Helium Lift Ratio

I've been doing a lot of research on how to calculate the amount of lift from a helium balloon. It's not been easy!! Everything is in different units of weight and liquid that I find it confusing. But I eventually found research at http://www.cockeyed.com/science/helium/helium.shtml where the researcher done a proper experiment working out the displacement of water to calculate how much lift helium gives.

It works out to be 8.3 grams of lift per 8.2 litres of helium.

Another study on another site claim that a 14" balloon can produce a lift of 0.8oz (22.6796grams).

If this is correct, then I would require 6 14" balloons of helium to lift my camera. From previous testing I don't believe that this would be enough helium. But if this was to be correct, I would also have to take into consideration the weight of the balloons and the rope. To counter act this I would require another couple of balloons.

Week 15

These are some questions that I answered yesterday to try and clear the rationale behind my project. It's not crystal clear yet but it did help me to communicate my idea in an easier manner.

What are you designing?
A device that is capable of capturing aerial videos and images for aerial photography purposes via the attachment to balloons.

Why should it exist?
From user research I found that people are finding digital photography clean, clinical and easy. I propose that my product will bring more fun into photography which was seen in the days of the polaroid. Capturing photos from various angles and perspectives will bring fun to domestic photography through capturing unconventional videos and images.

How does it work?
A remote device triggers the shutter on the camera/video device which is attached to a balloon. This will be floating in the air and will be attached and controlled by the user on a reel.

Who will use it?
Microsoft research/families/amateur photographers and most importantly I aim to target the lomography community to create a new photography movement/hobby.

Who will test it?
Internationally I would like a member/s of the lomo community. Locally would be a local photography group. And it would be great if I could get a famous photographer to test it, like Martin Parr, Ansel Adams or Thomas Hawk. If I could get Tim Reagan from MSR to test it aswell would be a great!!

Gant Chart

Yesterday, I was starting to plan out the next 17 weeks of my project. It was quite difficult to try and plan what steps I would be taking to make my product when I'm still unsure of what it's going to look like and what it is. The idea of the gant chart is to help visualise the time that I have left on the project and where all the deadlines are situated within this timescale. I will post up my final chart in the next couple of weeks when I finish it but here's a couple of images from the first drafts that I was doing yesterday in a group.

George Eastman

I found this quote a while back when I went to see the Points Of View Photography exhibition in the Bristish Library, London. It's from George Eastman, who founded the Eastman Kodak Company, and I thought that it pretty much sums up todays photography culture.

"We are starting to make photographyan everyday affair, to make the camera as convenient as the pencil."

Platform Prototype 4

Here is another prototyped idea that I had. It's based on the assumption that I would be using a propeller for the device to create extra lift when attached to the balloons.

Propeller blades are situated underneath the main body of the device and the camera components are compacted into a compartment on top.

Platform Prototype 3

This is the third platform idea that I had, a varied version of platfrom prototype 1.

I found that with the propeller attached to the platform that it was lifting at one side and not going straight up in the air. So I took cut off any unneccessary material and attached the propeller firmly onto the middle of the structure. From this I then created a simple box, which would contain all the camera components, and this would be placed on the top side of the platform.

Using the same string attachment method from prototype 2, the platform was attached to the balloon without causing the platform to spin continously.

Platform Prototype 2

The next platform idea that I had to encase the camera and attach it to the balloons was of a capsule type. Based on research that I had been doing on attaching cameras to balloons, I wanted to make a lightweight and compact structure.

All the essential components are placed within the capsule which is made from foamcore presentation board and acetate. Firstly, I wanted to leave the structure see through so that all the components could be seen, but after testing this it looked very rough and would give an unfinished look to the camera. So, I decided to black out the acetate and leave a small window where the lens is located so that photos can be taken.

I then made 4 connection points to attach the platform to the balloons. On my first try i made these 4 lengths of string all converge towards one point and then attached this to the balloon. This didn't work as well as I thought as the capsule kept spinning as it was held in the air.

Therefore, I attached the 4 pieces of string seperately to the balloon with masking tape to balance out the platform. This worked and left the platform to hang from the balloon in a sturdy manner.

I have still to test test this platform but I will post up the results when this is done

Platform Prototype 1

This is the first platform structure that I tested and can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yl33a53
It's made using foam core presentation board because it's light weight but also got enough strength to hold objects. Before testing the structure to see if it lifted my camera components, I tested to see how many balloons were required to lift the structure. I had 4 19inch foil helium balloons at the time and this wasn't enough to lift the platform. Because of this I then attached 5 ordinary latex balloons along with the 4 foil balloons and there was enough lift in this.

After this I then tried to attach the components to the platform to take some test shots. But there was not enough lift from these balloons. I then had a thought!!!

I thought that if i attached a propeller to the platform I could generate a little extra boost to the lift the camera into the air. This didn't work.
If the camera was taken out of the platform and a couple of balloons were let loose, then the propeller idea worked and lifted the balloons into the air. This has got me wondering whether using lots of balloons to lift the camera is the right way to go, or whether to use a mixture of balloons and a propller!!

Balloon Project By David Trawin

This is a project by David Trawin which is similar to my final year project. I really like the clear shots that were taken in wide open spaces. When writing about his project he said that many people were interested by the project and that people supplied email addresses so that their photo could be sent to them. This fills me with a little more confidence about my project but I still have a lot of work to do.

You can see more of Trawin's photos on his Flickr page here: http://tinyurl.com/yjrg5gq

Sorryimanasshole

A humorous take on the bubble project called Sorry, I'm An Asshole.
"We make people look like assholes while appearing to be assholes ourselves. We aim to do this without the person knowing until after the photo is taken (sneak attack photography)."

http://www.sorryimanasshole.com/