Kite Aerial PhotographyKite Aerial Photography
So, all these pictures, what of it? After I had been taking pictures for fun for a while a few interesting opportunities started to develop, this page explores what opportunities KAP has allowed me to be part of:
Commercial Views
This is the one everyone sees and some think it's the end of the
rainbow.
Whilst there are undoubtedly opportunities, like the leaflet advertising St
Mary's Lighthouse opposite, I see this as a little extra income to offset costs
rather than a pot of gold.
Similarly illustrating articles, online publishing, entering competitions and writing articles, can sometimes pay money, but this wont ever pay the mortgage - for my photos anyway!
We have to admit that KAP is a little fickle, photographs cannot be produced to order. However I have tried to share the work I have done, and had some success selling material from stock. I have also given material to charities, that they have been able to use for promotion.
Money aside, publishing gives me a sense of satisfaction about my
photography, and an opportunity to show others about KAP, this in itself adds
some fun to a fun pastime.
Architectural Views
I was approached by a Student at Edinburgh University who was
challenged by a brief to write an essay about the architectural opportunities of
the Granton Harbour East Breakwater, Edinburgh, shown right.
Although not photographically stimulating, there was a significant KAP challenge in photographing a number of derelict structures along the length of this 1 mile breakwater.
There was also a sense of achievement that this was useful material for my
student friend, giving him some seed material for his project and his ideas on
the possible creative uses of this "sea wall".
Archeological Views
Taking aerial photographs of Cairnpapple Prehistoric Burial Site led me into contact with Steve Sweeney-Turner, a keen local historian. After meeting him at Cairnpapple I was fascinated by how he interpreted the ground and how he saw things there I didn't - similar in how kite people can see the wind, and outdoor people can see the weather.
Steve showed me several unexcavated sites just a few 100yards from Cairnpapple including the one shown upper right. Steve had a hunch that this collection of stones may have some secrets.
Interpreting the aerial images revealed several significant observations.
There appears to be a V structure at the bottom of the picture, and there may be
further large stones below the surface at the top of the picture. Steve is using
the aerial images, combined with experience and ground observations to unlock
the secret of this small group of stones.
Video
Short Views
Some friends are very creative, making Video Shorts, doing everything from the script, to the music, acting and editing. A spoof on Tarzan required an aerial shot of a beach and trees which gave me the excuse to shoot some video with KAP.
Most video cameras allow the capture of video, and no alteration to the KAP rig was required, however finding a location to the "directors" liking with a mixture of beach and tropical forest proved challenging, especially day tripable from Edinburgh!
Although of lower quality than the ground shots this was cut together with ground material for the final story, an heady mixture of Scotsmen, gorillas and addiction in deepest East Lothian. Premiered on the 2005 Leith Festival in "Trailer Trash".
The material is due to be shown as part of a platform for new film-makers on
BBC3 TV in 2006, you can see the opening credits with aerial shots by
downloading this excerpt from Trailer
Trash © Oaty Hill Productions 2005.
Boat Views
Twice a year the Forth Corinthian Boat Club hire a rather substantial crane to take their boats out of the water for maintenance and wintering. This is an expensive and exacting task, with the members keen to ensure that the crane is hired for the minimal time, so costs are kept low.
For several years aerial shots of the harbour (as shown right) have been used to discuss with the crane operator before the lift even takes place, so that the position of the crane, the order of the lift, and the location of the boats can be determined for the smoothest operation.
With boats weighing several tons, and the crane's compromise between weight and reach, the whole operation is a bit more complex than the normal afternoon sail, no-one wants their boat to hit the water (or the pier :-) faster than is absolutely necessary!
There are other aerial views of
the crane.
Carved View
An e-mail from Dave Pretswell came out of the ether, a stone carver, he had stumbled upon my unusual view of Lindisfarne Castle in Northumberland when looking for inspiration.
Dave Takes up the story:
As for inspiration what can I say - I had a piece of Northumbrian "black pasture" sandstone and wanted an appropriate subject , I typed "Lindisfarne" into
Google image search and among the "normal view" photos was this fantastic view that I hadn't seen before (of the castle), this with the further selection you sent acted as inspiration.
As an experiment I have added a piece of "sunrise" stained glass , and hope to include more glasswork with future projects.
The piece stands some 40cm high, the detail on the right showing the top
two-thirds.
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