The Sky Gypsies

Operation Migration and the FAA

2012-01-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

Several days ago Operation Migration ran directly into the FAA while shepherding young cranes on their first migration to Florida. The weight shift controlled aircraft used in Operation Migration are Light Sport Aircraft and flown by pilots with at least a light sport certificate and sign off for weight shift control. The pilots are volunteers but some expenses are being paid by the organization. The FAA sees this as a commercial operation and the FAA failed to create a commercial license for weight shift control aircraft. OOOOooopppps. An online petition was started to ask the FAA to grant a waiver to allow completion of the migration flight this year. The good news is that today the FAA is allowing the migration to continue on a one time basis so not to impair the ability of the young cranes learning the migration route.

Perhaps this will be the impetus required to coax the FAA into completing the Sport Pilot Rule.

Photograph of the Dirt

2011-10-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

Below is a finished photograph of another erosion feature from the San Simon Valley. Erosion of denuded landscape produces fractal like patterns which can only be appreciated from the air and is just one of the many uses of a weight shift control light sport aircraft.

The landscape takes on a completely different character from just a few feet above the ground and flying at low levels across open countryside is one way to appreciate the beauty. Here is a link to a truly spectacular video of low level aviation from Washington State. Entitled One October Evening this video demonstrates the beauty of low level aviation in a weight shift control light sport aircraft.

Erosion features in the San Simon Valley near Rodeo New Mexico

Low Level Canyon Flying from the Philippines

2011-08-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Some more low level flying in a weight shift control trike from the Philippines. Carlos Frias created another adventure of flying low down a river at the bottom of a canyon in his homeland of the Philippines. Just another example of the varied uses pilots find for these small light aircraft. Of course there is an inherent risk associated with low level flying but the virtual white water trip that resulted from the video only demonstrates the capabilities of these aircraft.

An R-rated Flying Video from Carlito frias on Vimeo.

More Monsoons

2011-08-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

The monsoon season continues in the southwest. One of the benefits of the monsoon season are beautiful sunsets that frequently accompany late afternoon thunderstorms, and calm flying conditions. Yesterday's thunderstorm produced this vivid sunset over the Chiricahua Mountains, setting over the town of Paradise Arizona. Only a few residents live in Paradise in the northern section of the mountain range but from the vantage point of the photograph Paradise appears favored.

Sunset over Paradise in the Chiricahua Mountains.
Click on photograph to open in a new window .

Monsoon Season in New Mexico

2011-08-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Monsoon season in the southwest means afternoon thunderstorms and thunderstorms can result in rapidly changing meteorological conditions. The outflow from even small thunderstorms can produce a gust front which can interfere with a pilots control. He is the link to a short time lapse video of a single thunderstorm which produced a gust front in the San Simon Valley the other day.

TFR gone

2011-07-01T17:36:00.001-07:00

The TFR associated with the Horseshoe Two fire has been removed.

Reduced TRF

2011-06-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Horseshoe Two Fire is winding down and the FAA has reduced the size of the TFR. The current TFR (6/25/11) now stands at 12 nm from a point centered at Latitude: 31º52'22"N, Longitude: 109º17'00"W and from the surface to 12,000 ft. MSL.

Another Updated TFR

2011-06-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

The temporary flight restrictions in place over the Chiricahua Mountains have been expanded again. Below is a Google Earth Screen capture showing the outline of the new TFR which extends from the surface to 12,000' MSL. The latest information on flight restrictions may be found here. An aircraft violated the TFR the other week and landed at Amigos del Cielo air park which is being used as a helibase by the firefighters.

Newest TRF includes the Painted Pony Resort

Integrating low level aerial photographs into Google Earth

2011-06-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Google Earth is great. It is used to plan many of the low level aerial photographs that are seen through out this site. The tilt down feature allows a preliminary look at the landscape and potential photographs may be planned from the comfort of the desk as opposed to flying around hoping to stumble across a photographic opportunity. But once made and posted there is little location information available to the viewer. Even when the photograph is submitted and accepted by Google Earth its location is never the exact position where the photograph was taken. In an attempt to provide more context specific information about some of the low level aerial photographs, 3 have been incorporated into Google Earth using the add a photo feature. The photograph can be precisely placed on Google Earth and then using the opacity feature collect a series of screen shots that can be animated. Below is a first pass at incorporating images into Google Earth and animating the transition from Google to photograph.

Aerotrekking in the Chiricahua Mountains

2011-06-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

More low level canyon flying in the Chiricahua Mountains. No worries for the pilot, a TFR is in place and they have the airspace to themselves.
Aerial Tanker spreading fire retardant

A New Video from Sky Gypsies Studios

2011-06-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Started testing new camera mounts of the Air Creation 582 Buggy. With the TFR along the edge of the property patterns are currently flown to the east of the Painted Pony Resort. Below is the first test of the GoPro camera mounted on the wing tip. The nice light illuminating the scene is the result of smoke from the fire in the Chiricahua Mountains which at times is filtering the sun light.

flying on the edge by BAlvarius

Visual Representation of Horseshoe 2 Fire TFR

2011-05-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

There is a 13 nm radius TFR in place over the Chiricahua Mountains in response to the Horseshoe 2 Fire. Below are 2 screenshots of the Google Earth map with the TFR overlaid and showing the extent of the fire as of 5/25/2011. Note that most of the valley around Rodeo New Mexico including the helibase at Amigos del Cielo fall under the TFR.

UPDATE:
6/08/2011
The 13 nm TFR center has been moved to 31º52'00" N, 109º17'00" W (click on coordinates to see the updated TFR).

Weather Radio on the Web

2011-05-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

NOAA's weather radio which is used in flight preparation and found on aircraft radios is also available on the internet as streaming audio. It is possible to listen to the latest NOAA weather information without being in the aircraft. The stations closest to Rodeo, New Mexico are in:

Safford, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Clovis, New Mexico

Many of these sites are hosted by Weather Underground and a complete list of sites are listed here.

The Newest Aiport in the the San Simon Valley

2011-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Lizzy Lizard, 8AZ5, is listed in AirNav. The single strip 19/01 is located 3 miles south of the Rodeo airport and 1.7 miles west of Amigos del Cielo. As a private air strip, prior permission is required before landing. The 2500' x 60' runway is not paved.

Abandoned Ranch

2011-05-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

The maintenance on the Air Creation 582 Buggy is finished and test flights followed late yesterday, but took some time to catch a few photographs. Below are 2 photographs from the flight. One is an abandoned ranch that sits just to the north east of the runway. While the roof is long gone the simple cattle maze is intact. The second is of a small erosional feature just south and appears to be the only drainage used to fill the cattle tank during the monsoon season.

Abandoned Ranch in the San Simon Valley


Solitary erosion feature

5/9/2011 Temporary Flight Resrictions, TFR

2011-05-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

Two temporary flight restrictions are in place in the bootheel of New Mexico and nearby in Arizona. The one in New Mexico is along the border with Mexico in the Animas Valley and is in response to the Cloverdale fire. The other is near Portal Arizona and is in response to the Horseshoe fire which started yesterday. Both of these TFRs prohibit the operation of aircraft within their respective boundaries to minimize interference with fire fighting activities.

New reports on the Horseshoe fire are just starting to come out.

UPDATE 5/11/2011
The runway at Amigos del Cielo Air Park is being utilized by helicopters from the fire suppression team. Be aware that helicopters are not flying regular patterns around the runway. If landing, be alert for unexpected air traffic.

UPDATE 5/15/2011
The Cloverdale Fire TFR has been removed from the FAA's TFR website, although the TFR over the Chiricahua Mountains remains in effect.

UPDATE 5/16/2011
The TFR for the Horseshoe Two fire has been increased in size from 5 miles to 8 miles in diameter. This now covers part of the valley that lies in AZ, New Mexico is unaffected. The sectional with the TFR may be viewed here .

UPDATE 5/23/2011
The TFR for the Horseshoe 2 fire has been increased to a radius of 13 miles and now covers the whole valley around Rodeo New Mexico

A Sky Gypsy

2011-04-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

There are individual pages on The Sky Gypsies blog about who and what is a sky gypsy. Here is an individual who truely represents the spirit of the sky gypsies. Dave Skyes, a paraplegic who took up flying microlights (he is British and in Britian they are microlights while in the US they are weight shift controlled light sport aircraft), has started an epic cross country flight. His goal is to retrace the steps of an early aviation pioneer from Britian, Amy Johnson, who was the first women pilot to fly from England to Austrialia.

Dave's site, solo flight global, has links to his blog which is a record of the trip and an interactive map based on GPS recordings that is a record of the flight. Follow along as Dave crosses Europe, the middle east, India, and points east in his trek to Austrailia.

The interactive map does not seem to work in IE9 but does work in Mosella's Firefox.

Everybody Goes Aerotrekking

2011-04-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

Recently posted on Trike Pilot Social - Freestyle a video of a B-17 and B-25 engaged in Aerotrekking in Arizona. Created by H5 Productions, it shows these restored aircraft flying low against the backdrop of the scenic mountains in Arizona.

H5 – WWII Bombers over Arizona Landscape from H5 Productions on Vimeo.

