The stunning aerial photos taken with just a camera and a kite - by the inventor of 'kite-ography'

On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Val Hallah
wrote:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...mera-kite.html

If you'd be willing to send your camera up on a kite you're
more brave than I am.

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:34:36 -0400, Scotius wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Val Hallah
wrote:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...mera-kite.html

If you'd be willing to send your camera up on a kite you're
more brave than I am.

Look into sparless airfoil "sled" kites. The kind with two large diverging
airfoil pockets on either side to hold the kite open while in flight. They
are extremely stable in a wide variety of wind conditions. Very powerful
lifters. Even difficult to pull back down out of the air once they are
aloft in a strong breeze. Sore arms are a common complaint of sled-kite
flyers after trying to bring them home. Frequently used by kite enthusiasts
(not photography enthusiasts) to lift heavy and elaborate "line laundry"
into the air. (Google for "line laundry" and kites.) I use a 1.5^2 meter
sled for my KAP needs. (It also doubles as a kayak sail. I can throw a
strong bow-spray off a kayak in a stiff breeze, with nearly 180 degrees of
allowable directions just by changing the tack of the wind by moving the
angle of my arm to the traveling direction of the kayak.) Oh, and as a
mental-insurance, it helps to design (or use an existing design of) a
"crash cage" for your camera. I designed a very effective one using nothing
more than 2 springy and hefty coat-hangars cut & bent into a configuration
to protect it from a crash in all 3 axes. Though with a stable sled-kite
it's never done more than accomplish being a nice 4-point touch-down
landing gear. Looking for all the world like a lunar-lander making a soft
touch-down after it's done its job.

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:34:36 -0400, Scotius wrote:

On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Val Hallah
wrote:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...mera-kite.html

If you'd be willing to send your camera up on a kite you're
more brave than I am.

Look into sparless airfoil "sled" kites. The kind with two large diverging
airfoil pockets on either side to hold the kite open while in flight. They
are extremely stable in a wide variety of wind conditions. Very powerful
lifters. Even difficult to pull back down out of the air once they are
aloft in a strong breeze. Sore arms are a common complaint of sled-kite
flyers after trying to bring them home. Frequently used by kite enthusiasts
(not photography enthusiasts) to lift heavy and elaborate "line laundry"
into the air. (Google for "line laundry" and kites.) I use a 1.5^2 meter
sled for my KAP needs. (It also doubles as a kayak sail. I can throw a
strong bow-spray off a kayak in a stiff breeze, with nearly 180 degrees of
allowable directions just by changing the tack of the wind by moving the
angle of my arm to the traveling direction of the kayak.) Oh, and as a
mental-insurance, it helps to design (or use an existing design of) a
"crash cage" for your camera. I designed a very effective one using nothing
more than 2 springy and hefty coat-hangers cut & bent into a configuration
to protect it from a crash in all 3 axes. Though with a stable sled-kite
it's never done more than accomplish being a nice 4-point touch-down
landing gear. Looking for all the world like a lunar-lander making a soft
touch-down after it's done its job.

"Scotius" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Val Hallah
wrote:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...mera-kite.html

If you'd be willing to send your camera up on a kite you're
more brave than I am.

I wouldn't send my D90 (for example) up on a kite, but I would a cheap
little Coolpix. I've been thinking about that off and on for some time. It's
one of the 7,348 things I'm definitely going to do when I get around to it.