Super Happy Fun Time Space Balloon Picture Machine Project

By Blake Barrett

27 Aug 2009

A couple of friends and I decided to start experimenting with BAP (Balloon Aerial Photography). What we learned in the process seemed only to add to our excitement.

Balloon Aerial Photography is done by attaching a camera to a balloon and letting go. It differs only slightly from Kite Aerial Photography in that the balloon is usually untethered and uncontrollable. So your photographs are at the mercy of the the weather.

One aspect of balloon aerial photography that prevents just anyone from doing it is the ability to take multiple pictures over an interval, or on a repeating timer. Many cameras have timers and may even shoot multiple images, but they are usually limited to 10 or so. If you want to capture images over a longer period of time you will need some way of triggering a capture and resetting. We chose to do this through in-camera software using the CHDK (Canon Hackers Developer Kit). That way we wouldn't have to come up with any physical device to actuate the shutter.

Depending on the type of balloon and the weight of the payload, balloons can reach altitudes well into the stratosphere. The balloon we chose was designed to burst at 120,000 feet. Unfortunately we don't know how high it actually went because our camera's memory card filled up after only 30,000 feet and our GPS failed after one minute. While the camera undoubtedly went higher, we have no idea how high it went, or what it looked like.

These are the images from our first launch in Los Banos, CA. Out of the 300 images we captured these stood out to me because of the stark contrast of the natural curves made by rivers and hills against the man made lines of streets and cul-de-sacs.

More information about the project can be found on our project's blog: http://spaceballoonproject.blogspot.com

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8 responses

Omran AlOwais gave props (27 Aug 2009):
Nice project
Blake Barrett gave props (27 Aug 2009):
We are already planning a second launch, tentatively scheduled for late October.
Sarah Dudley gave props (8 Sep 2009):
Love this! Great work. How did you get your camera back once your gps failed?
Blake Barrett said (8 Sep 2009):
The GPS was actually a pre-paid cellphone with some software on it. So we just kept calling the phone (from the same number to not confuse anybody finding it), adding more minutes and calling the phone and so on, until one day the phone called us back. Someone had found it. Only took a couple of days. We then got the camera, phone and images back.
Blake Barrett said (29 Jan 2010):
@Manu, That sounds awesome, but your link is broken. It looks like (according to Google) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is in Oakland, CA. We are in San Francisco, we could team up, or at least play together.
Manu Sharma said (29 Jan 2010):
Sorry for Type error.

The link is http://www.thelimitisinfinity.com/

And we study in Daytona Beach Campus. (db.erau.edu)
Manu Sharma said (29 Jan 2010):
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students launched balloon beyond 100,000 feet and photographed even stars and planet in the extreme brightness of the sun!

Check it out at: www.thelimitisinfinity.com

Project Infinity: The Near-Space High-Definition Photography
Blake Barrett said (12 Jul 2010):
We've been launching pretty regularly every couple of months since this article was written.

I keep the project's blog updated at http://spaceballoonproject.blogspot.com