Morphing

2011-04-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

Trying to produce a wraparound pan of an object is difficult with a video camera. Shaking is always a problem. Without a steady cam to smooth out the vibration created by the cameras movement it is difficult to produce acceptable results. Instead morphing software was used to simulate the movement. Commercially available and in many cases shareware this approach makes generating a panning motion easier. Though not entirely satisfactory it is an easy method for simulating motion.

Chiricahua Mountains Flyby

2011-04-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Reproducing what a weight shift control light sport aircraft pilot sees while flying can be difficult. Video cameras produce 2 dimensional images but humans are 3 dimensional creatures and aviation is a 3 dimensional activity. It is possible to create 3 dimensional videos using a variety of techniques but viewing these videos requires special glasses. Apparent depth in a 2 dimensional video can be increased in several ways allowing the viewer a more 3 dimensional experience without resorting to special glasses.

Two techniques for increasing depth in an aviation video are:
1. Relative motion
2. Brightness and contrast

Relative motion, when objects in the foreground move at different rates relative to objects in the background. The difference in relative movement tends to separate objects in the video giving an appearance of increased depth. Straight edges in the foreground tend to enhance this effect. In the case of the video below, the camera is fixed to the wingtip and there is no motion of the aircraft and long straight edges along the wing.

Brightness and contrast, by differentially increasing the brightness and contrast of the foreground object (the aircraft) it lifts this part of the image away from the background mountains increasing apparent depth. To accomplish this aspect of post production the video was duplicated and in one copy the aircraft was masked and in the other the background was masked. The brightness and contrast were increased in the copy where the background was masked and the 2 copies composited to produce a final version where the trike was brighter and contrast increased relative to the background mountains. This modification also increases the apparent difference in relative motion reinforcing the increased appearance of depth.

In the video below, the original video is shown in an inset box at the lower right while the full screen view is the modified video. Note how increasing the brightness and contrast in combination with the relative motion of aircraft against the mountains has an increased appearance of depth especially along the wing edges.

The Preflight

2011-04-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

The preflight is part of a pilot's preparation before every flight. But sometimes a single set of eyes is not enough. It is always helpful to have a second or even a third set of eyes looking for potential problems on the aircraft. Digital cloning allows this pilot to put 3 sets of eyes on the aircraft before takeoff.

Multi-image Panorama of Air Creation's Tanarg

2011-03-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

An experiment with a number of photographs from the Photosynth of Air Creation's Tanarg created previously. A sample of images were stitched together using Microsofts Ice composite image editor that is used for creating large panorama images. The Tanarg was stationary and was photographed around in a semi-circle and then the program was allowed to stitch together the images. The program correctly stitched together the background while leaving the replicated angled views of the aircraft. It makes an unusual method of aircraft presentation and an inflight panorama would look cool.

Air Creation North America

2011-03-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

A new entity, Air Creation North America, is coming online. With operations in Washington State and Arizona, Air Creation North America will be handling all Air Creation models and service and can assist in all your weight shift control light sport aircraft needs.

Denny Reed, a long time Air Creation pilot and instructor is heading the operation. Their website mat be found through the following link:

Air Creation North America

Air Creation Tanarg

More Aerotrekkers in the Valley

2011-03-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

The wide open expanses in the bootheel of New Mexico just invite low level flying. Here is another military transport headed south past Amigos del Cielo Airpark. At just a couple of hundred feet the views of the mountains and valley are great.

The military out aerotrekking in the San Simon Valley

Low Level Aerial photography in Animas Valley

2011-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Below is an example of a low level aerial photograph taken from a weight shift control light sport aircraft. The maneuverability, open cockpit, and high wing make these aircraft ideal aerial platforms for photography. It is relatively easy to get in low and close to a subject without compromising safety and the freedom of an open cockpit allows multiple angles for photography.

The post production modifications included a slight decrease in saturation since the landscape is a fairly uniform brown and an added tilt shift effect to enhance the 3D nature of the hilltop that is the subject of the photograph. As in this photograph, color can also be used to increase the 3D effect.

Looking north towards Antelope Pass in the Animas Valley, New Mexico

Rodeo Intermediate Field Historical Marker Approved

2010-12-31T07:46:00.000-08:00

The application for a historical marker at the site of Rodeo New Mexico's first airport, the Rodeo Intermediate Field, has been approved by the New Mexico Scenic Historic Marker by the Cultural Properties Review Committee at its December 10 meeting. Because of budgetary constraints the marker will not be placed until sometime this summer. But it is good news, the first airport in the San Simon Valley and part of the national intermediate field system will be recognized for its historic value.

Winds Aloft

2010-12-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

The area is due for some cold temperatures and wind. The winds aloft are currently picking up and it is settling into the valley, there is also a high wind warning in effect. This has resulted in some unusual cloud formations over the Chiricahua Mountains, including mountain waves. Below are 2 photographs of one unusual cloud formation taken coming back from the bungalow. The colors were inverted and contrast increased to highlight the small wisps. The varying texture of the clouds gives the appearance of motion to the photograph, almost as waves crashing on a beach. While the second photograph are of mountain waves over the Chiricahuas. No flying for a couple of days.

Winds Aloft

Mountain Waves

The New Neighbors

2010-11-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Although the San Simon Valley has a long history of aviation folks are always saying "don't fly over my house". FAA regulations are always followed so there is no problem. But wait till the new neighbors start flying. Spaceport America is located about 140 miles by air north east of Amigos del Cielo air park and a little over 200 miles by vehicle. They have just christened their new runway and installed several pads for rockets. In fact, several successful test launches have already occurred at the spaceport. Soon it should be possible to watch launches as well as returning vehicles from the valley.

Then and Now

2010-10-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Historical photographs are important tools in evaluating changes over time. Especially important are landscape photographs which can document mans impact on the environment. At the turn of the century landscape photography was particularly popular and many photographs survive today in archives, even those from remote areas such as the bootheel.

The Malpais Borderland is a roughly triangular area extending south of New Mexico Highway 9 to the border, with it's apex around Animas New Mexico and encompassing much of the bootheel. While the Malpai Borderlands Group is a " landowner-driven nonprofit organization attempting to implement ecosystem management on nearly one million acres of virtually unfragmented open-space landscape in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico." As part of the documentation process R. M. Turner of the USGS rephotographed a number of sites where early photographs had been recorded to document changes in the vegetation and landscape as a result of man's influence. Coincidentally, as part of the Bootheel Photodocumentation Project, one of these views was partially replicated. The major difference between the earlier photographs and the most recent photograph were the 1913 and 1999 photographs were ground based while the most recent photograph was aerial and the subject chosen based on artistic merits not scientific documentation.

Below are three photographs of the Big Hatchet Mountains taken over a span of almost 100 years. The first 2 photographs are from the same spot atop one of the small hills between the Big and Little Hatchet Mountains. While the third photo was taken from a weight shift control light sport aircraft just above the southern most small hill. These photographs illustrate that:
1. Low level aerial photography is a useful tool in photodocumenting the landscape on a similar scale as ground based photography with the advantage of easier access and unique perspectives if required.
2. The views around the bootheel are timeless.

September 29, 1913. Photograph by A. T. Schwennesen

May 12, 1999. Photograph by R. M. Turner

August 24, 2009. A low level aerial photograph from a similar location (slightly south).

Low Level Aerial Photographs in Flickriver

2010-10-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

The low level aerial photographs are spreading around. Several non aviation sites have been using some of the photographs, for example a Pakistani music site and a weight loss control site have been reposting some of the photographs, but here are links to several Flickrivers where the low level aerial photographs have appeared. One of the goals of aerial photography based on the Aerotrekking concept was to demonstrate just what could be done with this sort of aircraft in the hands of a trained pilot and record the unique perspective from these aircraft. The majority of photographs are under a Creative Commons license allowing non commercial use of the images. If viewers like the photographs then they should be able to use them, just give credit and a link if back to either the source or The Sky Gypsies would be appreciated.

Flickriver: Most interesting photos from Rodeo, New Mexico, United States

Flickriver: Most interesting photos tagged with iceagelake

Flickriver: Most interesting photos tagged with lightsportaircraft

Flickriver: Most interesting photos tagged with dendritic

Flickriver: Most interesting photos tagged with cavecreekcanyon

Flickriver: Nathan Craig's favorite photos

and finally,

Flickriver: BAlvarius's most interesting photos

Historical Marker Update

2010-10-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Received a phone call from the New Mexico state office on historical markers seeking some additional information about the contributor of the submission for the Rodeo Intermediate Field. The press release is in preparation and hopefully everything will go smoothly at the approval meeting. They had viewed the intermediate field in wikimapia and were surprised to learn I had contributed the entry based on research from several of the Intermediate Field Databases. I pointed out the other online contributions about the bootheel and suggested they have a look at what is being created down here.

Historical Marker at the Rodeo Intermediate Field

2010-09-27T08:52:00.001-07:00

Building foundations at the Rodeo Intermediate Field

The Rodeo Intermediate Field is the oldest airport facility in the San Simon Valley and deserves some recognition. To that end I started the application process for a historical marker at the site. The first hurdle was getting the site listed in Geographic Names Information System. It seems that the intermediate field had never been listed. So I submitted the site with the 1936 facilities directory showing the listing for the facility. The only problem was the lat/long given in the facilities directory was incorrect and placed the intermediate field in the Chiricahua mountains. After sending in aerial photographs and screen captures from Google Earth the true location of the intermediate field was accepted and the site was listed.

