Jon Shabica has found a way to combine an interest in photography and a passion for kite flying. He uses a GoPro camera to capture bird’s-eye views, most recently of Oak Bluffs.

A coastal engineer by profession from Illinois, Mr. Shabica said he’s always had a knack for photography.

“At home, when we photograph our projects, we’re typically shooting at low elevations that are maybe 20 feet off the ground,” he said.

He also has a passion for kites. “My father was a kite addict,” Mr. Shabica said. “So I’ve always been around kites. It was a big part of my childhood.”

While looking for creative ways to combine his talents, an idea dawned, and camera and kite in tow, he set out to do something different.

Using a Hero 2 GoPro—a lightweight high-definition camera with a protective waterproof case—Mr. Shabica sets the camera to fire continuously, every ten seconds within a specified time, and rigs it to the tail of his kite. Minutes later, with the kite soaring a few hundred feet in the air, Mr. Shabica waits anxiously to see what it would come back with.

“The first time I did it, I was blown away by how clear the pictures were,” Mr. Shabica said. “It’s one hundred percent to the credit of the technology. All I have to do is put it in the air. That’s the hard part.”

The timer can be set in two, five or ten second intervals. The camera is hung on a suspension system designed to keep it from spinning on the kite’s line. It is that simple.

A Chicago native and seasonal Oak Bluffs resident for the last 42 years, Mr. Shabica is the vice president of Shabica & Associates—a coastal engineering and consulting firm that helps build and restore beaches and ravines. Or, as he likes to put it, he “builds beaches.”

“Because my dad grew up out here, my family has always loved the beach. It’s fun for us, we love the water,” he said.

With a degree in medical illustration and photography from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. Shabica said his interest in aerial photography was born out of the necessity to survey the coastlines that he helps build. Now, he does it just for fun.

“It’s great for my line of work because I’m out on the water,” he said. “You get that unique perspective. But I don’t do it [kite photography] professionally.”

Although he has four kites of all shapes and sizes, his favorite is a six-foot-long inflatable penguin. “People are really drawn to this one,” Mr. Shabica said as he held the penguin kite pre-flight while standing in Ocean Park last week. The kite comes equipped with a large yellow beak and matching waddling feet. He affectionately refers to it as Betsy.

“The aim is to keep the line out of the camera’s sights,” Mr. Shabica said as he began releasing the kite’s spool. “But the picture from above is amazing.”

Mr. Shabica, now somewhat of a kite photographer aficionado, said some of his favorite photos are the ones where he can be seen in a part of the frame. A technique otherwise known as photobombing.

“I call it the Where’s Waldo factor,” Mr. Shabica said. “Although kids these days probably don’t know what that means.”

The kite’s flight time lasts no more than five to ten minutes and at its higest elevation can reach one thousand feet. But what goes up must come down, and among Mr. Shabica’s biggest concerns is safety.

“The challenge is you have to fly it over open areas, not over roads or crowded places. It’s a liability; I just don’t want to hurt anybody,” Mr. Shabica said.

How it works

There are several ways a camera can be attached to a kite. Typically, on kites like Betsy, a small and lightweight camera is secured to an adjustable rig and suspended from a line at a close distance. This distance helps reduce excessive movement between the kite and camera. The camera is also set to a high shutter speed to reduce motion blur. A wide-angle lens is preferable in order to achieve the maximum impact of each photo. Gravity helps to keep the rig level, irrespective of the angle of the kite line. Generally, single-lined kites are used, as they allow longer spool lengths and need less intervention from the person who is flying it.

Not so new

While it’s become an increasingly popular alternative to more traditional forms of photography, Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) actually dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A camera enabled to operate either remotely or automatically was rigged to a kite whose machinery ranged anywhere from extremely simple to more complex.

According to the website of Charles Benton, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, this form of photography was used to provide new perspectives for how people visualized the world from both a practical and aesthetic point of view.

