Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
Views of Battery Mendell taken after a rainy winter. On the left, delightful shadows
from low, scuddy Springtime cumulous clouds. On the right, the low sun reveals earthworks
that flank the battery proper. (41K jpg left and 46K jpg right, Canon 24-mm, March 1998).
Occasionally
I have folks who ask to come along on a KAP outing so that they can "see one those
KAP
contraptions actually flying through the air, and taking pictures!" I generally
don't mind the company at all but it is often difficult to coordinate. This trip to
the Marin Headlands provides an example of why. The problem is the extemporaneous nature
of my outings. When I have enough time to get a kite up I often just head out the door,
look at the wind, and then decide what to do. On this day there was little wind in
Berkeley but things looked more promising out over the bay (you can tell by the water's
color.) So I drove westward seeking wind. No wind in Richmond, none in Larkspur, or
Sausalito. Further west I drove to the Marin Headlands. No wind at Hawk Hill
nor at the Battery Rathbone-McIndoe. Finally I reached Battery Mendell and the
literal end of the road leading west. Here, next to the Pacific Ocean, was the
slightest of breezes. Up went the Sutton 60 and I was in business. This
explains why I have so many images of the Battery Mendell area. Any why it is hard to
predefine where one will be taking photographs -- it is quite dependent on conditions of
wind, light, and terrain.
On the left, a view south toward the Point
Bonita Lighthouse -- visible in the attached jpg.The land in the distance is the San
Francisco on the other side of the Golden Gate Straight. Also visible on the left is
the radar tower and flying site from an earlier KAP gallery page.
On the right, a view north toward Fort Cronkhite and Rodeo beach. (34K jpg left and
43K jpg right, Canon 24-mm, March 1998).
On the day of these images the wind slowly built in
and I eventually downsized to the Sutton 30. It was great to have a kite up and I
spent time with the kids playing with our newest KAP accessories - Motorola TalkAbout
family channel radios. I shot images of the admittedly handsome landscape hoping
that shadows from small, low cumulous clouds would make the familiar scene interesting.
I think they did. All in all it turned out to be a fine day.
On the left, a high plan view of Battery
Mendell including son Charlie and his friend Chris May on the apron above the gun mount
location. On the right, Charlie, Thomas, and Chris are atop a lookout hut while I am
visible behind them and two floors down. (23K jpg left and 27K jpg right, Canon
24-mm, March 1998).
The decrepit Battery Mendell near Point Bonita was
built in preparation for World War I and featured 12" land-to-water guns designed to
blast enemy ships attempting passage into the Bay. The guns were mounted on disappearing
carriages and the seaward aspect of the battery offers little for the invading ships to
see. The guns were never fired in anger.
Here are a couple of shots to illustrate
erosion from our abnormally rainy winter. On the left is an oblique of the battery
and bluff edge. Note the official trail along the bluff (inland of the fence line)
and a roughly parallel track running right at the bluff edge. The latter path is
missing in several places where block of earth have let go. In the plan detail on
the right you can see one of these blocks - it has subsided about three feet. Vertical
distance from the trail to the gray beach below is approximately 150 feet. (46K jpg
left and 51K jpg right, Canon 24-mm, March 1998).
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