Then the next step in the process was more research, drawing together all the available information on the site for submission to the New Mexico State department that oversees the placement of historical markers. A statement for the historical marker was written and submitted with the supporting research. Now the application will have to be voted on by a committee and this occurs next month. Below is the text of the application with the suggested rewrites. We'll find out the middle of next month whether they will place a marker. If so, it will be the third historical marker in the county.

Official Scenic Historic Marker Program

CPRC meeting: October 15, 2010

Name of Marker: Rodeo Intermediate Field, CAA 57A

County: Hidalgo

Review: Original Text/Replacement Marker Revised Text
Move of Existing Marker XX New Marker

NMDOT District: District 1

NMDOT Highway: near intersection of US 80 and NM 9

Existing or Proposed Text:
Developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the CAA intermediate field system supported early commercial aviation across the nation. The Rodeo Intermediate Field (CAA 57A) was established in 1930 to support early air traffic from the west coast and El Paso and served as an Army’s Auxiliary field during WWII.

Word Count: 50

Suggested Rewrite, tsd:
Developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the intermediate field system greatly increased safety in early commercial aviation. Civil Aeronautics Authority field 57A was established in 1930 to support air traffic by Standard Airlines — later TWA — from California to El Paso and served as an Army Auxiliary field during WWII. Its earthen air strips, a directional arrow pointing the way to El Paso and building foundations still are visible.

Word Count: 69

Previous Title and Text: N/A

Source(s):
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=139:3:43738547032407::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:2507807%2CRodeo%20Intermediate%20Field%20%28historical%29
http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/NM/Airfields_NM_SW.htm
http://wikimapia.org/15214173/Rodeo-Intermediate-Field
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/21064668
http://s890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/BAlvarius/Tilt%20shift%20aerial%20photographs/?action=view&current=rodeobeaconhill.jpg&currenttag=Intermediate%20field
http://wiki.worldflicks.org/rodeo_intermediate_field.html#coords=%2831.932078,-108.99238955%29&z=15
http://www.airforcebase.net/aaf/if_list.html
http://www.airfieldsdatabase.com/CAA/CAA%20R19a%20NM-WY.htm

Text Approved by CPRC on Date:

CPRC Comments:
For Referral to:

Trikes have multiple uses

2010-09-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Weight shift control light sport aircraft have multiple uses besides simple recreational vehicles. Here is a video of what the Russians envision. Cool music accompanies the video.

Everybody goes Aerotrekking

2010-09-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a photograph of a forest service air tanker Aerotrekking across the San Simon Valley just west of Rodeo. The canyon in the background is Sulfur Canyon and the air tanker was fighting a fire in the Chiricahua Mountains earlier this summer. While nap of the earth flying is generally considered the purview of the military in the appropriate context it can be done safely and without interfering with others.

Photo by Geoff Bender

Rodeo, New Mexico

2010-09-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Finished a couple of articles for Wikipedia on Rodeo and the bootheel. Have been working on rewrites for the article on the Chiricahua Mountains and added pictures to several other articles. All great places to fly down here which deserve more attention. The goal of this work is to get all the online information about Rodeo and it's environs "out there" and demonstrate activity, that is showcase what is going on down here.

Also finished creating a new blog for the Painted Pony Resort called "Blogging from the Boot Heel" to cover non aviation activities .

Early Aviation in the San Simon Valley

2010-08-30T17:07:00.001-07:00

Early aviation routes frequently followed the iron compass (railroads) insuring visible landmarks all along the route. The location of the Rodeo Intermediate field with it's big red directional arrow is a good example. The San Diego (and Los Angeles) to El Paso air route followed the old El Paso and Southwestern rail line from Douglas AZ through the San Simon Valley and on to El Paso and many other intermediate fields can be found associated with railroads. So while the San Simon Valley has an established history of aviation, this history can be traced back even further than the early commercial air routes and air fields. The first transcontinental flight in US history also passed across the San Simon Valley in it's journey from Lordsburg to Wilcox on the way to the west coast.

The aircraft was a Wright Brothers modified model B biplane (known as the EX model) named after the soda Vin Fiz, Armour's newest grape soda, and was piloted by C. P. Rodgers. After 90 minutes of flight training then solo Rodgers purchased a Wright Flyer, then persuaded the Armour company to provide sponsorship. The company provided a complete support crew and and a 3 car train for the trip which would accompany Rodgers along the iron compass across the US.

The trips route (see map below) started on September 17, 1911, in New York city, then to Chicago. The route turned southwest across the heartland of the US and into Texas. A westerly course was re-established after reaching San Antonio. The route went through El Paso and into New Mexico. At one point less than 20 miles into New Mexico Rodgers spent several days stuck in the sand at the El Paso and Southwestern siding town of Mastodon (1). He used a hand car as a catapult for takeoff, crashing the hand car into an oncoming train. His route then went northwest to Lordsburg, through the San Simon Valley east to west, and then on to Wilcox. Rodgers reached the Pasadena California 49 days later. But suffered another mishap while making the hops to the coast. After 3 weeks recovery, on December 10th he landed on the beach of the Pacific Ocean completing the first trans continental flight.

References:
Back to Basics in the Vin Fiz Flyer
The Epic Flight of the Vin Fiz Flyer
The Vin Fiz - The First U.S. Transcontinental Flight
Vin Fiz Flyer

Civil Aeronautics Authority field 57A, Rodeo Intermediate field

2010-08-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Rodeo Intermediate field (Civil Aeronautics Authority field 57A) was the first airfield in the San Simon Valley. Built by the Department of Commerce it served as a turn point on the route from California to El Paso. The field was used as an auxiliary field during WWII and was eventually shut down in the early 1950's. The buildings from the site were not torn down but moved. The radio building now sits in the town of Rodeo, New Mexico's most western town and is part of Rodeo Cottages. Below are photographs of the roof of the old radio building where the air route designation can still be read. On the back roof it reads "SD-EP 26A" and underneath the other designation 57A can still be seen.

Front roof of Rodeo Cottages showing "Rodeo"

Back roof of Rodeo Cottages showing "SD-EP 26A"

Sixty Five Years ago Yesterday

2010-08-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

August 21, 1945, a Grumman Hellcat F6F and a B-25 managed to intersect in the skies 5 miles north of Rodeo. The mid-air collision sent the Hellcat to the ground but the B-25 managed to make it to Douglas and land. Don't know where the specific crash site is located but it should be somewhere around Amigos del Cielo airpark. The details can be found here.

A total of 8 aircraft accidents are reported from Rodeo New Mexico in the Air Force accident database during WWII.

Sky Gypsies Geoglyph

2010-08-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Like the Nazca lines in Peru, certain terrain features can only be appreciated from the air. In many cases these are man made features although nature creates many beautiful and elegant images. One of these man made creations is now visible on Google Earth. The Sky Gypsy logo created by New York artist Ben Sargent during the "Art Race" now shows up on Google Earth. The satellite image is of lower quality than that shown on the main page, but if the viewer goes to the image captured on Aug, 14 2009 the completed Sky Gypsy complex is visible as well as the geoglyph. Below is a screen capture of the satellite image from that date and below that is a low level aerial photo of the geoglyph for comparison.

Click each to open in a larger window.

Other photos of the geoglyph may be found at the Brooklyn Chowder Surfer.

Even Google is Getting into Low Level Aerial Photography

2010-08-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Google hosts the Sky Gypsies blog and Goggle Earth is the repository for many of the low level aerial images of New Mexico's bootheel created from weight shift control light sport aircraft. In fact Google Earth is routinely used to design low level aerial photographs using the tilt down feature. I have written several postings about the utility of Google Earth and how to create low level aerial photographs to enhance the viewers experience. It appears that now the Google folks are getting into the idea themselves. In this article and this article, Google is reportedly testing a small aerial drone with photographic capabilities. The article suggests that the inclusion of low level aerial images would complement the satellite images and street views available on Google Earth and Google maps. I fully agree and I went so far as to submit a proposal to them, see text below. It was also partial impetus for the creation of the bootheel photodocumentation project, which brings together a number of the aerial images from the multi-image aerial panoramas (big picture) to the low level pictures of erosion features (the little picture) in a demonstration of what can be achieved with weight shift control light sport aircraft.

While the battery powered quadcopter can stay up for an hour gathering data I would like to point out that only a pilot with a photographers eye can find the great shot and then place the aircraft in a position to get the picture. That takes planning but also a good deal of moving the aircraft around while looking at the scene from a number of different angles to get the right view. While 2 people (a pilot and a photographer) may be able to coordinate their activities a single person can do the job faster, easier, and get the aircraft into areas ground based personnel can not reach. Finally, a word of advice, the coolest aerial photographs are those taken either looking out or looking up at ground based features.