KAP has been used for everything from military reconnaissance and disaster assessment to scientific surveys. George Lawrence, an early pioneer of aerial photography, is the man responsible for taking the iconic “San Francisco in ruins” photograph using a series of kites and wires after the earthquake destroyed a large part of the city in 1906.

Following World War II, aeronautical engineering was applied to kites, parachutes, balloons, hang gliders, and other flying devices.

For those interested in learning more, Mr. Benton, a self-proclaimed kite photography enthusiast, runs a Kite Aerial Photography website and discussion forum that is dedicated to all things KAP.

Superstorm Sandy dumped 60,000 cubic yards of sand into the mouth of Waukegan Harbor last fall, clogging the entrance.

Nearby, beaches have grown thin, in part because all the sand is getting trapped in Waukegan.

The solution to both problems seemed simple: Take the sand from the harbor and put it on the beaches.

That, however, is proving to be more difficult than anyone expected.

Despite efforts by at least two towns to acquire the excess sand, the cost of state-mandated environmental testing is preventing the move, Waukegan officials said. So the sand remains, keeping the harbor shallow and disrupting commercial boat traffic.

“There’s nothing much we can do about it right now,” said Jon Shabica, vice president of Shabica & Associates, a consulting firm working with Waukegan. “The problem with those sets of tests is those municipalities don’t have the money.”

Shabica said that before sand could be taken out of Lake Michigan and moved to nearby beaches, he was told by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency that it would need to be tested for asbestos fibers, a hazard that has plagued the harbor in the past. The estimated cost of the testing is $17,000, Shabica said.

The state EPA would not comment on whether it is requiring testing of the sand. Officials in sand-starved Lake Bluff think the testing is unnecessary — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has conducted annual testing on Waukegan Harbor and has found no asbestos in at least 10 years.

The Corps of Engineers dredges the harbor’s entrance annually, but is permitted to move the sand only to nearby Zion or to a disposal site in the lake. Adding other towns to the permit could take up to a year, said Tim Knoll, operations project manager for the corps’ Chicago district.

“We thought it was going to be a fairly simple process,” said Ron Salski, executive director of the Lake Bluff Park District, which had hoped to get some of the sand for its beaches. “And then when we heard back, it was going to be more complicated and less cost-effective. It wasn’t worth doing.”

Typically, sand along western Lake Michigan migrates from north to south, a littoral pattern that begins along the beaches of Wisconsin and ends at the Indiana Dunes. But much of the sand gets trapped by the walls and structures of Waukegan Harbor, where the nearby beach has grown over the years, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The harbor and the nearby Naval Station Great Lakes often block sand from reaching beaches south of the barriers. Public beaches immediately south of Waukegan in North Chicago and Lake Bluff are eroding as a result, local park district officials said.

The Corps of Engineers dredges the approach channel to the harbor annually, moving about 75,000 cubic yards of sand. When superstorm Sandy hit the Chicago area in October, the tempest created 25-foot waves in Lake Michigan that carried nearly a year’s worth of sand accumulation into the approach channel of Waukegan Harbor. The sand pileup halted commercial shipping, already affected by low lake levels.

Waukegan hired Shabica’s firm to monitor the issue and figure out a solution, and it suggested giving away the sand. Waukegan officials liked the idea because it would solve sand problems in the region, said Noelle Kischer-Lepper, the city’s director of policy and projects.

“It seems silly for us to take our excess sand and put it in a landfill somewhere when there’s another beach on the same lake that needs exactly what we have,” she said. “If it comes out of the same body of water, why not move it a few miles down the road?”

Asbestos can scar the lungs and lead to diseases such as cancer, and nearby Illinois Beach State Park in Zion has had problems with asbestos in the past. Spreading sand with asbestos to other communities would be problematic. A state EPA spokesman said the agency met with Waukegan officials about the sand, but he didn’t have enough information to comment on the specifics of those discussions or any asbestos testing.

