A serendipitous encounter with giant kites

Serendipitous encounters with newsworthy and visually striking subjects are among the most interesting aspects of a photojournalist's job.

There are multiple routes one can take when traveling from Glenbrook South to Glenbrook North high schools, but the path I chose on a recent Saturday morning resulted in one of the most unusual drone photographs I have taken.

Giant kites, including one with an 80-foot long tail, filled the sky as I passed Gallery Park, located across from the Glenview Town Center at The Glen. I knew in an instant that I had to take an aerial photo from above, in contrast to more common views of kites from the ground looking up.

David Zavell of Chicago Kite, a kite retailer, and a group of hobbyists were flying the kites, and members of the public had stopped along the perimeter of the park to watch. Spectators appeared to be in awe of both the size of the kites and the heights that they reached.

After speaking with Zavell and letting the group know what I had in mind, I launched the drone to an altitude of approximately 100 feet. Luckily, the wind seemed to be just right for flying both kites and drones, because wind speeds above 15 mph make drone flight challenging.

I had to get an FAA authorization to fly the drone there because the location was within Executive Airport's airspace. I flew the drone around the perimeter of the park and exercised caution not to fly over people, per FAA rules.

I also had to be wary of the kites' vertical movement in the wind and of the tether lines.

My first images were of a red kite with an 80-foot tail, taken from the south edge of the park. I then circled back toward my home point on the north side and took this southward view with the fish kites closer to ground level, the red kite at the top near the horizon, and the balance of the kites filling the space in between.

The latter view was chosen during the editing process.

Based on a route choice between two points, a chance encounter this day resulted in a unique photo.