Draft of proposal submitted
Creating meaningful images takes time, patience, and skill, and the submitted results visible on Google Earth attest to the creativity of various photographers. But as human beings we are limited to the creating photographs within about 6 feet of the ground and generally within walking distance of our car. We circumvent this limitation by climbing buildings or any structure to get a better view, or by driving till the road ends then hiking up mountains, standing on cliff edges, or hanging off ropes, all in an effort to capture a unique image. But there are severe limitations in accessing many areas of the country. Land ownership prevents many from going where photographic opportunities exist. Landowners, especially in the west, jealously guard access to their property even if the photographer is only crossing to access public lands. But while the land maybe owned by an individual, the airspace is not. Rather it is regulated by the Federal Government and belongs to no individual and best of all starts just above the dirt.

Using open cockpit weight shift control light sport aircraft, affectionately known as trikes, a photographer can place the camera anywhere from 6 feet on up. In addition by flying low (within the regulations) they can place the camera view on any spot not accessible to the ground based photographer creating either landscape photographs or up close shots of specific subjects without trespassing and becoming the immediate recipient of a landowners wrath.

So how does Google Earth fit in with this “extremely low flying aircraft as a tripod” approach to photography? Well, it can be stated in a single word, composition. Flying around looking for the right scene rapidly becomes time and cost prohibitive, but with Google Earth and high resolution satellite imagery it is possible to design a landscape photograph before every going outside. Time spent working with Google Earth and the tilt down feature allows the photographer to test different camera placements from the flats of the valley to inaccessible hilltops and get an idea if there is a hidden photograph waiting to be captured from that vantage point. If so, it then becomes a matter of flying to the spot and placing the aircraft at the altitude of the hilltop or close to the ground and then capturing the image. That is not to say it is an easy task using a light sport aircraft as a tripod. There are still all the usual photographic considerations such as lighting which must be accounted for. In addition, piloting an aircraft and taking photographs takes some expertise especially in tight quarters. Weather also plays a major factor, winds can move the aerial tripod in different directions ruining a shot. But the amount of time and energy saved in preplanning photographs using Google Earth is well worth the effort.

This is not aerial photography in its strict sense. The idea here is to place the aircraft in a spot normally inaccessible to ground based photographers and capture an intriguing image with the goal of creating images that could have been taken from a particular spot in a conventional manner but weren’t. For example, this photograph was taken from a height of about 75 feet, well below the surrounding hilltops, and captures Granite Peak from an unusual angle. It is 1 of 3 photographs made of Granite Gap and accepted at Google Earth. Or this photograph of Animas New Mexico was taken from the top of a local hill.

So by first using Google Earth to compose photographs then placing an aerial tripod in remote or inaccessible places it is possible to create scenic landscape photographs that have a much higher probability of success.

Origins of the Film Indrustry in North America

2010-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular opinion, and historical evidence, the development of the film industry in the US reaches far back before the early work of Edison and the early studios in New York. While the motion picture industry soon discovered the pleasant weather and scenic locations in the southwestern US, specifically Hollywood, it was an earlier group of people that developed simple motion pictures, the Mimbres who lived in present day New Mexico and Arizona. Lacking the technological advancements that gave rise to the film industry they instead created dramatic black on white picture bowls. By linking a series of these picture bowls together in a presentation it is possible to create almost any story imaginable. In fact these early movies were so popular that many bowls (single frames) were included as burial offerings. Something to watch in the afterlife. While this idea may appear somewhat far fetched it would be supported by the archeological record with the discovery of sets of picture bowls that could be woven into a storyline (script). Below is an example of a story based on Mimbres bowls.

Or watch on Youtube.

Low Level Clouds

2010-07-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

The image below is a multi-image panorama spanning 13 miles of the Chiricahua Mountains at sunset. Taken from the ground since the monsoons are here and the runway is wet. Note the low level cloud band running the length of the mountain range a few hundred feet off the ground. Calm still air would make for great flying.

Click image to see a larger view.

Photosynth Point Cloud of Paramore Crater

2010-07-21T19:06:00.001-07:00

Microsoft's Photosynth has an interesting feature that is particularly applicable to aerial photosynths. Below is the point cloud from Flying below ground level that I created by circling up and out of the crater while photographing the interior. The data points create a nice 3D rendering of the crater which can be viewed by clicking on the second button from the right and choosing "overhead". This will bring up a complete view of the crater based on the point cloud.

Video of Lightening Storm

2010-07-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video from last nights monsoon storm. It was a spectacular lightening display but difficult to catch on video. The sensitivity of the camera chip is lower than the human eye. As a result what I saw as constant flashes of lightening did not always register on the camera. But here are a few of the brighter flashes.

It's Offical, the Monsoons are Here

2010-07-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

There have now been more than 3 consecutive days with a dew point above 53 degrees and that means the monsoons are here. It also means the dirt roads turn to mud. Fortunately the Galion road grader is up and running (see video) and a couple of passes to clean out the washboards and generally improve the road surface were completed. This should lessen any monsoon related problems and allow easy access to the Painted Pony Resort. Those who haven't done any road work will surely feel the effects of the monsoon.

Large cloud buildup over the Chiricahua Mountains with visible rain.

Species (Genus) of the Day, Aphonopelma sp.

2010-07-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Tarantula

Tarantula burrow

This velvety black tarantula was outside my front door the other evening. Walked outside to check on some things and it was wandering across the yard. I have found several burrows around the place, and have observed a tarantula in one. It has some light webbing around the entrance and during the day webbing over the top of the hole. I grabbed a couple of pictures at the time but the other morning I found this tarantula again wandering around by one of the garages near the other tarantula burrow. Since the other burrow had webbing across the top I don’t think this one lives in that burrow and may have been looking for a mate. I have not sexed the animal so don’t know if it’s male for female. The most common species of tarantula found down here is Aphonopelma chalcodes the desert blond tarantula although over 50 species are reported from the southwestern US.

Thinking about work or play

2010-07-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the first video created at the Painted Pony Resort. It has taken awhile to get things up and running and this is the first chance to create a new video here. Two cameras were used in filming, a Canon Vixia HF100 with a partial fish eye lens was used for the reverse and side views while a GoPro sports camera which has a 170 degree field of view (in the default setting) was used for the wingtip and control bar shots. The stability of the GoPro is good and the mounting is straight forward. It is important to note that the wider the lens the further back everything in the field of view appears, so one has to be right on top of a subject to get a close up and create the appearance of jeopardy. The balance between lens choice and the apparent distance to the subject is tricky and sometimes takes several attempts to get the right look.

you can also view the video at Youtube or at Trike Pilot Social

Intigrating Google Maps with Flight paths, photographs, and Video

2010-02-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

There has been some discussion ( here and here) about the use of the iphone to track flights which can then be saved and shared. This is a great idea but it can be made even better. What about adding photographs and video? Google maps allows users to create their own maps and add information, the final product can be either private (don‘t want to share the location of your favorite spot with the world) or public (everybody wants to fly there). Here is a sample map of sights in the San Simon Valley I created with a 110 mile flight route to the major sights and photographs of those places, I’ve even thrown in a couple of videos (you can also geotag your new videos on YouTube during uploading to correspond with your map).

View Flying in the bootheel, the San Simon Valley in a larger map

Here is the YouTube tutorial on creating maps.

The integration of photographs and videos with Google maps and the ability to place a flight path connecting the locations seems like a useful tool for pilots who want to share their flights.

Wikimapia

2010-01-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

Both Amigos del Cielo airpark and the Painted Pony Resort have been submitted for listing in Wikimapia.

The Wikimapia tag line is "lets describe the whole world". Well, the scenery in 1200 square miles of the bootheel can now be viewed through images taken from weight shift control light sport aircraft. Just change the map from Wikimapia Classic to Google Panoraimo using the map type tab at the top of the page and you will find low level aerial images of the landscape as well as aerial panoramas.

Click and hold on map to move, mouse over and click on highlighted areas for information.

Room with a View

2010-01-27T09:37:00.001-08:00

Sitting on the edge of the dry San Simon River bed this stone room ruin is slowly eroding out of the ground. Hemispherical in shape and built of flat stone a large lintel stone is visible on one end. It appears that someone has carefully cleared out the room but no other activity in the vicinity is apparent. Evidence of past inhabitants can be found all along the San Simon River. A large ruin lies about 8 miles to the southeast along the opposite side of the river, about a days walk, and this site is within a mile of a previously described Mimbres site on federal land. Whether more extensive material is present will require some ground investigation.

Click on images to open a larger version in a new tab.

Winter's Arrival

2010-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Yep, it is here. Snow fell in the mountains the other night. I grabbed this photograph as I started my day.

Little Worlds

2010-01-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

It has been argued that the San Simon Valley and the whole bootheel exists in a bubble moving at close to the speed of light. This idea can be extended photographically by taking low level aerial panoramic photographs and circularizing the image. A number of software packages are available to process images this way and some are free. Here is a YouTube video on the process.

Chiricahua Mountains
Peloncillo Mountains
Peloncillo Mountains near Antelope Pass

Species of the day

2010-01-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

The Western Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura meridionalis, is considered fairly common in the Southern Arizona and New Mexico. They are found in small groups either circling or sitting atop fence posts and in trees, generally on the lookout for some that has passed away and would make a tasty treat. These were hanging out at Amigos del Cielo Airpark, waiting for someone to go flying so they could compare their thermaling skills with some light sport weight shift control aircraft.

