Arthur Batut, 1888 The first kite aerial photographs were taken by a British meteorologist called Douglas Archibald in 1887 and Arthur Batut in Labruguière (France) in 1888. you can see one of the early pictures from Batut here: batut-1888 Other pioneers Manned kite flying and aerial photography was advanced also by French Marcel Maillot, British Robert Baden-Powell, Americans Charles Lamson and William Abner Eddy, Australian Lawrence Hargrave (inventor of box kite in 1893 and kite train in 1884) and French Captain Saconney.   San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 There is a  famous kite image of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. You can see this photograph below.  It was taken by George Lawrence using a large panoramic camera and stabilizing rig (or Picavet) he designed. San_Francisco_in_ruin_edit2.jpg   Equipment: Automatic Lifting rig, 1912-1913  Henry_Wellcome's_photographic_automatic_kite_trolley_aerial_camera_deivce_used_at_Jebel_Moya,_Sudan,_1912-1913._Unknown_photographer._The_Wellcome_Collection,_London Henry Wellcome's photographic automatic kite trolley aerial camera deivce used at Jebel Moya, Sudan, 1912-1913.       Souvenirs They also used KAP pictures for souvenirs, here u see one on a post card Kite_Photo_of_Reeds_Lake_and_Ramona_Park,_Grand_Rapids_MI._Postcard_-_001 KAP Today Equipment, kites, lines,... they al've gone trough a transformation. The things used today you can find in the different topics on my site   source: Wikipedia