Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Background

KAPWA-Foundation Newsletter
Part 2. the KAPWA Foundation



The images accompanying the KAPWA Newsletter were taken by Michel Dusariez of Brussels, Belgium and are copyrighted by Michel. All pictures were taken with Fujicolor 400 print film. This view shows one of 18 photographs that comprise a complete 360 degree panorama of Brussels, Belgium. The vertical format image was taken with a Ricoh Shotmaster. (103K jpg).

A note from Benton: In March 1996, Michel Dusariez forwarded an e-mail version of the KAPWA Foundation's most recent newsletter. I'd agreed to make the newsletter available via the KAP WWW site and its complete text, as received from KAPWA-Foundation, is provided below. The newsletter clearly contains useful information as well as an accounting of KAPWA's sometimes turbulent history. For comment or more information please respond to Michel Dusariez, President, KAPWA-Foundation.

Other KAPWA newsletter pages:

About KAPWA
KAPWA News


The KAPWA ASSOCIATION and KAPWA-FOUNDATION.

Apart from events like Labruguière, mentioned above, in which KAPWA was both instigator and partner, our association organised many exhibitions, conferences and meetings designed to promote the object of our activity.

Among the most notable of these, KAPWA organised, on 19 and 20 September 1987, the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the famous "International Competition of Scientific and Military Kites" which took place in SPA (Belgium) in 1912. This competition had undoubtedly been the most important world kiting event in history. At a period when the public had great interest in the growth of aviation, the universal renown of this grandiose exhibition caused the kite to free itself from the undeserved reputation of a toy which it had had, to finally acquire the status of scientific equipment with varied civilian and military applications. An important exhibition of KAPWA and its activities took place for several weeks on the premises of the tourist office of the town of SPA.

KAPWA set its heart on holding its big annual reunion at a site which was both historical and traditional and, following an idea of Geoffroy de BEAUFFORT, decided in 1987 on the town of BERCK-PLAGE (France), which was, at the end of the last century, the centre of photographic kiting. Let us remember that this historical particularity had, until then, been totally ignored.

At the time there was no sponsoring that we could call on. Kiting was a hobby and was in no way a "publicity gaining outlet". Also, for the First Annual Event at Berck, in 1987, KAPWA could only count on financial resources which were so feeble they would raise a smile nowadays. There was only the members' fees. But on the other hand, we did have something much more valuable - the unselfishness of our members.


A WWII German railway bridge shot with the Ricoh with automatic rotational triggering. (Michel Dusariez, 42K jpg).


Our meetings were transcended by the enthusiasm of our members and by the warm welcome given to the participants, without any distinction between the disciplines practiced or the quality of the material. Right away our two first meetings, which enjoyed beautiful weather, ended in a real triumph about which we were truly surprised ; we attracted thousands of spectators.

So much were they impressed by the incredible success of the crowds attracted by our demonstrations, the municipality of BERCK spontaneously offered us, from the third year, a nice little grant in order to invite well-known kitefliers from abroad.

We were not aware of how much the bait of money will attract predators nor to what depths they can go to take over the initiatives of others when they are very successful. During the preparations for our fourth gathering, following changes in the staff of the municipality, we found that we had a new contact person.

This character, called Gérard CLEMENT, under the simple pretext that he was founder-president of new French Kiting Federation, disgracefully took over, with the backing of local officials, our Meetings of Berck-Plage. Still nowadays, while the Annual Event of Berck-Plage takes place without KAPWA which created it, this person is not in the least embarrassed to falsely claim that he is founder !


View of a kite in flight taken at Long Beach, Washington with the Ricoh Shotmaster and interval triggering. (Michel Dusariez, 42K jpg).


From then until 1993 our annual event took place under the banner of the " CERVOLING" at le TOUQUET created by Jean-Christophe MINOT.

Since 1985/1987, an evolution wich we find abhorrent, has taking place in association kiting. It is falling progressively into the hands of organizations whose only motive is money-grabbing. This orientation, exactly the opposite of the altruistic unselfish ethic on which KAPWA was founded, led our association to voluntarily interrupt, from 1994, any official participation in big kiting events.

In 1993, the KAPWA team concluded an exchange of information with its old friends of the Japanese Kite Aerial Photography Association. In 1989, they had organised a First World Symposium on the subject, in Tokyo. We were able to go there and to take part. A second Symposium was organised in 1993 and, at the same time, a vast exhibition of kite aerial photographs was opened at KONICA Plaza. A large majority of the photos exhibited were taken by KAPWA members from all over the world.

Over and above the pleasure it offers, kite aerial photography offers many useful applications such as archeological, ecological or agronomical photographs. By its simplicity, and thanks to our publications, kite aerial photography is now available to any fairly attentive amateur.

KAPWA has also participate actively in more than twenty exhibitions, were the best aerial photographers among the members were represented. These exhibitions took part in the 4 corners of the world, from Tokyo to Australia passing by Europe. KAPWA has also organised more than 10 International meetings specifically oriented to aerial photography.



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