The Biggest Movie Studio in the Bootheel of New Mexico

2010-01-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

When making the aviation videos I would often joke that I ran the largest movie studio in the bootheel and it wasn’t my fault that there were no other studios down here. The landscape is expansive and the mountains create the perfect backdrop for aviation videos. The location is ideal, with 4 - 2500 square foot hangers at Amigos del Cielo airpark that doubled as sound stages and the Sky Gypsy complex as a location, it is easy to tell little stories. Now with the addition of the 80 acre Painted Pony Resort (PPR) the resources are even greater. PPR with its 3 houses, heated pool and spa, hanger and runways is located at the center of the San Simon Valley. The estate was designed with guests in mind and arriving on the property one is greeted with the view shown below. The Peloncillos as a backdrop to the main house and 2 guest houses.

It's all in a Name

2009-12-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Over at Amigos del Cielo airpark there are almost 80 - 10 acre lots surrounding the runways. In an act of traditional individualism the owners are starting to name these parcels. While the best known parcel is the Sky Gypsies complex with its coffee shop and movie theater, its notoriety primarily a result of the development that has occurred on the site. But the other lots are starting to gather names. At the north end of the airpark is Camp Pseudoobscura, and 2 doors down is DUH, the Dunson Unicorn Haven. Like Wolfsong Ranch the local wolf sanctuary, DUH is dedicated to the preservation of unicorns and is in the process of developing a website with a dedicated unicorn webcam allowing visitors to see the animals reside there. While I do not think these small parcels will ever rival the large cattle operations in the valley they do demonstrate the type of individuals who find the San Simon Valley a place they want to be.

Weight Shift Control Advertising

2009-12-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Weight control aircraft get a bad rap with many in the public. Whether it is complaints about the lack of a tail and control surfaces to statements about flying lawn chairs. Those of us who fly these aircraft know they are safe stable aircraft when flown within their flight envelops and it is the inexperienced or overbearing pilots who often have problems. The problem has been one of perception by those who take one look and draw a series of conclusions. It is a fundamental problem of advertising. How to present these aircraft to the public and potential converts in a manner that creates a positive perception. Since the adoption of WSC aircraft into the light sport category by the FAA there has been an increase in general aviation pilots who have transitioned into this category suggesting that government (FAA) recognition adds legitimacy. But I believe there needs to be additional forms of government advertising for WSC aircraft.

To that end I would suggest that we adopt a stamp as an additional form of advertising.

The 9 cent airmail stamp issued in 1971 shows what is purported to represent a Jet Silhouette. Well, I would suggest that the stamp shows a top down view of a weight shift control aircraft in flight. Compare the 2 photographs below. One of the 9 cent airmail stamp and the other of a top down view of a trike. Clearly the stamp shows a WSC wing in flight and not a silhouette of a jet. I believe that this 9 cent stamp can be co-opted by the trike community and used to promote the sport.

The question then becomes are there other symbols whether stamps or any government advertising that can be co-opted to promote the sport?

Photograph courtesy of Lyn Freeman

Winter Storms

2009-11-29T07:52:00.000-08:00

After a late and somewhat weak monsoon, the winter rains have arrived. A large storm from the south announced its arrival with a blanket of hail. Must be a significant vertical component to the storm to completely blanket the ground with pea sized hail. No aviation for the next couple of days.

Species of the day

2009-11-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

Below is a photograph of "Roadie" the resident road runner (Geococcyx californianus) at the Painted Pony Resort. One of several offspring that were hatched in a low tree in the courtyard this road runner has remained on the property and happily eats all sorts of things.

Edge of the Playa

2009-10-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Drainages and erosion in the desert often produce unique patterns best appreciated from the air. The larger patterns are frequently found along arroyos where their intricate design is a function of water flow and soil composition, but interesting patterns also emerge around the edges of playas. The playas are the lowest areas in these enclosed drainage basins and where the dip is the shallowest. One would not expect unusual patterns where the water flow rate is the lowest but contrary to this expectation a myriad of branched patterns exist along the edge of this water filled playa. Resembling capillary beds these small drainage features can be found all around the edge of the playa and are best visualized in a water filled playa.

Click each photograph to enlarge and open in a new window.

Canyon Running in the Philippines

2009-10-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Below is a video shot in Bukidnon. Carlito Frias shot this video from a weight shift control aircraft in the steep canyons of this province in the Philippines. It captures the beauty of these deeply eroded canyons as well as the surrounding countryside.

THE GREEN CANYONS OF BUKIDNON from Carlito frias on Vimeo.

The Monsoons are Over

2009-10-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

The monsoons season was late this year. It traditionally begins on July 4th but this year was late. There were periods of rain and the playas of the bootheel filled. Below is a low level aerial photograph of the playa in Playas Valley filled with monsoon runoff.

Click to enlarge

Transition

2009-10-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

We've moved! Kinda.
The Sky Gypsies blog will now be created 1 mile east (as the WSC aircraft flies and 3 miles by road) from it's former location at the Sky Gypsies complex in Amigos del Cielo Airpark 5 miles north of Rodeo New Mexico. The posts, aerial photography, artwork, and videos will now be produced at the Painted Pony Resort just east of the airpark. Operating out of a 2200 ft airstrip on the 80 acre resort, the Sky Gypsies blog will continue to create funny videos and bring unique aerial views of the high desert landscape from New Mexico's bootheel.

Click photo to enlarge

Bootheel Photodocumentation Project in Google Earth: Recent Submissions

2009-10-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in earlier posts, a number of the low level aerial photographs taken from weight shift control aircraft have been submitted to Google Earth for inclusion on the map. Below is an interactive Google Earth map with many of the photographs from the project.

The Bootheel Photo Documentation Project, First Volume

2009-09-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

The first volume of low level aerial images from the bootheel has been submitted and a proof copy should arrive early next month. Below is the cover of the first volume, a 40 page compilation of aerial panoramas, intermediate view shots, and close up views of the landscape and drainage features found in the high desert of bootheel of southern New Mexico. Plans are underway for additional volumes each with the same format.

Bootheel Photodocumentation Project: Update

2009-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

One hundred and ten of the photographs submitted to Google Earth have now been accepted for placement on the map, a better than 95% acceptance rate. Covering the San Simon and San Bernardino Valleys, Animas Valley, and parts of Hachita Valley these low level aerial photographs capture some of the uniqueness of this sparsely populated area of the country. A great deal of air time has been spent and thousands of photographs taken to convey some of the emotions evoked by this part of the country. Flying around the bootheel is a unique experience.

In the process of documenting the bootheel a number of techniques have been used, not all of which lend themselves to viewing in Google Earth. Large panorama photographs, tiltshift modified photos, and photosynths have all been created. Each technique is a slightly different way of "seeing", and each brings something unique to the subject photographed.

Maps with photographs from the Bootheel Photodocumentation Project currently include:
Google Earth
Flickr
bing maps

I still hold a fascination for erosion features (rills) found across the bootheel. The summer monsoons can generate a lot of water in a short period of time and the patterns the water creates on the desert surface can only be appreciated from the air.

Aerotrekking and Canyon Running in Norway

2009-09-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

Weight shift control light sport aircraft are ideal for many types of aviation, the nimble control and excellent climb rates found in many aircraft make them useful for close in and low level work including aerotrekking. When flying in an open cockpit aircraft the pilot has an unparalleled view of their surroundings and many pilots capture this on video. Here is a video from Frode Leikvoll who has been recording flights in the fjords and mountains around his native Norway. The pilot has been able to capture the close in views of ridge lines and low level flying around the mountains in way few are able to do.

Who's in Charge?

2009-09-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Finest Quality Airship Ballast from deviantART

The PIC has the final word, everything else is just baggage.

Google versus Life

2009-08-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the photograph to enlarge and open in a new window.

Presented on the left is an aerial image made in the pass between the Little and Big Hatchet Mountains on the east side of the bootheel in New Mexico about 12 miles west of the Mexican border as part of the bootheel photodocumentation project. On the right is the corresponding view from Google Earth. Note the similarities in the outlines around the different peaks but increased detail visible in the aerial photograph. While satellite imagery and the algorithms that allow the viewer to pan down from an overhead satellite image are very good, putting an aircraft in the same position in space and capturing an image increases the detail and information available to the viewer.

High Altitude or Low Altitude Aerial Images? Or the Big Picture versus the Little Picture

2009-08-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

At the bottom of this page is a slideshow "Desert Drainages" containing images of various erosion and drainage features, rills, found around the bootheel of New Mexico that have been photographed from an open cockpit weight shift control light sport aircraft at very low altitudes, anywhere from about 20 feet (low pass) to 200 feet. These features have have a number of things in common but he most important commonality is the lack of discernible scale to help the viewer interpret the size of individual features in the photograph. These images are primarily oblique view low level aerial photographs, as opposed to ground based horizontal views, and the lack of scale and camera angle leads to confusion as the brain tries to fit the image into a known category.

Since the start of the space age in 1957 the public has been fascinated by views of the earth from above and NASA has complied with the publication of satellite imagery, first as black and white images and now as false color images. The USGS maintains a website that is devoted to displaying Landsat-7 images of the earth. The Earth as Art has a number of satellite images which are in and of themselves are art.

