Herald's drone photo: A colorful stop between assignments

I was traveling between graduation ceremonies at Glenbrook South and Glenbrook North high schools on a recent Saturday afternoon and happened upon the spectacle of big, colorful kites filling the sky at a Glenview park.

Since the drive-up graduations at the two schools spanned a period of several hours, there was time to make a stop for photos.

David Zavell of Chicago Kite, a kite retailer, and a group of hobbyists were at the 142-acre Gallery Park, across from Glenview Town Center at the Glen, to fly on a recent Saturday afternoon. They fly the giant kites there occasionally, including one with an 80-foot-long tail. People stopped along the perimeter of the park to watch, and most seemed to be in awe of both the size of the kites themselves and the heights they reached.

This week's photo was taken at an altitude of approximately 100 feet — high enough to get above the largest kites while keeping the longest and highest-flying one near the horizon line.

Since photos of flying kites are almost always from the ground looking up, the drone view hopefully offers a unique perspective of them from the air.

I got the FAA's authorization to fly the drone here since the park is within Chicago Executive Airport's airspace. I flew it around the perimeter of the park — and not over people — per FAA rules.

For more information about the kites, visit chicagokite.com.