Although I’ve done my bit of Aerial Photography, I’ve always wanted to give Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) a go.
Back in September I started to acquire a few bits. Since the main component was a kite, I decided I’d start with this first. After a lot of research, I decided that a Delta Conyne was the best bet. This particular kite is a hybrid of a standard triangle shaped delta and a box kite. Most KAPpers report that it has the lifting power of a Delta kite with the stability and high flight angle (ie: the string is almost vertical) of a box kite.
The next item to buy or build is a mount for the camera. I decided on a picavet as it’s rather simple to build and seems to be a favourite for KAPpers. The picavet I’ve made is very simple at the moment. It’s made of two 150mm long pieces of 1/4″x1/16″ aluminium with fishing swivels for pulleys – Not ideal by a long shot, but a good starting point to check the “theory is correct”.
I got one of my trusty canon IXUS SD1000 – The same model as I use for my 3D Camera. I installed the latest version of CHDK and wrote a simple script to take a photo every five seconds.
On Saturday I shot down to Victoria Park. It was far from ideal conditions as there was little wind and things were being set up for the Guy Fawkes fireworks display.
I finally got the kite above the treeline and flying stable. I clipped on my picavet, turned on the camera and sent it skyward. By this point, it was half past four and already rather dark. Even an ISO of 800 wasn’t enough to stop the blur.
Here are a few images:
