Monday, May 4, 2009

History of Madison Kite Aerial Photography

There is an article in the Wisconsin State Journal talking about the 1908 pictures of Madison captured by George Lawrence, a photographer who was famous for his pictures of San Fransico after the earthquake. Craig Wilson, a Madison based Kite Photographer went out last summer to capture a similar image of the Madison Isthmus to pay homage to Lawrence. Craig Wilson, whose aerial images can be seen through his flickr stream, is also the author of Hanging By A Thread, a Kite's View of Wisconsin. Standing on the deck of the Monona Terrace, here is the recreation of Lawrence's image from 100 years ago.


Current day Kite Aerial Photographer use lightweight rigs to capture images using servos or scripts running on the camera. In a single session, we can capture hundreds of shots and pick out the ones that we like, and discard the rest. Early pioneers in Kite Photography were using much heavier equipment, and George Lawrences camera weighed in at 48 pounds. How did he get it off the ground? He used a series of kites hung from the main line to give the entire rig tremendous lift.


Here you can see the kites in a row up the kite line.


Here is the aerial shot of the Madison Istmus looking WNW towards one of the old Capitol buildings. I suppose that this was quite a spectacle 100 years ago for anyone wanting to see what their city looked like from the sky for the first time. Just being able to watch them fly the kite rig would have been a site to see.


I was in Madison this past weekend and got some images of the skyline from the opposite direction, looking ESE over the Isthmus. This picture is paying homage to Craig Wilson who created a tribute to the pioneer of Kite Aerial Photography, George Lawrence.



For more information on George Lawrence, please click here and here.

15 comments:

  1. WOW, excellent Photography of Madison Kite. And in your post all the article about Madison are very nice. Thanks to share.

    photo masking

    ReplyDelete
  2. In the event that you are an expert, and you're investigating getting a particular sort of focal point you have never utilized,corporate video company

    ReplyDelete
  3. It might be a blend of reportage and contemporary. https://vladletophotography.com/ It is very important to have a period with the wedding couple wherein they will be coordinated to be getting it done. It

    ReplyDelete
  4. The photography which is used by restaurants, websites or bloggers to pull customers and to sell their product is called as food photography.photolemur

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is to simply record the event. And the one they chose might be doing six weddings a day..best wedding photographer in Edinburgh

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you very much for this useful article. I like it. Austin Drone Videography

    ReplyDelete
  7. Grants of perfection can enable you to choose which picture taker could be most appropriate for your wedding. wedding photography colorado springs

    ReplyDelete
  8. This incorporate the photography of sudden occasions at an arranged spot. A picture taker needs to reach at a right spot at a right time to get it going impeccably.
    how to create a clipping mask in photoshop

    ReplyDelete
  9. you give great information for blogger, I learn new information from your article, you are doing a great job. thanks for sharing, keep it up.Dubai Aerial Photography

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am glad to found this post, it's a good one. I am always looking for quality posts, I hope you will be adding more in the future. thanks for this.Corporate Video Shoot Dubai

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for taking the time to post this blog. I am pleased with your work after reading this post. This is very useful for us. Keep sharing such blogs. Professional Photographer Jakarta

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for providing very resourceful article . Keep posting Good stuffs. the artical is very effective and helpful. i really enjoy it . HEADSHOTS NYC

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great Article. Thank you for providing such a unique and valuable information to your readers. I really appreciate your work. Portrait Photography Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's only to keep track of what happened. And the one they pick may be conducting six weddings each day.
    ghost mannequin effect

    ReplyDelete
  15. These photos are worth keeping and can be treasured during a lifetime of marriage. Wedding Photography packages

    ReplyDelete