Beginnings

A long, long time ago, high above Chicago.....

My name is Allan Goldstein and I am the owner of Aerial Images Photography.

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, I was a computer programmer and consultant   (can you spell
G-E-E-K?) when I met Richard, a photographer and fellow consultant at a company picnic. We both
worked on the large IBM mainframes programming in such blah languages as COBOL, IMS and
CICS.

I was also a pilot at the time. I had gotten my private pilots license in the early 1970's when I was a
Chicago high school math teacher. I flew for a couple years, met my wife Terry and decided to save
our money for a house and babies.

In 1986, I was coerced by friends into an airplane ride..and darn..I was hooked again. Flying is NOT
a hobby..it IS a disease. One day, a computer firm I was working at held their company picnic. I
decided to fly over the picnic with a camera and take photos of the people lined up making the
letters "CTG". Surprise of surprises...my first attempt at aerial photography was a success! The
company even published the photos in their corporate newsletter.

RIchard and I were discussing the photography and ALL OF A SUDDEN...we both came up with the
idea to start a business. Credit for the Aerial Images name goes to his wife, but the logo design
was all Richard's.

Were we ever excited! But we had no idea who would use aerial photos, nor did we have any idea
what kind of equipment (or how pricey) was needed. We did some practice flights with a 35mm
camera and experimented, did our research and asked tons of questions. Our conclusion: 35mm
cameras just did not product the professional results we wanted .

The camera of choice became the Pentax 6x7 with a negative size of 6cm x 7cm --certainly a
professional piece of equipment. However in late 2003, we made the switch to digital with the Fuji
FinePix S-2 and in August, 2004, we purchased the incredible Kodak DCS SLR/n camera with
14megapixels (seen to the left.)

We never bothered with marketing studies or fancy business plans--we just   thought this is
something that would be needed. But we were both very hesitant to spend lots of money on a
venture that might not even work out.
We searched Crain's Chicago Business and many other sources for the "Movers and Shakers"
wrote some letters, made some phone calls; and lo and behold, slowly, (excruciating slowly),
business trickled in. Our first customer, incidentally, was a chemical company in Wauconda, IL. We
shot 35mm slides and we had to go back THREE times until we finally got it right.

In time, I earned my instrument rating, commercial license, a couple instructor ratings and my
multi-engine rating. I even had a business renting out airplanes at DuPage airport and when the
business was dissolved, I kept my favorite airplane: a beautiful Cessna Skyhawk, which I now use
mainly for personal trips and fun. Although this airplane is equipped for aerial photography work,
insurance requirements have forced us to utilize another aircraft for this purpose.

Fast forward to 1997 when we added our own darkroom with an enlarger and photoprocessor. We
could do all sizes up to 20x24" for our clients--and in a very quick timeframe. Now we have a digital
darkroom with Epson printers for highly professional work.

We are located in Elk Grove Village, IL, about 10 miles west of the Worlds Busiest: O'hare
International Airport and 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. So, if you are ever in the area,
be sure to stop in for a cup of coffee.

Oh yes...we can't forget my best friends Jammer and his step-brother Roscoe.

1285 Bradley Lane
Elk Grove, IL 60007
office: (847)985-7685
mobile: (847)533-8466

airfoto@aerialimages-photo.com