I've been pretty slack in keeping this blog up to date, it's been over two months since I posted anything, but the truth is I havn't done a lot recently with the aerial photography. I have been so busy with work and family commitments that it has been tough to get any free time and when I have had free time the weather has been awful. I heard today that the winter here has been the mildest since records started, but I'll bet it has also been the windiest as well I wonder how I could check that. Anyway we are now into BST and the evenings are getting longer so I will be dusting off the kit and having another go soon, hopefully this weekend.

Dissapointed

I'm fed up, it has been ages since I was ready to go out and take some aerial photographs, I have the camera, platform, big balloon, and helium gas all ready to go. I couldn't get out over christmas at all, I had all of the family thing to do. The rest of the time I have either been working or it has been awful weather. It must be the global warming or something but it seems to have been a constant storm for the last month or so, there has been more wind this month than I ever remember seeing before, yesterday we had wind gusting at up to about 80 to 90 mph!!! I am hopeful for tomorrow, I have a bit of work to do in the morning, but I will hopefully get something done in the afternoon, although it is supposed to be pretty calm as far as the wind is concerned, it is forecast to snow which may make some interesting Aerial Photography photographs.

Early Christmas Present

My wife bought me an early christmas present, a remote control system, found it on ebay and i'm very excited about it. I'm hoping it will arrive in the next few days or so. I don't know the first thing about remote control so it will be interesting to have a play with it when it arrives. I will be using it to make a rig to hold a larger camera, possibly a SLR, I will have it being able to move in three axis and also make an exposure when I want it too.

This rig will weigh considerably more than the first little rig so I will have to either get a much larger balloon or a big kite, preferably both, so i'll need to start saving my pennies. I will be including plans for both my first rig and also the remote control rig as special reports alongside the ebook I will be producing, so if your interested click on the link to find out more about it, or if you're lucky enough to read this before I have had it written click on the link to take the survey and get a free copy reserved for you as a thank you.

First Aerial Photography Rig

I've been working on my first Aerial Photography rig for the last week or so, I've finally managed to get it finished, but it took quite a bit of work. I must admit it is a bit on the rough and ready side, it should work but it certainly wont win any prizes in a beauty contest. It is a fairly basic design, a single shot type that needs to be brought back to earth between shots.

I haven't been able to fly it yet as we have been having gales and high winds here for the last week or so, but as soon as the winds die down i'll be out taking some shots. The kit I made is very light so I will be trying to fly it with a helium balloon and also with a small kite that I have. If the winds are low enough the helium balloon should lift it OK, it is a 3 foot diameter latex balloon, it's not a perfect choice but I have it and it should work as long as I don't pop it. The kite I have is pretty small and may not lift the rig but I'll give it a try. I went out at the weekend to find a shop that sells kites and I couldn't find any at all, they have either gone bust or the owners have retired, so I am going to have to keep an eye on ebay.

Description of Aerial Photography Platforms

I found a site that has a great description of the available aerial photography platforms, you can check it out here http://rcap.info/2006/10/overview-of-aerial-photography.htm

Basic options for the land based Aerial Photographer

I'm going to assume that most people starting out in Aerial Photography will not have or have access to a flying machine capable of lifting them off the ground, this would be an Airplane, Helicopter, Microlight, etc. If you do have access to this type of thing then I am pretty jealous but you're welcome to stay and read the rest of the blog, but the most of it won't be very applicable to you.

The majority of people will have to keep their feet firmly on the ground and sent their camera up into the heavens, here I will give a very basic discussion on the various ways of doing this.

First option is using Remote control vehicles such as Airplanes and Helicopters,

Pros -

• Very controlable
• Can be used in difficult to access areas

Cons -

• Can be expensive to buy the kit
• You would need a fairly large piece of kit to be able to lift your camera
• You would need a lot of experience to be able to control the craft and also the camera at the same time
• If using an Airplane you will be shooting photos from a moving base

Second option is to use a kite to lift your camera

Pros -

• Can lift a good amount of weight
• Can use a fairly basic setup if you wish
• Can use a fairly cheap setup if you wish
• With a little practice and a good kite you can fly it quite easily
• A good kite with favorable weather and you can have a very steady shooting platform

Cons -

• You are at the mercy of the weather, if you don't have enough wind you can't fly
• You can have limited access to some areas, where there isn't enough space to launch a kite or if there are overhead cables or if the wind is going the wrong way

The third option is to use a lighter than air craft, such as balloons, a blimp or a hot air balloon

Pros -

• Will work in very low wind conditions
• Can lift a large payload if you use a big enough craft
• Will allow access in some areas where nothing else can fly
• Can be used indoors
• Will provide a very stable platform

Cons -

• If they are used frequently they can get to be very expensive as they do consume gas at a high rate
• They are dependant on good weather with a relativley low wind speed
• Balloons are fragile, and can pop, which isn't good if it happens in mid flight.

OK that's me for now, don't forget to check back soon.

The basics

Q/ What is Aerial Photography
A/ It is photograph taken from the air

Q/ Like from a big hill or a mountain
A/ No, like from up in the air. Some photographs taken from high places, like hills, mountains, tall buildings, masts etc will give an image similar to Aerial photographs but strictly speaking they aren't.

Q/ OK so it is from a plane
A/ Yes, Aerial photographs can be taken from a plane, many are, this can include the photo taken out of the window of the aeroplane taking you on holiday through to the photographs taken from a plane hired specially to take Aerial photos. The thing is there are lots of other options, which is usefull because I can't afford a holiday just to take a few pics.

Q/ Alright then what other options are there for taking Aerial Photographs.
A/ There are actualy quite a few, but you'll have to read the next post to get find out what they are.