Urban Planning doctoral student John Scott-Railton has embarked on an ambitious and unusual fact-gathering summer project—creating his own aerial photography apparatus involving a remote control camera hoisted to high-flying kites.
"Aerial photography is generally quite expensive," says Scott-Railton, "which is what inspired me to think about creating a low-cost alternative."
Scott-Railton is examining the problem of chronic floods in Dakar, Senegal that have prompted families to build a complex series of dams and canals. Because the individuals who create the homemade structures only intend to keep water out of one household, collectively their actions exacerbate the problem by keeping the flood waters channeled within the village. The aerial photography he is collecting this summer helps physically map out the areas most affected.
Message from John:
"You know about my kite flying idea. Honestly I've been anxious that it would take much more time to get to this place. Despite my expectations, things are looking good. Here is a short album from my work these past two days of testing bringing together some images that I think are really interesting. Not is time for me to take the method inland. Hope you enjoy."
—John
Links:
[1] http://luskin.ucla.edu/home
[2] http://luskin.ucla.edu/school-public-affairs/urban-planning
[3] http://picasaweb.google.com/john.railton/Sorties34#