“It doesn’t financially make sense to pay for what might be a $17,000 test to move what might be $10,000 worth of sand,” said Shabica, whose firm is also working with other lakefront communities on shore protection and coastal restoration.

The harbor is known for its pollution, but Waukegan officials are trying to remove the stigma and the chemicals in the water.

According to the federal EPA, employees at a now-shuttered insulation manufacturing plant began dumping asbestos and other residue into a disposal area that led to Lake Michigan in 1922. Polychlorinated biphenyls were found in Waukegan’s inner harbor in 1976, though the area is being cleaned and is scheduled to be free of contamination by 2014.

Lake Bluff officials said they waited as long as possible in hopes of using Waukegan’s sand. With no resolution in sight, the Lake Bluff Park District last month ordered 528 tons of sand from a quarry, costing $8,000.

The last-minute move delayed opening day on the beaches this month as crews packed the sand onto the ground. An end-of-the-school-year beach party — a 15-year tradition — had to be canceled, Salski said.

In North Chicago, park officials are still hoping the sand comes through. Beachgoers have steered clear of the underdeveloped, eroded beach and its rocky shoreline for 20 years, a problem that Kevin Holley wants to fix.

Holley, executive director of the Foss Park District in North Chicago, said he and others are still hammering out the final plans to rebuild North Chicago’s beach, a project that could begin by the end of this year. The area needs about 4,000 tons of sand to extend the shoreline, he said.

“If we get the sand for free, it’s a huge cost savings for us,” Holley said. “If we have to pay for that much sand, that’s dollars you have to add back into the project.”

The Corps of Engineers’ next dredging in the mouth of Waukegan Harbor is set for mid-July, when the sand will be taken to a disposal area in the lake south of the harbor or north to Illinois Beach State Park, Knoll said.

Knoll said the agency can’t take the sand to Lake Bluff or North Chicago because those towns are not listed in the dredging permit. But the beach in Zion was included at the state’s request, he said.

“We have agreements with the state on where we can” put the sand, he said. “To go anywhere else we would need a brand-new permit with the state, and these permits take about a year.”

On a recent day, Lars Adams spent the afternoon with his three children in the Waukegan Harbor Dunes.

The 26-year-old Waukegan resident said he visits the beach with his kids about once a month during the summer and is eager to see development in the harbor. To him, it starts with cleaning out the sand.

“It’s a really nice place to go and hang out, but the area around is old, empty factories,” he said. “If Waukegan can fix the sand problem and develop (the harbor) the way they want to, I think it can definitely be better.”

A change in how the Winnetka Park District keeps tabs on the use of its beaches is raising some eyebrows, but officials say it’s for business and safety reasons.

This summer, any Winnetka resident or non-resident wanting to lounge or otherwise recreate on one of the village’s five beaches will need to have their photo taken first. Aspiring beachgoers may also provide their own picture for the park district. A small plastic key fob will be issued and then scanned at the beach by staff. Upon scanning, beach staff can check the photo entered into the park’s system and verify the person’s permitted use.

It may sound complicated, but the new system is intended to simplify and enhance the park district’s ability to manage beach use and track people in case of emergencies, said Terry Schwartz, executive director of the Winnetka Park District. No longer can a summer beach pass be shared among friends, reducing the park district’s revenue, he said. The beaches will be run like a business.

“People do pass around passes,” Schwartz said. “That’s been part of the frustration, but that game is over.”

At Thursday night’s Winnetka Park Board meeting, the rationale for the new system will be discussed. The park district office is also extending its hours this Saturday until 5 p.m. to allow people to more time to have their photos taken, he said.

Winnetka beachgoers have long paid for season passes, but previously those passes did not require photos or digital scanning. Season pass-holders will see a modest increase this summer in cost, said John Muno, Winnetka’s superintendent of recreation. An individual resident will pay an extra $5, bringing the total to $55; non-residents will pay an extra $10, and $90 total. But those increases are not associated with the new system, Muno said.