Compare the following image pairs, in the 4 sets the first image is a landsat-7 or space station image taken from orbit and the second image is a low level aerial photograph taken from less than 200 feet AGL. Note the lack of scale in the low level aerial image creates the impression the low level images were taken from high altitude. Without suitable references the brain interprets the images placing them in a familiar category, namely high altitude images. Fifty feet or 150 miles it's all the same, it's turtles all the way down.

DesolationCanyon

Low level aerial photograph View On Black

Guinea-Bissau

Low level aerial image

West Fjords, Iceland

Low level aerial image

Seoul, South Korea

Cities from Space, a low level aerial image

More Brains

2009-08-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours. I spent a great deal of time searching for landscape that would help illustrate the idea of Gaia's Brain without any success. But then I finally found the rock outcroppings in the Animas Valley that help illustrate the idea. Then yesterday mornings flight to Playas Valley produced another location which also does the same thing. Instead of rock this brain like feature covers an area with a dark thin layer of topsoil over much lighter subsoil. The solution rills
have cut down through the topsoil into the lighter material underneath resulting in a scene resembling a 3D X-ray image of the brain.

Click on photograph to enlarge, opens in a new window.

Everybody Aerotrekks

2009-08-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Everybody goes Aerotrekking at some time or another, even the government is using the technique to monitor rangelands. The USDA Rangeland Research Unit is using light sport aircraft and low level aerial photography to monitor the health of rangelands and compliance with revegetation projects in western states. A 5 year project, Vegetative Monitoring of Rangelands Using Low-Level Aerial Photography is using a light sport aircraft to monitor and quantify changes in grassland in response to grazing and activities associated with oil and natural gas recovery.

In a comparison of techniques it was found that there was no statistical difference between laser-point frame imagery, 2m AGL imagery, and low level aerial photography (100m AGL imagery) methodologies in the pooled dataset. In fact the Standard Deviation, corrected sums of squares, COV, and SE were all less than half of the laser-point method and less than the other methods as well. The authors conclude that “The reduction in cost per sample, the increased speed of sampling, and the smaller standard deviation associated with the 100-m AGL digital imagery are compelling arguments for adopting this vegetation sampling method.”

Here is an article on the application of the technique for Riparian monitoring using 2-cm GSD aerial photography in the journal Ecological Indicators

Project Summaries using low level aerial photography
Low Altitude, High-Resolution Digital Aerial Photography, and Computer Enhanced Data Analysis for Monitoring Rangeland Resources is a project to examine different land management regimes and quantify their effect on the ecological resources.

Ground and Aerial Analyses of the Vegetation in Selected Allotments of the Grand River and Missouri National Grasslands

RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS: CHARACTERIZATION, MANAGEMENT, AND MONITORING

People can come up with the strangest excuses to go Aerotrekking, but I’m glad to see the scientific community realizing the utility of light sport aircraft for low level aerial photography, data acquisition, and monitoring.

Paleo Runway Discovered: Off Topic Post

2009-08-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

Artist conception from Wikipedia.

This article in Yahoo News Announced "[a] prehistoric runway for flying pterosaurs has been discovered for the first time". Evidence of a landing pterosaur was found in fine grained limestone from a 140 million year old beach in southwestern France. The flying reptile apparently touched down, hopped, and then came to rest on all fours on the beach before wandering off. Like weight shift pilots the reptile flew down then slowed (bled off airspeed) until stalling just at landing.

It is good to know the principles of aerodynamics were applicable back in the Jurassic.

Gaia's Brain: Low Level Aerial Photosynth

2009-08-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Just finished a 76 image photosynth of Gaia's Brain (see preceding post). It took 2 flights to get the photographs and Microsoft's Photosynth to make sense of them. On the second flight 2 Border Patrol trucks were waiting for me. I dropped low and grabbed this photograph, waved, and start gathering photographs for this photosynth. There's me flying in circles photographing rocks and the Border Patrol watching. Kinda like watching grass grow, it could not have been very exciting. But I do like having the backup.

Here is the final product, there are at least 2 halos I've found indicating that I managed fairly good coverage of Gaia's Brain. You may also view Gaia's Brain on BAlvarius' page at the photosynth site where a larger version is available. While the original "Gaia's Brain" black and white tilt shift photographs may not appear to be aerial photographs the photosynth should put to rest any doubt (and I have witnesses).

A simple multi-image panorama may be seen here.

Gaia's Brain

2009-08-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

The idea for an image of Gaia's Brain has been floating around for awhile and several flights were made trying to capture an image that would serve as its basis, but none of the proposed sites for the photograph produced anything publishable. After much work I got the aircraft in the right place, at right time of day, at the right altitude, and right angle to bring the idea to life. Taken from an altitude of between 50' and 100', the photograph is of exposed bedrock that is highly fractured, weathered, and eroded. The eroded rounded bedrock has the appearance of the convolutions found on the surface of the brain and by processing the image with tilt shift software and presenting it in black and white this effect is highlighted.

By presenting an image suggesting a physical brain and implying that it can be localized (to the bootheel of New Mexico), the photograph reiterates some of the early ideas about he anthropomorphic nature of the Gaia hypothesis that were very controversial. Primarily, that planetary homeostasis and the feedback loops that maintain it requires an underlying intelligence to create and maintain the system. Evidence suggests otherwise.

Click on photograph to enlarge and open in a new window, but the image looks best when Viewed On Black

View on Black

Low level Aerial Photography: A Comarison of Techniques

2009-08-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

There are several more aerial panoramas of the Chiricahua and Peloncillo Mountains that were captured during low level flights now available for viewing. They are hosted at Photobucket and may also be found at the bottom of this page. In a comparison between multi image panoramas and Microsoft's Photosynth, evaluating the images ability to translate the view from the cockpit (a qualitative measure to be sure), the large images created with Photosynth appear superior since they are not subject to the viewpoint distortion seen in large multi image panoramas. This apparent difference results from Photosynths ability to incorperate single images captured from multiple locations around the target and present them in the final product. The drawback is of course the requirement for additional viewing software (which is free and loads automatically) and is a minor inconvience when compared with the ability to navigate around an object.

Cave Creek Canyon rotating to the north

Chochise Head

Cerro de Trincheras Update

2009-08-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

The fortified hilltop or Cerro de Trincheras discovered just north was rephotographed to create a Photosynth. While the photosynth of Paramore Crater represents an "inside out" viewing perspective the completed photosynth of the Cerro de Trincheras is an example of the reverse or an "outside in" perspective. The synth is a compailation of photographs taken over 3 flights and allows the viewer to navigate around the hill and view the Trincheras from all sides.

Snuggling no Smuggling Babies

2009-08-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, my tongue in cheek suggestion based on Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” appears to be a growing statistic. According to the Arizona Republic, smuggling small children is a growing business in border areas. The frequency of smuggling small children has increased to the point where “[t]he U.S. Attorney's Office was so alarmed by the trend that in March 2007, the agency announced a concerted effort to pursue the harshest penalties for suspected child smugglers. Sentences since then have averaged about 15 months in federal prison.”

Still from a cost benefit anaylsis, 15 months versus years for drug smuggling, smuggling babies in trikes still makes this a viable alternative.

Intercepted or a Visit From the Expanded Aerial Emergency Services.

2009-08-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

On the flight yesterday morning, about 10 minutes after takeoff, the aerial wing of the expanded emergency service showed up. My flight was intercepted by a Border Patrol helicopter which came from behind and passed over and close by the right wingtip. I responded by calling on the air to air frequency to make contact and ask them to stand off but received no response. Wake turbulence from helicopters can be unpredictable and could affect the flight path of a weight shift light sport aircraft. Fortunately, the helicopter made a single pass then started to head off. I only managed to get a single photograph of the departing helicopter since I was busy first trying to first contact them, then getting the camera out and turned on. What is interesting is the speed at which they showed up. I was 40 miles from Lordsburg, the closest facility with avgas so they were either already in the area at 7:00 AM or they are hiding the helicopter somewhere down in the bootheel. In either event it is good to have someone watching your back. I will test the hypothesis that they are parking the helicopter somewhere down here by flying again in the early morning and see if they quickly show up. If they are down here with the helicopter I would expect them to show up at least once every flight in the bootheel.

Departing Border Patrol helicopter

The Ghost Town of Old Hachita

2009-08-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

There are at least 2 ghost towns in the bootheel and the first one is now cataloged. Old Hachita on the east side of the bootheel sits at the base of the Little Hatchet Mountains next to Turquoise Mountain. It lies just on the east side of the contential divide and all photographic flights must cross the divide to reach the site. This link contains some background information on Old Hachita

Click on photographs to enlarge

Others have photographed Old Hachita up close, photographs of the ghost town may be found here and here and there is a 28 image Photosynth of part of the town.

Of course the fellows from emergency services made an appearence during my flight (see below) and upon returning I found Border Patrol had also visited the airport. It's good to have somebody watching your back, even if they think you are a drug smuggler.

Aerotrekking Reaches a New Low

2009-08-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

It's finally been done, aerotrekking below ground level. A weight shift control light sport aircraft flew inside Paramore Crater in southeastern Arizona and it was all part of the bootheel photodocumentation project. The goal was to create a a 360 degree panoramic photosynth starting below ground level and then rising up allowing the viewer to see the surrounding countryside. Composed of 119 separate images taken from close to the bottom of the crater and rising in a counter clockwise spiral this synth provides the viewer with a perspective never before captured.

