This is written, at list partially, in response to a question Paul Burton posted in a kite aerial photography group:
“(…) taking pictures on auto seems ok in bright light but a little less good in dull cloudy situations. Can anyone recommend some settings for better pictures in the low light, many thanks …”
There were a lot of answers about camera settings, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance … and a lot about post-processing, photoshopping, levels stretching, colour enhancing etc.
But alas, the truth is much more simple: dull weather – dull photos.
Or is it?
These two photos were shot both in February, from almost the same place, but a couple of years apart, in different weather, and in very different light conditions:
One dull, grey, boring; the other bright, shining, colourful.
And when the golden hour strikes, it’s …
But when the skies are grey …
Or the season is cold and dark, instead of lush and vibrant …
There’s not much one can do. Play with the settings, photoshopping the hell out of it, making it “moody”:
Or even “artistic” …
Yes, but that’s not really helping. The thing is that the question about the dullness of a photo taken from a kite high above misses the point.
The question should be, is there even such a thing as a “dull” kite aerial photo?
And it’s not just about the landscape being always beautiful and always interesting.
What if, for example, the camera catches another kite in action?
Dull?
There is serendipity, when a kite shoots something unexpected, lurking down there; there is maybe harder to see, but still profound beauty; there are the changes in the landscape, the seasons, the weather; there is the funny car, a new house, an old ruin, a river bend, a herd of cows …
One can have a lot of fun with other kites on a dull day …
And the most important thing about kite aerial photos: the simple fact the aerial photo is taken with a kite.
This alone makes it the opposite of dull.
That’s why we go out there when the winds are blowing.
That’s why our kites – and cameras – fly 🙂
Kite aerial photos shot with Insta 360 on The Venerable Blue Rokkaku, and with Insta Ace on The Original Blue Rokkaku, both kites made by master Janez of Dr.Agon kites.
