Kite Aerial Photography

[Pitmatic]

Has anyone tried this?

I have a rig but I admit i havent flown it for over a year now as I have been busy/work/kids/sleep etc but you can get very good results with this technique and no need to hire a helicopter or light aircraft



This is what the camera and kite look like in flight



This is an example I sold to Bedfordshire council



It can be a frustrating technique as your so at the mercy of the weather and there is the risk of crashing the equipment which I have done once but the camera went into a cow pat (not joking!) but after a quick wipe down all was well and its still working

Just an idea

[RedEyes©]

cool stuff, never seen it done this way before. Very original and as you say some great results

rgds
Dave

[JamieWillmott]

I saw someone attach a camera to a model plane for aerial shots, but a kite is a cool idea too. I've also seen shots that people have got by putting the camera on the end of a really long pole.

[Seosaimhin]

Wow! I'd heard about people doing this before but hadn't seen many examples until now - great results!

-Josie

[Pitmatic]

Ah well there are more examples here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pitmatic/s ... 296577081/

There is a bit of a knack to it as you need to be able to fly a kite (not quite as easy as it sounds) and know when to not bother and risk damaging your gear and when to go for it and frankly it really is fun to do.

The whole lot camera, kite and the extras folds up into a standard kit bag and is quite light but as the kite used has a wide wind range it can drag your arms off if the wind suddenly picks up and you need to be able to recover it quickly and its knowing what to do when it starts going wrong that will save your gear hopefully from a big bump

self portrait at normanton chuch rutland water and you should be able to make out the kite line.

[TPilgrim]

wow you are brave not only flying your camera under a kite but also over water!

what do use for a trigger?

[Pitmatic]

Its an external intervalometer that takes the shots I think of it as the photographic equivilent of fishing where you cant see what your after but you know its there

[Chris Humphreys]

Great shots and a really interesting technique. No loop the loops with that kite then!!

[freedomventure]

this is really scary.. for my camera.. brave shot

[Nikodamus]

That is absolute genius! What an incredibly good idea! I'd really love to learn a lot more about this - do you have a link to any tutorials, or would you mind providing some tips? What I'd really love to know is how you keep the camera as stable as possible, how you light-meter from up there, what lens you use and what kind of kit you use to get it done. This is definitely something I would love to try! Fantastic job there!

[Pitmatic]

The camera hangs from the line on a picavet that reduces sway when the kite line angle changes but otherwise the trick is to use a fast shutter speed 1000 is ideal t guarantee sharp shots and let the camera auto focus

Try this foum

http://ostro.ced.berkeley.edu/~crisr/discuss/

and there is a kite aerial photography forum on flickr its god fun and although people do fly DSLR's most use a decent compact as they are lighter and therefore smaller kites less pulling etc and is more likely to survive a bump although so far I have only bumped once and my camera a canon S60 got dragged through a cowpat which after a quick wipe and a bit of language on mypart was in the air agian with no ill effect

[NokiaPush]

Just wanted to let you all know of an awesome Kite Aerial Photography opportunity!

We’ve just launched the Push N8 competition, which asks how creatives would show the world what’s possible with one of our new prototypes.

The one most relevant to you is the Push KAPing (Kite Aerial Photography) prototype. By using two Nokia N8s that communicate with one another wirelessly, filmmakers can now fly one suspended from a kite rig whilst using another on the ground to not only see, but also control exactly what is being shot in 12 megapixels or full HD recording from above.

Check out the film we created for Push KAPing here: http://www.youtube.com/v/ptar26PeMjM

This film just scratches the surface of what can be done with this prototype, and that's where you come in!

We have four Push KAPing prototypes to give away to those who can inspire us with the most creative ideas of how they'd show the world what's possible with a Push prototype. Whether it’s a game of Pacman filmed from the KAP rig in a maze, or tracking a group of animals in their natural habitat, we think the possibilities are pretty endless.

We're accepting submissions for an idea of the short film, event, show or moment you would create using one of these prototypes. We will also be giving away a Nokia N8 and up to $1000 to bring the idea to life. Nokia will document production progress on its blog, with the final creation to be uploaded to the global Nokia YouTube channel, so this also a great opportunity for exposure.

Full details of this project can be found at http://nokia.com/push

I'm on hand to answer any questions you might have, so please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you’d like more info.

Abby

[NokiaPush]

UPDATE: Submission deadline extended to 22 October 2010

The deadline for Push N8 submissions has been extended by one week! We had so many requests for more time to develop their ideas that we decided to listen to the community and push the deadline back.

http://blogs.nokia.com/pushn8/submit

[Bahnyen]

COOL idea, and you get the perfect work also. Different picture in different angle. Can you give me more details about the camera you used and how you set it up.
Thanks in advance.