Not everyone is thrilled about the change. When Mary Garrison’s husband went to pick up their summer passes, he returned with inconvenient news: She would need to go in and have her photo taken.

“I was definitely surpised. That was my first reaction,” said Garrison, who served on the Winnetka Park Board for 17 years, most recently in 2007.

After giving it a little more thought, her misgivings grew.

“If you want to sneak onto a beach, you’re going to find a way,” she said. “Who you’re really going to affect with this system is your citizens.”

People pay a lot of money to live in Winnetka, Garrison said, and the beaches are one reason why. The park district should make it easy for people to access them, she said. In particular, young working families may have difficulties making it into the park district office to have their photos taken.

Schwartz acknowledged there have been some growing pains, but pointed to the district allowing people to use their own photos, and the extended hours on Saturday to get photos taken, as efforts to make the change more convenient.

“Whenever there’s change, people rebut,” Schwartz said. “I don’t get too panicky about it.”

The photos are only required once every five years, he said. In addition to helping the park district manage beach use, they’re also useful to have on file in case of emergency. If a child goes missing, for example, the park district will be able to determine exactly when and where they were last at one of the beaches.

Community swimming pools often use similar ID systems, Schwartz said.

“Why wouldn’t we treat an even more dangerous environment with the same diligence that people treat swimming pools?” he said.

The park district will also be collecting data on beach use to assist in the crafting of a new lakefront master plan in the coming years, Schwartz said.

The new ID system represented a $6,500 increase to the budget for the new equipment: six new iPhones with built in scanners, said Muno. So far, a total of 2,000 people are covered with the new passes.

John Thomas, who serves on the park board, said the change was approved as a budget item in February with little discussion.

“My view is that the system is in place, and if it does what the staff thinks it will do, that’s a good thing,” Thomas said. “If not, we’ll make adjustments next year.”

On a recent foggy late morning at Lloyd Park Beach, Jim Karabas idled in the parking lot, waiting to pick up his kid from sailing camp. He said his family visits the beach almost every weekend in the summer.

“It will be more difficult to get a pass, but if it’s good to keep up with people better on the beaches, maybe that’s a good thing,” Karabas said. “Taking advantage of technology, I guess.”

Nick Robbins, the park district’s manager of the Lloyd Park boat launch, said the new system has made life much easier for the beach staff. Instead of having a season beach pass and a boat launch pass, for example, there’s just one pass.

“I think it’s all been pretty much positive so far,” he said.

Tristan Jenista sat in his car, looking out at the waves on the lake. A Wilmette resident and stand-up paddle boarder, Jenista said he visits Lloyd Park almost every day in the summer.

“If Big Brother’s watching me, I don’t have a problem with it,” Jenista said.

Usually by this time of the year, Mary Avellone’s light blue sailboat is floating beside a couple dozen other vessels at the Jackson Park Outer Harbor on the city’s South Side.

But Avellone sees only a handful of boats in the water these days. Low lake levels combined with a pileup of sand forced a few of her neighbors to dock at other marinas. Others are waiting out the problems and haven’t dropped their boats in at all, she said.

Lower lake levels mean that the potential for dangers and damage to boats lurks in unseen places.

Concrete blocks and other large objects sitting at the bottom of the lake are closer to the bottoms of boats. And vessels navigating near walls along the shore are finding the area doesn’t have enough depth.

“The problem hasn’t resolved itself by any stretch,” said the Chicago Yachting Association’s Baumgartner. “Yes, indeed, there has been a very slight rise in the levels — but it’s not enough to remedy the problem in full. It’s going to take several years of normal weather to get us back to where we should be.”

For Avellone, who believes maintenance is to blame for her harbor’s problems, the lake levels and silt are more than just an irritation. They may be reason for her frustrated neighbors with larger boats to sail to other marinas.

“Harbors are like neighborhoods,” she said. “It really disturbs the sense of community in the harbors that have been neglected for so many years while they spent all this money building 31st (Street Harbor.)”