Homemade Balloon's Stunning Shots of Earth

A weather balloon that can shoot breathtaking video and still photos of the earth from 24 miles in space may sound like a project for NASA, but it's actually the work of videographer Colin Rich, who pulled it off with a homemade balloon, two second-hand cameras and some Styrofoam and duct tape.

Rich spoke to co-anchor Harry Smith Monday morning on the "The Early Show" about his experience "thinking outside the box."

The videographer from Los Angeles, Calif., came up with this idea early on in 2008, but with some help from his friends, the idea became a reality. Rich equipped the weather balloon with a weather proof compartment for the cameras and a built in GPS system so he could track it wherever it landed.

"They have programs in which you can hack the cameras," explained Rich. "It's called CDHK and basically you can hack the cameras and tell them to do whatever you want."

The materials used in Rich's weather balloon experiment are items that many of us already own. Rich purchased two Canon Power-Shot cameras off of Ebay, and the balloon itself was filled with helium.

With careful planning, such as painting the balloon orange so it was visible to pilots and contacting the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), Rich was able to send his balloon into flight and capture extraordinary pictures.

"I didn't even look at the pictures at first," said Rich, "but when we got back to the car and opened up the cameras, I was just blown away."

Rich says that the experiment was not horribly complicated, and with some careful planning beforehand, anybody could do this.

For more balloon flight photography, check out Pacific Star Flight.com.

To watch more Rich's interview on "The Early Show," click on the video below.