Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
For
a change of pace the kids and I tried to fly our kite at Ft. Point located at
the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge -- you can just see the
fort's location (in the larger jpg at least) in this view taken from the
northern end of the bridge (Canon 15-mm, October 1999)
I have always enjoyed going to Fort
Point -- a Civil War era structure built to defend the entrance to San Francisco
Bay. The fort is a fantastic structure of thick brick masonry that brought three
levels of guns to bear on the narrowest part of the bay's entrance. The interior
spaces of the fort are defined by broad vaults of brick filled with the low soft
light common before electricity. This is a recommended stop if you are touring
San Francisco -- in part because of the fort and in part because of its
wonderful relationship with the Golden Gate Bridge.
A
view taken from the highest point in the camera's feeble flight and an oblique
view of the fort's seawall (Canon 24-mm, April 1998)
During a 1998 visit to the fort I
decided to get a kite aloft. This is a tricky setting for kite flying by any
measure. The winds are finicky due to the structures of the bridge and fort. The
area has its fair share of tourists and passerby. Planes are constantly buzzing
around the bridge and helicopters fly underneath the bridge deck. So I decided
to keep the kite on a fairly short leash -- shorter than the 200 foot vertical
distance to the bridge deck. On the positive side the wind would keep the camera
and kite out over the water as opposed to over the tourists.
Here we have views taken from an elevation near the top of the fort. (Canon 24-mm, April 1998)
All in all it was a rather fitful flying session. The wind I perceived as steady when I launched ended up being irregular and light. So I shot a few quick shots and hauled the camera down. Total time with the camera aloft was probably less than 10 minutes.
This
railing at the Ft. Point seawall is a great spot for movie buffs because it was
a set for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. This is location where James Stewart
rescued Kim Novak after she threw herself into the sea -- albeit with a little
help from the special effects department (Canon 24-mm, April 1998)
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All rights reserved. Revised: Saturday, June 26, 2010
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