mirror by D+H+NG · 2004-09-07 18:11 · Score: 5, Informative

Here are 4 of the kite panoramas I managed to see before the site died. The names are different from the site's because I just took them from my cache.
Panorama 1
Panorama 2
Panorama 3
Panorama 4
Re:Lacks composition by Erno_Rubaiyat · 2004-09-07 19:19 · Score: 5, Insightful

Pointing your camera at the ground and pressing the shutter does not a piece of art make.

unless you happen to be minor white

Sure you get a bunch of photos, but can you really say that you, the photographer, were the one taking the random, haphazard pictures?

Seriously consider found art, Dada, postmodern art and other forms of high art and the answer is yes, btw did you bother to look at the pictures before ranting? I am a photographer and was taken by the composition and beauty of the pictures.

I hate when people demean art by claiming that their homespun crap is on par with the work of true artists.

It is impossible to demean art. I hate it when people think that art has to be made by a certain class of people to be art. And by homespun crap are you referring to folk art? If it was in a gallery you would call it art.

I'm looking right at you, Thomas Kinkade!

And poor Thomas Kinkade will go home and cry in his big pile of money.