My favourite childhood toy – Watercolour in a Watercolour Moleskine
This is not exactly a childhood toy but we males never really grow up, do we?
The drawing shows a kite, built by a friend and I in 1972. We were interested in the possibility of taking aerial photographs so, with lots of help from Margaret, who sewed the fabric, this 5 foot monster was constructed. The main problem was how to activate the camera’s shutter but my friend came up with the idea of tensioning a spring next to the camera’s trigger, holding it, in tension, with a length of folded paper soaked in flammable liquid then inserting a slow burning fuse next to the paper. The kite was then launched and eventually the fuse would cause the paper to burn quickly releasing the spring and taking the photograph. We would be able to see the bright “flash” from the ground so we could haul the kite in for another go. This worked well for some weeks and folks used to gather in Edinburgh’s Inverleith Park, next to the Botanic Gardens, to watch the fun. Our experiment came to an abrupt end when the thing went on fire and the burning wreckage crashed into the park’s rose gardens. We were asked to go away.
There are two photos included with this ramble. This one shows an actual shot from the kite
and this one is a “Google Earth” shot of the same area.
plasma_girl 8:48 am on January 8, 2010 | #
WHht a fun story (and so cool that there’s a picture to show for it , too)! I bet it was quite a surprise to the onlookers to see it burst into flames, though.
KirbysArt 10:18 am on January 8, 2010 | #
Awesome story Bob. I liked the picture it came out pretty good. I had a feeling the kite was going to burn sooner or later and yep sure did LOL
. Nice watercolor and very funny story, I hope the roses didn’t get burnt up to bad lol.
~Kirby
roseindigo 11:02 am on January 8, 2010 | #
Sounds like a Ben Franklin type of experiment that went up in flames.
j. stremikis 11:37 am on January 8, 2010 | #
Bob — your best ramble ever !! (and the watercolour ain’t bad, either)
(I trust you still have my postal address for mailing the chec(k)(que) ?)
(just kidding of course – it is really good work and great story).
Leo 2:19 pm on January 8, 2010 | #
Taking aerial photos? Flying improvised incendiary devices loaded with flammable chemicals? Boy, have the times changed since 1972. These days in this country you would have been escorted in handcuffs to the local police department, and interrogated about your ties to international terrorism…
Nuria 4:47 pm on January 8, 2010 | #
(English):
Wonderful history!. What fun and interesting. And very nice picture!.
—o—
(Español):
¡Maravillosa historia!. ¡Qué divertida e interesante!. ¡Y muy bonita la pintura!.
Joseph R Tomlinson 8:33 pm on January 8, 2010 | #
great story Bob! love the picture. Leo is right, you would be locked up now days for something like that. looking forward to the next one!
stremiki 10:37 pm on January 8, 2010 | #
Bob — it seems that kite aerial photography (KAP) is as alive and well today, as it was back in 1972 — invigorated by digital cameras, wireless triggers, and interval-timers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_aerial_photography
and,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Calton_Hill_from_a_kite.jpg
http://www.btinternet.com/~fulton/kap-phot.htm
http://www.apogeerockets.com/Estes_Oracle_Video_Rocket.asp
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/sets/5956/
your sketch captures both memory and imagination !
trebor61 2:47 am on January 9, 2010 | #
Thanks everyone
Yes, the roses did get a slight singeing but that’s the price for research. I like the “Ben Franklin” analogy. Now THERE was a guy who pushed the limits. I’m just a bit concerned about Leo and Joe’s comments. Does this mean that, if I decide to visit your country, I will already be on some sort of “list”? Fancy me, by way of this entry, making life easy for the authorities! I will probably have to endure a full body search or something. Come to think of it – I can hardly wait!