Paramore Crater, officially a maar, was the result of an explosive basaltic blast and is part of the Quaternary aged (3.2 - 0.2 mya) Geronimo lavas that cover approximately 850 sq km the northern part of the San Bernardino Valley. It is surrounded the tuff ring outside of the crater and is the larger of 2 maars located in the valley.

Compare the single image photographs with the final photosynth product below them. The amount of information the photosynth conveys is orders of magnitude greater than any set of photographs. Placing and viewing the overlapping photographs in their proper relationship to one another allows the viewer to move within the photograph viewing different objects in the scene. It is another example of the importance of relative motion.

Topographic map with 10' contour intervals. Compare the topographic map with the photosynth and note there is not the distortion seen with low level aerial panoramas.
Crater wall, tuff ring, and erosion.
Crater wall, tuff ring, and distant hills.

Paramore Crater Photosynth. This is best viewed here, it will be in a larger format.

Spinoffs - The Enthusiast

2009-07-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have run across "The Enthusiast" an advertisement, several times on the web. Someone has taken the idea of the Sky Gypsies and reformatted it for their own purposes. In this case an advertisement for E TRADE. When the creation of an idea and it's implementation focuses solely on people and not the concept it is subject to vagaries of human nature and the probability of success diminishes. But when the concept itself is promoted in new and different ways, the probability of success increases. That is not to say promoting people is not important, but people should come second to the concept. A concept can be manipulated and formed into what ever shape works best in the effort to get the message across. Trying to promote an idea by focusing on the people involved results in misunderstandings, and that will not be as successful.

So keep it about the concept, in this case weight shift control aircraft, flex wing microlights, and ultralight trikes and not the people involved. The idea will grow and spread with others adding to the concept as they find a role in the promotion of the idea.

Aerotrekking code

2009-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Based on the generic explorer’s code that is reiterated by many conservation groups with slight variations, the code of the Aerotrekker is applicable to all who fly weight shift control aircraft, using them as tools to explore the world around them.

Take nothing but pictures
Leave nothing not even footprints
Break nothing but silence
Kill nothing but time

The original code is attributed to various sources including Chief Seattle in 1854 and other references go back even earlier. But whatever the original source, the Aerotrekkers code aptly describes the unique way weight shift control light sport pilots are able to explore the world.

Weight shift aircraft in the big time

2009-07-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

Tango Hotel, the Air Creation Tanarg that was the subject of a 55 image photosynth is currently being featured on Microsoft's Photosynth site. Have a look and take a virtual tour of Air Creation's flagship weight shift control light sport aircraft.

The photosynth may also be found here or here in the most viewed catagory.

The Big Synth from Microsoft

2009-07-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

The initial experiments with Microsoft's Photosynth are very promising. It appears possible to reproduce the "Big View" that weight shift control aircraft pilots have while flying. There are now 6 synths ranging from 10 to 74 images now posted at the Photosynth site. The largest is the 74 aerial photographic 3D panorama of the east flank of the Chiricahua Mountains. Taken during a series of the PTS steep bank turn maneuvers flown along the east flank of the mountain range this panorama allows the viewer to see the mountains as we see them. The software seems to run slow on this site so I would suggest viewing the synths at Microsoft's Photosynth site.

It should be possible to use the aircraft as a paint brush to paint an image with aerial photographs. If the site and flight paths were preplanned this would create 2 images, 1 the aerial panorama itself, and 2 embedded within that another form or shape visible only in the point cloud. We will see.....

Photosynth aerial panoramic photographs, a 3D interactive experience

2009-07-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Translating the excitement of the aerial view from an open cock pit weight shift control light sport aircraft for others to enjoy is one of the goals here at the Sky Gypsies and from the quality and unique aerial photographs many other pilots share this vision. But creating the "Big View" photographs or PTS based panoramas (PTSPs) takes a good deal of hard work, in planning, flying, and processing. Well, there is another method that can be used to create engaging and interesting aerial panoramas without all the precision flying and processing. Microsoft has a really neat application called photosynth. It represents a different way of "seeing" and "[i]n simple terms, Photosynth allows you to take a bunch of photos of the same scene or object and automagically stitch them all together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience that you can share with anyone on the web." This is an ideal application for aerial panoramas and creating interactive flying experiences with a still camera. I have created several examples using both horizontal panorama photographs and vertical panoramas, 2 of which are presented below. (1) is a group of 17 aerial photographs of the Chiricahua Mountains, a subset of which were used to create the aerial panorama presented on Monday. While the second photosynth is of a rock outcropping east of Amigos del Cielo at the base of the Peloncillo Mountains. It should be possible to create a complete 3D view of this rock outcrop by flying and photographing it from all directions and then photosynthing the scene. Here is a link to the how to video.

Before you can view the photosynths you will be prompted to download Silverlight from Microsoft. It will download for you and just reload the page.

(1). 17 horizontal photos of the Chiricahua Mountains centered on Sulfur Canyon. 100% synthy

(2). 10 vertical photos of “The Rock” a low level fly over of a rockoutcrop. 89% synthy

Who is a Sky Gypsy?

2009-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some people seem terribly interested in who the Sky Gypsies are, so here are 2 videos showing the difference.

Not a Sky Gypsy

This is a Sky Gypsy

You have to be able to bear it all to be a Sky Gypsy, and yea, you have to know how to fly weight shift control light sport aircraft.

Low level Aerial Panorama of Sulfur Canyon and the Chiricahua Mountains

2009-07-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Centered on Sulfur Canyon on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains this panorama photograph is composed of 10 images. Taken from just above a small double hill which sits at the mouth of Sulfur Canyon (31 50' 49.35" N, 109 06' 45.66" W) and 1 mile from the cliff face, the image stretches from just south of Cave Creek Canyon on the right side of the image (north), south along the mountain range to Squaw Mountain just north of the entrance to Price Canyon, a distance of approximately 16 miles. One of the double hill hilltops is visible in the foreground at the bottom center of the low level aerial photograph giving the impression of a ground based panoramic photograph. The "steep bank turn" practical test standards maneuver was used to set the aircraft's flight path and capture the 10 consecutive images.

Click here to open a larger version of the image alone on a black background.

Not the Cover of the Rolling Stone or The Tryst comes to the Sky Gypsies Complex

2009-07-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Last night the band Tryst made their first stop on a southern US summer tour. The 3 band members played to the early morning hours under clear skies at the Sky Gypsy complex to kick off the tour. Here is The Tryst's My Space page, head on over and listen to some of their tunes.

Aerial Panorama Photographs: The Utility of the Practical Test Standard Maneuvers

2009-07-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I frequently hear complaints about the PTS maneuvers and it generally follows this path. Why do I have to learn these, what good are they? This is stupid, it doesn’t show that I can fly. I can do these with my eyes shut. Why can’t I go below 400’, it doesn’t matter. What do you mean, pink slip? But demonstrating precise control of the aircraft to the designated pilot examiner is one of the tools the FAA uses to ensure we are competent to fly. I have used one of the PTS maneuvers, the steep banked turn, to demonstrate why precise control is a good thing to know. One of my goals has been to translate what I see and feel when flying into pictures, videos, and words that others can relate to, to generate the desire in others to fly weight shift control aircraft. My recent experiments have centered on panoramic photographs. Now flying around in circles sounds simple but in reality to generate a panoramic photograph requires multi-tasking since both aircraft control and stable photography take place at the same time. If aircraft control consisted of flailing around the sky in some sort of circular path with changing altitudes then the photography would be impossible. A precise flight path and altitude control of the 45 degree steep bank turn is required to allow the capture of uniformly centered photographs required for the panoramic composite.

Here are 2 examples of panoramas made at the hard deck for ground reference maneuvers (400’), yes, I know 1000’ is the hard deck for performance maneuvers so I get a pink slip for flying a performance maneuver at a ground reference maneuver altitude. One panorama is looking south and one is centered on the northeast. Both were taken from the intersection of Highway 9 and 80 in the San Simon Valley just before an afternoon monsoon blew in. I was able to take the 10 or so photographs in each panorama only by precisely controlling the aircraft in the steep bank turn. So, if for no other reason than to gain the ability to make good panoramic photographs I would suggest practicing the steep bank turn, and if your in student mode here is a useful reason to learn the maneuver precisely.

I’m working on the complete 360 view but it requires a lot of computer memory and takes time to generate the panoramic images.

Looking south down the San Simon Valley, the Chiricahua Mountains on the right and the Pelocillo Mountains on the left.

Looking northest to the Peloncillo Mountains
Click photographs to enlarge and open in a new window.

To much aerial photography not enough training information

2009-07-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

I realize there has been a number of posts on low level and tilt shift aerial photography recently and very little on student training. I am in the process of remedying that and will have some new PTS posts soon.

An Alternative Proposal

2009-07-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Note: This is a personal opinion and is therefore written in the first person with a hat tip to Jonathan Swift.

