How to Take Aerial Photos Using a Kite

Taking digital aerial photos from kites is a hobby with a long history. Every digital camera is different, but if you learn how to modify and mount a basic digital camera, you can transfer the skills to your own equipment and start taking your own aerial photographs in no time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Inexpensive digital camera
• Radio Shack 1 LM555 Precision Timer-8 Pin DIP
• Electrical wire
• Solder
• Hot glue
• Batteries to fit your camera.
• Wire coat hanger
• Duct tape
• A friend to help launch the kite

Modify the Camera to Shoot Continuously

1. Take the cover off.
2. Locate the battery wires. Red is positive, and black is negative.
3. Pop off the shutter button cover. Locate the wire leading to the shutter.
4. Cut three pieces of new electrical wire, each about three inches long.
5. Solder one wire to the red (positive) battery wire, one to the black (negative) battery wire, and one to the shutter wire.
6. Position the Radio Shack 1 LM555 Precision Timer so the eight pins point down. Turn it so the little round dot on the back of the pin is at the upper left of the pin. Each pin has a number, and in order to know which pin is which number, you must look at the pin in this position. Starting with the upper left pin, the pins are numbered one through four down the left side. Starting at the bottom right, pins are numbered five through eight up the right side.
7. Solder the free end of the wire connected to the black battery lead to pin number three. Solder the free end of the wire connected to the red battery lead to pin number four.
8. Connect pins two and six together. Either solder a wire between them or bend the pins toward each other and solder them together directly. Connect pins six and seven with a (very) short piece of wire. Connect pin six to the free end of the shutter wire.
9. Insert batteries and turn the camera on to test. If the camera performs properly, the chip makes the shutter fire continuously.
10. Hot glue the chip to the outside of the camera for protection.

Mount the Camera on the Kite

11. Bend the coat hanger into a flat-bottomed "U" shape around the camera. This creates a cradle for the camera to sit in.
12. Tape the camera to the wire on all three sides for security. Be careful not to cover the lens of the camera.
13. Tape the top of the cradle to the kite base. The more secure the cradle is to the kite, the less of a chance you'll lose your camera mid-flight.

Launch the Kite and Camera

14. Put the camera's batteries in and turn it on. The chip you added causes the camera to start firing and continue firing until you turn it off, until the batteries run out or the card fills up.
15. Have friend run with the kite and camera while you hold the kite lead with plenty of slack to allow the kite to get lift and start to soar.
16. Keep the kite in the air as long as you can, or until you think the batteries are used up or the media card is full.
17. Bring the kite down and check out your photos.

Tips & Warnings

• Modify and use a camera you can afford to loose in case the kite crashes.