IMG_0610 Daffodils and Road, with Irrigation Canal, originally uploaded by cookinghamus.

Photographer cookinghamus tells us about this March 6, 2010 image and his technique using a kite and camera: This photo was taken via camera lofted by a kite, this technique is called Kite Aerial Photography, or KAP. The technique is this: You launch a kite (some kites are much better for this than others). When the kite reaches a stable height, you attach a camera to the kite string by means of a device called a picavet cross. The camera attaches to a harness located beneath the picavet cross, and stays relatively stable, and pointed in the same direction. Then you simply let out more string, and the camera gains altitude. I have modified the camera I shoot with, I’ve caused it to take photos at 5 second intervals. The day I shot that, I had the camera in the air for approximately an hour and a half, with a total of about 590 images. The technical details on the kite and camera are listed in the description of the image. (“Rok” is short for Rokkaku, a kind of Japanese fighting kite: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokkaku_dako )

The image was taken on Saturday, March 6, in the Skagit Valley. The nearest town is Mt Vernon, although this particular shot may very well have been closer to La Conner. The tulip field was on the corner of McLean and Best Roads, the map is here: maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=best+and+mclean+road,+mt+vernon+wa&sll=47.60621,-122.332071&sspn=0.812012,1.237335&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Best+Rd+%26+McLean+Rd,+Mt+Vernon,+Skagit,+Washington+98273&ll=48.420344,-122.443485&spn=0.024978,0.038667&z=15

The field also appears on this map: www.tulips.com/bloommap.cfm It was field #11. I know relatively little about daffodil varieties, according to that website, the daffodils planted are Dutch Master and Flower Carpet. I have no idea which of those I photographed.

I have been doing Kite Aerial Photography for about a year, the skagit valley daffodils and tulips were the reason I first decided to attempt KAP. You may be interested in the other photos I took that day, which can be found here:

www.flickr.com/photos/cookinghamus/4411739507/in/photostream/

www.flickr.com/photos/cookinghamus/4412508068/in/photostream/

If you’re curious about KAP, my other KAP work can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/cookinghamus/sets/72157622373376607/ (including shots of the same general area from last year, which included daffodils and, in a separate shot, tulips).

Wow.

Click here to see the original size image.