I have noted in several posts that light sport aviation activities here always peak the interest of the Border Patrol and Homeland Security. There have been several crossings by smugglers using weight shift control aircraft and all those caught have been carrying bales of pot. Well, I suggest that a cost benefit analysis of smuggling bales of weed across the border would demonstrate that it is not a very cost effective proposition. A stripped down aircraft with a single pilot can only carry 3-400 lbs of pot. With a street value of $ 800-1000/lb (personal communication, Border Patrol agent) this would seem not to be cost effective compared with other commodities. Wouldn’t it be much more cost effective to carry something more valuable? There are a number of illegal drugs that have a higher street value but I would suggest something different. Instead of drug smuggling with it’s severe penalties for smugglers when caught, I would suggest something that can have a positive benefit to society, smuggling babies. Babies are in high demand, many infertile couples seek adoption both in and out of the US and in many cases the waits are long or the couples are unsuccessful . The costs associated with adoption can be upwards of $30,000 and in many cases only the very wealthy can afford the costs associated with the process.

The 50th percentile weight for a 6 month old baby boy is 18 lbs and a baby girl the weight is about 16 lbs. So lets say an average of 20 lbs./baby and an aircraft with a payload of 300-400 lbs. This translates to 15 to 20 babies/flight that could be brought instead of pot or other drug commodity. Like in the 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix, the babies could be placed on top of the wing where they would act a turbulators or alternatively outriggers off the carriage could be built so the babies could ride behind and to each side of the pilot.

At $30,000/baby the price/lb is $1500 almost doubling the price for illegal drugs. In addition, the positive benefit to society is clear - a steady supply of babies for infertile couples. Finally, the penalties for getting caught transporting babies across the border are less than a drug smuggling conviction. It seems to me that babies could be a much more lucrative venture than drugs.

Desert Waterfalls

2009-07-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

The tailings from abandoned mines spill down the steeply sided Granite Gap Mountain like waterfalls. The mine entrances resemble springs that are the source of the dirt and rock creating each waterfall. This aerial tilt shift photograph was taken at an altitude to show both the entrances and tailings waterfall.

Desert Waterfalls. Click photograph to enlarge.

Self Portrait or How it is done

2009-07-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

They are worse than automobile drivers on cell phones, pilots with cameras that is.

Caught this image of my reflection in the GPS while photographing a Trinchera in the southern San Simon Valley at the mouth of Skull Canyon and it captures the ingredients required to make low level aerial photographs. The minimum prerequisites are calm air and good light. Calm conditions make all the difference when flying in confined areas or at low altitudes and good light makes all the difference in creating an interesting photograph. Then the photographic target is flown at series of decreasing altitudes looking for potential problems and obstacles (canyon walls, the ground, small hills, and power lines), all the while rechecking the winds and figuring out the best line past the target. Especially important is a flight path where I will have enough room to turn around once finished running the camera. Once this is worked out, I pick a line along the photographic target and do a low pass towards the target and begin shooting. This is repeated several times until I have something acceptable or I abort and come back another day and try again. I have photographed some sites numerous times because something was not correct, generally the winds. The goal is to bring back interesting views of the landscape and other features and not to fly into the ground.

On this particular flight I had to deal with a canyon entrance and high rock walls with a rocky hill in my flight path past the target. So just after taking the photographs I had to climb and turn to fly over the hilltop shown below.

Self portait

Skull Canyon entrance and rocky hill on the left, shown below in detail.
Early high test pass over rocky hill obstacle.

Desert drainages in Black and White

2009-07-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a series of low level aerial photographs of erosion features and drainage patterns taken from an altitude of about 100' AGL from a weight shift control aircraft and treated to give the impression they are high altitude aerial photographs. They were also converted to black and white to highlight the contrast between the light and dark layers of soil. Compare the photographs below with these Space Shuttle images.

Pullman Railroad Cars in the San Simon Valley

2009-07-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Evidence of old El Paso and Southwestern railroad in the San Simon Valley is most visible in the railroad bed that parallels Highway 80 from Douglas to Antelope Pass, but there is additional evidence that is less visible but perhaps more important. The rail line to El Paso was an extension of the original line between the mines in Bisbee and the smelter in Douglas, used for hauling ore. The amount of activity on the line between Douglas and El Paso was reportedly minimal due to the low population density in southern New Mexico, but the photographic evidence shown below indicates that passenger service was available. Pullman cars were the standard in railroad accommodations and there are 2 examples in the San Simon Valley, the one shown below and another partial example sits at the mouth of Horseshoe canyon near the large stone spiral. For reference, compare the image below with this Pullman car museum example.

Click photograph to enlarge

Prehistoric Advertising

2009-07-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Advertising is all around us with people trying to sell everything under the sun using all sorts of tools to get the viewers attention. But tools and resources for advertising can be expensive. Here in the Sky Gypsies advertising department there are no tools or resources to promote weight shift control light sport aviation. Everything is created from scratch and there is a constant effort to create new ideas and methods to provide visitors with a diversity of interesting material supporting the notion that "what can be done on the ground is more fun in the air". But what about cultures from the past? How did they promote their ideas and products to one another? Has anything really changed or do people use the same advertising methods today that were used thousands of years ago?

Here are the results from a Google search of “advertising nested bowls“. A review images returned with this search term all show similar presentations all the products, essentially a set of nested stacked bowls. When this search is expanded to include images of cultural material from the past, the search term becomes “archaeology nested bowls” and returns these images.

Even partially uncovered it is obvious the pottery bowls were displayed stacked and nested. Nothing has changed in the presentation of bowls in thousands of years. While it can be argued this presentation style was driven by function rather than form the fact remains the same, the style of presentation has not changed.

To extend this idea the advertising department created a set of nesting bowls of it’s own using only rocks. No metal or electric tools were used to create these stone bowls. They are reproduced in the style of stone bowls found at sites around the southwest and presented in the same format that has been used for thousands of years one bowl in another. Hand pecked, created by banging one rock on another, the presentation style of these stone bowls is indicative that the same old advertising approaches don’t always work and new methods of presentation are required to get people’s attention.

Stacked stone bowls in a metate.

Nested stone bowls

If weight shift control light sport aviation is to move ahead in an increasingly competitive market and move beyond being a "novelty in a niche market" new advertising approaches that will attract peoples attention are required. I would suggest that banging rocks together in an attempt to create the same old advertising does not work.

From North to South

2009-07-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

A while back 3 pilots flew down from northern New Mexico to check the place out, anything north of I-10 qualifies as the north to us since Amigos del Cielo airpark and the Sky Gypsies complex is in the bootheel of Mew Mexico close to the border with Mexico. Jeff Gilkey, Frank Dempsy, and Rick Cooper flew down from Double Eagle and Balen New Mexico for a couple of days visit and some flying. Jeff wrote up their adventures and the article was published in "Light Sport and Ultralight Flying" magazine last October. Jeff finally received the pdf of published article and it can be read here or on Jeff's Flight Log. There is also a link in the side bar under "Sky Gysies in the news".

Sky Gypsies Sculpture: Artists Across Time

2009-07-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

There is a new slideshow in the sidebar under the heading “Sky Gypsies Sculpture, Artists Across Time”. It will showcase photographs of sculptures created in the Sky Gypsies Studios and hosted at Picasa. The artwork is inspired and created using recycled pottery sherds collected over the past 20 years. Some partial reconstructions of different vessels are used and some sculptures are free form. I detailed some of the background ideas in an earlier post introducing the sculptures. Look for more sculptures to appear as they are completed.

Plus and Minus. A Casas Grande partial reconstruction on a sherd base.

Combining tilt shift processing with low level aerial photographic views of the desert

2009-07-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Flew back across the bootheel to Playas Valley this morning for some more photography. Below are several images of drainages in Playas Valley processed with tilt shift software. Most of the photographs were taken at an altitude between 50' and 100' AGL. This technique works quite well with low level images and is recommended it to anyone photographing the landscape.

Of course the Border Patrol was there as usual as backup.

Click image to enlarge

Inverted tilt shift modified desert drainage. Inverting the photograph gives the appearance the drainage's rise out of the desert floor.

Desert tilt shift

Draining the Desert

Tilt shift low level aerial photography

2009-07-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Tilt shift photography is an optical technique requiring a special lens. The lens is moved relative to the plane of focus resulting in images where the center is in focus and the margins are out of focus. Similar effects can be created using a large aperture and a shallow depth of field. With the advent of digital cameras and computer processing a similar effect can be created by shoving 0s and 1s around. This method is used to create tilt-shift miniatures, resulting in life size objects appearing as miniatures. In many cases high angles are also used to help create the impression of looking down on a miniature. This makes this technique especially well suited to aerial photography. Since parts of the image are defocused the photographer can draw the viewers attention to specific parts of the photograph. An online tilt shift image processing resource where the photographer can manipulate their own photographs is TiltShift maker. Several images from the Flickr site have been electronically tilt shifted and are shown below and a slideshow of tilt shift images is in the side bar near the top of the page. As you will note from the image gallery, landscapes seem best suited to this technique.

Original Aerotrekking aerial photograph
Tilt shift modified Aerotrekking aerial photograph
click to enlarge
Original photograph of Playas siding on the old El Paso and Southwestern railroad
Tilt shift modified aerial photograph of Playas siding
click to enlarge