Kite Aerial Fisheye of Pigeon Pt. Lighthouse

SeaSurfnBird · September 15, 2010

Ok, I've been doing Kite Aerial Photography with this Nikon Coolpix 5000 with a fisheye lens mostly over Pigeon Point Lighthouse. I got the 5000 because it is light and has the 360 degree circular image that I like from the kite and it does not cost an arm and a leg if something goes wrong. I have hooked up an intervelometer to take the shot at it's largest size of about 5 megapixels and that is why it can not be blown up in print much larger than 12x12 inches. I have sold a few for $200 framed and matted on my website www.seasurfnbird.com, but with a lot of time and work . Now that I have put these up on my www.seasurfnbird.smugmug.com website, I have lowered the price because a lot of the time a labor is gone, but I still want some advice on the pictures and prices and any oter tips on how to make some $$$.
Thanks! Jeff
:rolleyes

Here they are:

Thanks!!!

Richard · September 15, 2010

Those are incredibly cool.

I don't know what the expectations are with kite photography, but I think if these were my shots, I would clone out the line where it appears. The shots without it seem cleaner.

SeaSurfnBird · September 15, 2010

Richard wrote: »

Those are incredibly cool.

I don't know what the expectations are with kite photography, but I think if these were my shots, I would clone out the line where it appears. The shots without it seem cleaner.

Yes, I thought of that

and it has been suggested before, but my thinking is that it adds to the story and art of the photographs. Plus, I don't think I could do it with my skills in PS or LR.
Thank you

Panther · September 15, 2010

Howdy Jeff,

Love them all, what a great perspective and vantage point that
Kit gives, really very nicely done.

Sorry, Can't help about the Sales aspect, but I was wondering if
it would be possible to "D-fish" them and then you'd have another
style to present your new clients with??? I think they have some
free software or an action that might be able to accomplish that
for you.

Again, very inventive of you and love the results.

DaddyO · September 15, 2010

Richard wrote: »

Those are incredibly cool.

I don't know what the expectations are with kite photography, but I think if these were my shots, I would clone out the line where it appears. The shots without it seem cleaner.

Love the shots.

Practice with the clone tool will bring along skill with it fairly quick.
If taken with a kite is the point leave the line in.

Again, very neat pictures from you efforts.

SeaSurfnBird · September 16, 2010

Panther wrote: »

Howdy Jeff,

Love them all, what a great perspective and vantage point that
Kit gives, really very nicely done.

Sorry, Can't help about the Sales aspect, but I was wondering if
it would be possible to "D-fish" them and then you'd have another
style to present your new clients with??? I think they have some
free software or an action that might be able to accomplish that
for you.

Again, very inventive of you and love the results.

Yes, I just tried with Lightroom, but the distortion is so extream that it did not do very much at all.
Thanks a lot for you complements!:D Jeff

SeaSurfnBird · September 16, 2010

DaddyO wrote: »

Love the shots.
Practice with the clone tool will bring along skill with it fairly quick.
If taken with a kite is the point leave the line in.

Again, very neat pictures from you efforts.

Thanks! I'll check out the clone tool.

Jeff

Stephany · September 17, 2010

I have lowered the price because a lot of the time a labor is gone, but I still want some advice on the pictures and prices and any oter tips on how to make some $$$.
__

Is this a busy tourist area? If yes, I would contact gift shops for ideas. They should be able to tell you what sells and what their terms are. I believe they could be interested in decorative plates, Xmas ornaments, post cards. You know, the gift items. I'd also talk to Chamber of Commerce. They might publish your photos in their promotional brochures. Well, marketing is always hard and expensive.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
And, would iStockphoto.com be an option? <o:p></o:p>

SeaSurfnBird · September 18, 2010

Thanks Stephanie,
The Chamber of Commerce is a great idea! Thanks!!! I can sell some merchandise on Smugmug but not ornaments or plates, so I will have to find out how and who can do that. I hesitate to sellout to stock photos.
Thank you,
Jeff

CyberSteak · September 18, 2010

wait...the camera's on a kite? Is there a timer on it to start taking pictures repeatedly while in flight? These are incredible pics btw.

CyberSteak · September 18, 2010

Just checked out the camera you're using. That's not a very small camera. How big's the kite? I would love to see a pic of the set-up.

Dogdots · September 18, 2010

These are beautiful.

Something I'd love to try if I had all the gear and the ability to do it.

SeaSurfnBird · September 19, 2010

yes it is actually attached to the kite string and is stabilized with a picavet cross suspension rig to stabilize the
camera with lightweight pulleys to
capture a smooth picture. I use an intervelometer custom made and plugged into the camera to activate the trigger every 60 seconds. Check out www.brooxes.com for equipment

Zerodog · September 19, 2010

Very cool idea. I love the fisheye effect.

Sam · September 19, 2010

As others have said, very nice. I live in San Jose and am familiar with the lighthouse.

Does your camera shoot in RAW? The images you posted look pretty crisp. You might look into using Genuine Fractals to see if it's possible to get a larger print without sacrificing quality.

Also I do agree with others, clone the kite line out.

Sam

SeaSurfnBird · September 19, 2010

Sam wrote: »

Does your camera shoot in RAW? The images you posted look pretty crisp. You might look into using Genuine Fractals to see if it's possible to get a larger print without sacrificing quality.
Sam

Thanks Sam for the GF tip. I need CS5 first, but that looks very promising.

Kite Aerial Fisheye of Pigeon Pt. Lighthouse

Comments