A few weeks before we left for Long Beach, I got the idea into my head that I wanted to hang a digital camera from a kite....The key to getting this project off the ground was to protect the camera from the environment. Shock, sand and mposture. I accomplished this by sealing the camera and remote in a ziplock bag, and protecting it with the foam that normally protects computer hard drives in boxes. 
The second challenge was the harness. I went with a simple twine harness for this experiment. I knew that it would be unstable and prove hard to control, but with further experimentation in the field, I found ways to at least moderately control the direction the camera was pointed in.
The only kite I had at my disposal was a large delta kite at the cabin. Normally, delta kites are fairly stable and can achieve excellent altitude, but when weighted with a 4 pound payload, they do require a bit more wind to achieve loft.
So during two windy days I was able to get the camera off the ground, unfortunately, not during the actual sand sculpture contest.
My next steps are to 1) build a proven stable mount and get a new double box delta kite, which will provide superior loft with less wind.
I'm not going to go totally gung-ho with the use of servos and RC, I'm pretty happy with a static harness at this point, so I can save quite a bit of money.
Please see my first batch of photos from Long Beach, WA.
