A Directory of Aerial Photography, Kite Style

Yes, they take pictures out of planes, but did you know they take pictures from kites, too? Scott Haefner's got a whole site to prove it, Kite Aerial Photography at http://scotthaefner.com/kap/gallery/ .

There are many galleries here but use the tab toward the top and start with the technical background, just so you get a sense of why a guy would hang an $800 camera from a kite and trigger it via remote control. After you've done that, visit the photo albums, featuring favorite photos (several albums' worth, recent additions, 2004 photos, and 2003 photos. Photo subjects vary greatly, from nature scenes to industrial areas to the beach.

There are notes for each item, and a space to leave comments (the site has an RSS feed as well.) Unfortunately the photos don't have very large sizes available, though you can order prints (looked like 8x10 prints are $39 each.) The prints themselves were strange; not very high up, but the STRAIGHT DOWN perspective made for some very odd and intriguing images. People looked strangely foreshortened; normally patternless things (like a beach or the swirls of the ocean) take on an unusual -- um -- meaningfulness? You're not so high up that you can't distinguish detail, but you are high enough that you can see a greater whole than you normally might. (See http://scotthaefner.com/kap/gallery/image.php?i=scbeach1.jpg&g=favorites .)

In addition to the photograph collection, there's also a collection of a dozen 360 degree panoramas, some "ground-based" photography, and technical discussion about how it's done. Beautiful work.

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