The need to implement new methods for attaining detailed maps of specific, small scale topographic features has become increasingly important.  Many devices have been utilized for attaining aerial photographs of areas with economical, geological, or biological importance.  Of these devices, the most cost effective... and possibly most delightful... method for acquiring close-up aerial photographs is by using a kite to bring a suitable camera aloft.

Equipment

        An important key to small format aerial photography (SFAP) is the use of a small format (35 millimeter) automatic camera.  This type of camera allows for hands-free operation and is light enough to be lifted by a large kite, which is the method the Earth Science Department at Emporia State University uses for attaining small format aerial photographs.  Critical camera settings like f-stop, focus, and shutter speed are controlled by a microchip and light meter within the camera body.  Simple acquisition of airphotos can be attained by enabling the camera's timer function to take a photograph every thirty seconds or so.  In this application, the kite flyer need not be burdened with anything except flying the kite.  This simple method also reduces the number of people needed as a ground crew.  Of course, the photographer relies completely on the camera timer which may not coincide with acceptable kite/camera orientation.  This is resolved by using a remote controlled firing mechanism and a pair of binoculars.  In this way, the photographer can monitor the kite/camera position and take a picture when a suitable kite/camera orientation presents itself.
        A fairly reliable mechanism is needed to secure the camera to the kite cord.  Several systems have been employed to achieve this.  The most popular system is the self-leveling Picavet system.  This mechanism resembles a marionette puppet's stringed control system.  The inclusion of pulleys helps to maintain a level platform.  Modifications of the Picavet system have been developed to allow for radio controlled manipulation of camera aiming, the use of more than one camera for stereo photographs, or infrared/visible light combinations.  In practice, the Picavet/camera system is connected to the kite cord several tens of meters below the airborne kite.  Doing so helps reduce camera movement due to wind related kite sway.
        All of this specialized equipment for supporting, aiming, and firing the camera would be fruitless without an adequately designed kite capable of supporting the weight of this equipment.  Several different kite styles have been used by this student in acquiring airphotos.  The choice of kite depends on wind speed and equipment weight.  For strong wind speeds (15-25 mph), a soft-bodied airfoil kite should be used.  As wind speed decreases, larger and more rigid kites must be used in order to capture the available wind and reduce the possibility of equipment crash, which is undesirable.  For ease of returning the kite to the ground, a hand operated crank is very handy.  The hand crank used by the SFAP class also includes a brake to control the feeding of kite cord.  A solidly placed fence post or even a automobile bumper should be used to anchor the hand crank to the ground.
    When compared to other methods of attaining airphotos (hot air balloons, blimps, aircraft) the kite-supported system is undoubtedly more convenient and cost effective.

Ninnescah River Valley

        A portion of the Ninnescah River flood plain targeted for recent kite aerial photography (KAP) is located in Sedgwick County Kansas southwest of Wichita in the Wellington-McPherson lowlands.  Wichita State University operates the Ninnescah Natural History Preservation in this location.  KAP is being used to better understand strange drainage patterns, potholes, and the effect of recent urban development on the Preservation.
        KAP crew for this field exercise includes SFAP instructor Dr. J. S. Aber; graduate students Jeff Perkins, Mik Lewicki, and Kathleen Apolzer; undergraduate students Aaron Norris, Dennis White, and myself.  The weather conditions were favorable with wind speeds ranging from 10-15 mph, mostly sunny skies, and the presence of standing water in drainage features from recent rain.  Two of the department's largest rigid kites were used for this field event.  The smaller of the two was suitable for the radio controlled single camera rig.  Without a doubt, this rig produces a majority of the usable photographs.  Aiming and firing of the camera is achieved through an ingenious radio controlled system borrowed from model airplane technology which can rotate the camera through 180 degrees and tilt the camera through 90 degrees.  Both low oblique and high oblique airphotos covering most of the Preservation area were acquired using this rig.
        The largest kite was used to acquire stereo photographs with a special suspension system capable of supporting two identical cameras.  Although tricky to accurately align both cameras to view perfectly parallel lines of sight, several good stereo-pair photographs were obtained.    Below is an example of a stereo photograph taken by this experimental camera rig.

        These photos were taken with a camera separation of approximately three feet.  This creates enough parallax to see features in stereo when viewed with a special viewer.  In this pair of photographs, one can clearly see that recent urbanization contributes to the evolution of the neighboring countryside.  Notice how one pond is saturated with sediment while the other nearby pond appears to be much clearer.  The reason for this baffling configuration can be attributed to the fact that the water filled channels draining the area in the upper portion of the photograph bypass the clear pond and must drain more directly into the dirty pond.  Another interpretation can be based on the fact that excavation of new ponds and foundations lie closer to the dirty pond and therefore, the piles of excavated soil are eroding and depositing sediment into the dirty pond.  Probably a combination of these two factors selectively contaminate one pond over the other.  The two photographs were scanned using a Microteck scanner with Adobe Photoshop software.  These images are courtesy  of Dr. J. S. Aber.
        The geomorphic region which includes the Ninnescah River valley has been experiencing uplift of the local crust which has caused the Ninnescah River and surrounding tributaries to rejuvenate.  Rejuvenation causes the rivers to cut down in their valleys causing wild erosional patterns.  These wild patterns of erosion were documented using SFAP via kites in the fall of 1997 when Emporia State University's Field Geomorphology class pioneered some of the KAP techniques presently used by the Earth Science Department.  Presently,  urbanization threatens the natural area by increasing the ease with which local sediment is intrained and subsequently deposited.