Nicolas Chorier is a Frenchman who has combined his love for kite flying with his passion for aerial photography. The result is a stunning collection of coffee table book shots.
One of the greatest pleasures of childhood for boys is the pastime of flying kites. Gathering friends during summer holidays and racing up the stairs to the terrace to prime the kite before releasing it to the whims of the wind... The warm blue skies, the happy sunshine, shouts of glee or horror coming from neighbouring terraces as knots of other friends or rivals manoeuvre their kites to rip into yours...
The hours were spent burning up adrenalin, sharpening tactical skills and harnessing the wind's energy to help your kite soar higher and higher, reaching for the sun, making you feel like you are on top of the world.
They are exceptionally uplifting memories; they tug at your heart strings every time the breeze lifts and blue skies smile.
Nicolas Chorier is no stranger to such memories. An avid kite flyer during childhood, his passion continued into adulthood even as he chose photography as a career. Keen to take his career to new heights, he decided to combine his passion for kite flying with his love for aerial photography. The result: a spectacular book titled Kite's Eye View-India Between Earth and Sky.
This coffee table book is a kaleidoscope of images shot in various parts of India and a document of his love for the country.
Chorier first arrived in India in 1996 with his friend, Gilles Tarnier. "It was for a photo report about traditional kite-making in south east Asia," recalls Chorier, when I met him in Puducherry, a Union Territory on the south-western coast of India. He was on a vacation there with his wife, Nathali, and two children, Noe and Daya.
"We attended the centuries-old traditional kite festival in Ahmedabad. The sky was swathed with colourful kites. Nearly all the villages and towns around Ahmedabad sported a carnival look quite unlike what we see in Europe where kite festivals are mere exhibitions inside a huge complex," says the 46-year-old photographer. "I was so impressed by the festival that I decided to return every year. Shooting pictures from the air was an opportunity to capture unusual images. It became a kind of an addiction."
That year, Chorier also visited Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to meet kitemakers.
"In Indonesia, we watched fishermen using kites to fish. The kites were made of large tree leaves, about 2-3 feet wide, and carried fishing lines. The fishermen used to fly kites over the seas and use the hooks hanging from the kite line to catch fish," says Chorier.
Though kites fascinated him from very early, he only took up kite flying as a serious hobby in his twenties. He was working as a sound engineer in show business at the time. But late hours and long days took their toll. After 15 years of such a stretched life he decided to quit.
What now? 'How about combining photography with kite flying?' he thought to himself.
"Inspired by Arthur Batut, father of kite aerial photography, I decided to explore the potential of kite photography. I've always been very concerned about the environment and interested in eco-conscious living. Aerial photography using a kite powered only by the wind was a challenge for me. It requires good hand skills (just as crafts like sewing do). I loved the idea." Once he had decided on his new career, he went on to build his own kites. He crafted them based on the traditional Japanese kite making art of Rokkaku.
When on assignment, Chorier carries three kites. The largest kite measures 12 square metres.
A small cradle is suspended from the kite, hanging along the line under the kite. Mounted on this is a camera that can be lifted up to a 1,000 feet, "though low altitudes often prove to be more interesting."
The entire rig weighs about 2kg and Chorier uses a 22 mega-pixel Canon 5D Mark2, with a 24mm lens.
The cradle with the camera is operated by remote control and can be rotated 360 degrees as well as tilted at 90 degrees. An air-to-ground video link sends a signal, which provides real-time monitoring on a portable TV screen for accurate framing.
"All this equipment that accompanies the kite has been made by recycling old electronic equipment including the monitor screen of a game boy.
"I first set up my kite and fly it up to about 30 metres. Once the kite is poised in the air, I rig up my camera on the line, about 100 feet below the kite. The entire apparatus can then be flown up to the required height," explains Chorier.
Holding the kite string under his arm, carrying the remote control on one shoulder and the video monitor around his neck, Chorier is ready to take his firt shot. "I can easily walk several hundred yards and raise or lower the kite in order to find different shooting angles and position my camera above the subject. Flying the kite is like flying myself, the kite being an extension of my own body," he says.
Since 1998, he has been visiting India and has clicked thousands of pictures of the country, more than of any other. His repertoire of pictures includes the Bahai temple, Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid, palaces of Rajasthan, the stone chariots of Mahabalipuram, Mumbai city, the architectural splendours of Hampi and the beaches of Kerala.
In 2001/02, he was commissioned to do an aerial survey in Matto Grosso, Brazil, for an important agronomical research department.
A kite can reach targets helicopters cannot such as roofs, clock towers, domes and so on. Getting real close to people, animals and sometimes fauna, a kite can take pictures without alarming or disturbing them.
"I rely solely on wind. Before a shoot, I observe the direction of wind, how the birds are flying and then decide on the kite to use and where to launch it from."
Each site, he says, has its own peculiarities. A lot depends on the topography, the crowds, the atmospheric temperature and its density. What also needs to be considered are city-specific obstacles like electrical poles and trees. Thermal winds play a large role in determining the course of the kite.
"I have flown kites more than a thousand times, but I am happy to say that there have been less than five accidents," says Nicolas, whose works have been exhibited in Europe, USA, Malaysia and India.
If the stunning images in his new book are anything to go by, the aerial photographers kiting career is only set to soar higher.
