{"id":19876,"date":"2018-11-04T10:17:08","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hawkdog.net\/wordpress\/?p=19876"},"modified":"2018-11-04T11:03:25","modified_gmt":"2018-11-04T16:03:25","slug":"kite-aerial-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hawkdog.net\/wordpress\/archives\/19876","title":{"rendered":"Kite Aerial Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been interested in kite aerial photography almost as long as I’ve been on the internet. I’m not sure how I got there, but I remember falling over Prof. Benton’s KAP page<\/a> back in the days of usenet and listservs. I’ve flown a couple different kinds of drones, but the notion of a kite as the camera’s skyhook never stopped being attractive. As I thought about camera equipment for the trip, a KAP rig immediately suggested itself. Drones are heavy and power hungry; kites are neither of those things. I got the stuff together and yesterday – a day of 20 mph+ blustery winds – was the first sky trial.<\/p>\n

KAP requires 3 things: a kite (and line obv), a camera with some sort of automatic or remote triggering capability, and a way of hanging the camera off the kite string. I already had a GoPro; they come with wireless capabilities and a phone app to control them. The kite was easy, too. Though I already had an old parafoil kite, I ordered a larger one (for better light wind lifting) with a monster tail (for stability). The last bit, the camera\/kite interface, is interesting. I’m using a picavet<\/a> (or picavet cross if you prefer). It’s named after its inventor, Pierre Picavet<\/a>, who came up with the notion in 1912. Side note: the history and longevity of KAP is another thing that attracts me.<\/p>\n

\"Labrugui\u00e8re<\/a>Arthur Batut’s<\/a> aerial photo<\/a> of Labrugui\u00e8re, 1889<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s my picavet on its way up:<\/p>\n

\"Picavet.\"<\/a>