While we had so much fun flying kites in Gujarat, we are *KAP * Jasa, a kite aerial photography-oriented kite club, And surely we’ve had some cool KAP sessions down there!
Most of the time the wind was not suitable for flying a camera, and when it was, patangs on manjhas were threatening anything that flew too high. But when it was all good, it was really good. And at times – spectacular …
Let’s start with our second KAP session, that was actually a kite aerial video session … We did it above the kite field in Surat to catch the kites in their natural environment; and when you do kite aerial imaging among the hundreds of kites, it is better to do a video of all the swinging an swooshing creations in the air …
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7q7IW_5jwiY%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkapjasa.wixsite.com%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D1
An angel – designed by Karl Longbottom and expertly flown by Bob Cruikshanks – swooshes by …
We got Angels and Skeletons, pilot kites and holly leafs, tigers and cobras and whatnot …
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mCgyZjz_utI%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkapjasa.wixsite.com%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D3
A skeleton dances in the wind …
Some stills from the KAV …
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QJNKLtzfq50%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkapjasa.wixsite.com%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D5
The holly kite
But the best KAP session we’ve had this time in India took place on one of the most incredible places – on a helipad next to the enormous, astonishing, mind-boggling Statue of Unity.
Yes, the place is in a river valley; yes, the wind wasn’t good and our venerable blue Rokkaku couldn’t rise above the hills … but … but look at this:
Statue of Unity depicts Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai ‘Sardar’ Patel, a leader of the Indian National Congress and a founding father of the Republic of India who played a leading role in the integration of Indian states and provinces into a united, independent nation.
Statue of Unity and the surrounding memorial complex hosting a museum and other facilities
Patel was a Gujarati, and people of Gujarat – and all of India – built him a statue that surpassed every other statue in the world: a 182 meters high collosus, the highest statue in the world.
It’s impossible to present the sheer size of this statue …
It was a pleasure and an honour flying there!
Kite aerial video shot above Surat with iPhone SE on a Rokkaku kite. KAP at the Statue of Unity was done with Nikon P330 – again on a Rokkaku kite.