Who we are and how we got here

The birth of Bird’s Eye View Images is a story that goes back to the end of the 1990’s. A middle-school aged boy named A.J. was introduced to the world of hobby-grade radio-controlled cars for Christmas in 1999. It became an obsession; an itch that was never completely scratched, no matter how many cars, airplanes, and helicopters he built, and no matter how many races he entered. By the time he stopped racing, it had taken him all over the midwest, there were multiple walls full of plaques and trophies, and enough “toy car parts” in his basement to run a hobby shop.

And this is exactly where A.J. would begin his working career: part-time jobs in hobby shops in high-school and college. While working at Valpo Pet and Hobby during college, he was introduced to airplanes and helicopters. Racing the cars was always his main obsession, but the prospect of mounting a camera on a helicopter always seemed like it would be a cool way to see the world. He dabbled with it, but the idea never really “got off the ground.”

College ended, and the real world hit hard. He spent 10 years working in a car dealership, eventually rising through the ranks to become the youngest Parts Manager in Northwest Indiana’s Nissan Dealerships. In the summer of 2014, the house A.J. grew up in burned down. A.J. and his family were left with little more than the cloths on their back, their vehicles, and the family puppy. Rebuilding everything to continue racing was not an option, as the time requirements, effort needed, and money to compete at a high level were not available. Other hobbies temporarily filled the void, but just did not satisfy the itch.

His career shifted gears, and he found himself once again traveling most of the midwest, this time for work. The urge to build and play with some sort of radio controlled toy never died. As technology advanced, and battery/motor capabilities improved, A.J. began to wonder how hard it would be to mount a camera to a quadcopter, and use it to take pictures of some of the cool sites he was seeing while traveling for work.

After about 10 minutes of research, A.J. realized he was very, VERY late to this party. After about a month of research, the recently released at the time DJI Mini 3 Pro was on it’s way to A.J.’s house, and the concept of Bird’s Eye View Images was born.

It started with pictures of the house he had rebuilt on the same plot his parents had owned before. It quickly morphed into pictures of parks, then crudely made videos of thing’s he’d see while on the road. Another Mini 3 Pro and a GEPRC Cinebot 30 later, his wife was wondering where all the money was going, and A.J. decided it was time to turn his toys into tools. After all, if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life, right?

But Man makes plans, and God laughs; enter another career change. Even though the travel had it’s perks, not being at home with his family was taking a toll on everyone. In what his therapist called “a very predictable response,” to his house burning down, A.J. decided to chase after a career as a firefighter. At 35 years old, he was once again very late to the party, but someone up above was guiding things, as A.J. found himself employed at the Hobart Fire Department, a department that just so happens to have one of the leading drone teams in the area.

The career change delayed the birth of Bird’s Eye View, as Paramedic School and other commitments to get through probation had A.J. very busy for the first 18 months of his Fire Department career. However, the delay acted as a springboard, as now the motivation to take unique and eye catching footage was paired with using drones for search and rescue, surveillance, and many other first-response tasks.

Work at the Fire Department demanded honing his video-editing skills, and sharpening his flying abilities; skills vital to the work you see here. The diversity of work background, combined with the drive for perfection needed to win races and be an effective Fire Fighter, mixed with a bit of obsession with cool toys and tools created a golden egg, and in it, was the little green birdie you see today, and a Bird’s Eye View of the world.

For some, the sky is the limit. But for me, its where the fun starts.

A.J. Wilusz - Owner, Bird’s Eye View Images.