In another role, I occasionally read obscure real estate blogs.  Never did I think that it would pay off with some cool photo info, but I found a relatively cheap and easy way to get into aerial photography.  Well, aerial photography of a sort at least.

Welcome to pole aerial photograph, an easy way to get your camera off the ground and change your perspective.  This particular setup is used for real estate photography - taking better pictures of houses to use in real estate listings.  And while it’s not the most mobile setup in the world, it would be an interesting way of changing up your perspective for something as simple as a local sporting event or family gathering.

Here’s the details on how it was assembled, straight from the original thread.  The author is using a Canon Digital Rebel and the remote software, but the method could easily be adapted for other camera models - you might just lose the benefit of the computer preview:

USB extender ($6 from eBay, i got it from the same seller as the cat 5 Cable, I think the cable and extender was $25)

75 ft Cat 5 cable, plugs into one section of the USB extender and then directly into the USB port on the computer.

My Hot Stick find was the key to my low cost. They normally run $300-$500 dollars. The one I got is 50 Ft. The highest I’ve ever had it with the camera attached is 40 Ft and it was swaying substantially. I would suggest a 35 Ft Hot Stick maximum unless your very daring.

The other section of USB extender is on the other end of the Cat5 cable. I used a Hose clamp to attach a carabiner to the pole. I use the carabiner to attach the Cat 5 cable so It’s not pulling down on the plug attached to the camera. Then use then Canon cable to plug into the camera. (I always get a “slow USB” warning on the computer screen because of the distance but it doesn’t effect the outcome. The picture DL’s to the screen in 3-4 seconds.)

The EOS utility on your computer does allow you to remotely operate the shutter but I was more comfortable with a remote shutter release (besides I wanted one anyway) I found a non-infrared style remote shutter release on eBay new for $10. The receiver end plugs into the camera, the other end is a key-fob size button with a 6 inch antenna.

I determined that a half inch piece of galvanized conduit was exactly the same size as my tripod head so I cut off about ten inches, flattened one end with a hammer, drilled a hole and used a bolt to attach to the universal mount on the end of the Hot Stick. I also had to use a jig saw to cut a slot in the end of the conduit to allow for the tripod head mounting screw. The mounting screw assures that the tripod head will not fall off the conduit.

With everything attached and “on” then, the hot stick raises in 5 ft sections with a button release. Raise to the height you want, align the camera in the general direction and snap the first shot. DO NOT move the pole or the angle, review your shot in 3-4 seconds on the laptop screen then adjust angle, pitch, height as you see fit until you get the shot you want. Use the widest angle you can without distortion. You can always crop out the unwanted streets and neighboring houses.

At $300-500, a Hotstick isn’t exactly the best option for a shooter on a strict budget.  So the question becomes — how much do you want to risk your camera?  The post also discusses the merits of using a tree-trimmer, window washer or painters’ pole.  It just might require more effort/risk to secure your camera in.

How much of a difference does the additional height make?

Certainly enough to make a striking difference and to make a boring photo much more unique.  There’s also a Flickr group devoted to pole aerial photography with some other cool examples.

I’m going to try and put a rig together, but I wanted to put this out there now to see if we get a few people interested in refining this method a bit further.  I’ll work on finding a bit more elegant and simple of a solution, but if you have any suggestions, post them in the comments.

Like what you see? Join our newsletter.