July, 31, 2011 Waveland, Mississippi

New Parts

I had to order a couple of new parts.  My rig wasn't turning like it is suppose to.  I don't know if it's broken or if there is some glitch because sometime it works but doesn't seem to turn far enough and sometime it doesn't work at all, so, I am replacing the battery box and removing the IR controller and replacing it with a servo speed controller.  They are coming from http://brooxes.com  and should be here today. 

I also have Kap Klips to attach the rig to the kite line but I find them to be cumbersome and tend to slide on the kite line unless the line is doubled on the klip, so, I ordered  Brooxes Hangups and hopefully this will resolve the problem.

I Tried And I Tried But Couldn't Do It.

The wind just wouldn't cooperate today.  It seemed to be blowing every which way and each time I got the kite up the wind would suddenly die and the kite gently floated back to the ground. Once it turned the kite completly to the other direction and then dived to the ground.  Some days are just not kite days and this was one of them.

May 7, 2011 Long Beach Mississippi Kite Festival

Great Saturday Rotten Sunday

On Saturday afternoon  I took the kite to an area near New Augusta, Ms.  Theres a big plant out there and I thought I might get a few good photos but I couln't really find a spot close enough without trespassing.  I did find an area close enough to see the plant in the photos but not really what I wanted, but the wind was good and I really got some height.   The next day, Sunday,  I went back in an attempt to get closer.  In the photos from Saturday I could see a better spot.  It was a wide open field with trees in the distance between me and the plant but plenty of room for the kite without the kite tangling in the trees.  The sun was coming down and the wind was sporatic.  I only managed to get the kite near the tops of the trees but never could get it much higher.  Just when I thought it was going to go on up, the wind would stop and the kite would fall.  So, after many attempts....I gave up and came home.

My Equipment

I have finally obtained the right equipment for kite Aeriel photography.  Through trial and error and lots of reading on the Internet.  At first I used a video camera because the cameras I already had were too heavy or couldn't take continuous photos but the snapshots from the video were low quality and didn't look very good.   My husband and I attempted to build our own picovet, a frame like contraption that you suspend your camera from on the kite line, but couldn't get it right.   I finally bought one on the Internet from http://www.brooxes.com/.    All my cameras will fit on the rig.  This is a photo from brooxes.com and is the rig I have.

I got it with the intervolometer so it controls the camera in the air.  It automatically tells the camera to shoot at about 10 second intervals via infrared communication.  And, it was easy to assemble.

My problem then turned to the kite.  The delta I had purchased would not lift the heavy canon XSI.

I went to ebay and lots of online kite stores and finally found the right kite for me.  It's has powerful lifting ability.  It's the Jumbo Illusion 36 Parafoil Sled. Awesome kite!! http://stores.ebay.com/The-Skybow-Store

Now a little warning.  This kite works great for me but it is very powerful.  It uses 500 pound test kite line and if my husband wasn't there to help me I probably couldn't handle it.  If you get one of these kite be prepared.  The really great thing about this kite is that it picks up anything I want it to.  There is a Parafoil 24 which is smaller but  still has lifting power.  I will probably get one in the near future for flying in places where the wind is strong all the time..like the beach.  PS:  Always wear gloves.  That kite line burns.

My next challenge was the camera.  I wanted a camera that takes great photos, would take continuous photos, is easy to operate and wouldn't hurt so bad if I crashed it into a tree.  I found the Canon Powershot A490 at http://www.walmart.com/.  When I bought it the cost was $68.00, now their price is $73.00.  Its great for KAP and has 10 megapixils. 

I still use the XSI but mostly I use the A490.  It's just so easy to use.

So, that's my equipment.

This has been a really good day. I finally got the right kite and the right camera together for Kite Aeriel Photography.  The new Parafoil Sled 36 has more lifting power than I imagined it would and the Canon PowerShot A490 takes great big 10 megapixil photos. 
Previous attempts have been with snaps taken from the video camera and were not very good.  Now I've got to have stronger string.  I'm sure that one good puff of strong wind will break what I have now and I don't want to take the chance of loosing the camera or the kite.