Alumnus’ Aerial Photography Startup Takes Flight

When asked which direction he sees his aerial video and photography company heading over the next couple years, Mike Ouimet ’98 responds with a laugh:

“Certainly upwards.”

A public justice graduate and native of Fulton, N.Y., Ouimet founded Aerial Captures last fall after flying model airplanes with his son Mason, 11, an aspiring pilot.

“I thought, ’how can I turn something I enjoy doing into a business?’” he says.

Ouimet and his team pilot a fleet of Radio Controlled Aerial Devices, or RCAD, to capture birds-eye perspectives of real estate, benefits, races, golf courses and “anything else our clients can think of.”

The quickly expanding startup is based in Concord, N.C., where Mike lives with wife, Kim, and sons, Mason and Michael, 14.

The “tech-centric” Aerial Captures leverages Ouimet’s existing information technology company, Wincourse Technologies Inc., as a launching point and resource for add-ons such as the website and a mobile app, which allow clients to view and share content.

“RCADs are such a new technology that people in every industry are just starting to realize their potential,” he says. Ouimet says the unmanned camera devices, which are considerably less expensive than airplanes or helicopters, are now used to remotely inspect otherwise difficult to view bridges, crops, roller coasters, volcanoes and more.

“One thing that Oswego did was teach me to think critically,” he says. “We identified a need in the market and Aerial Captures is trying to fill that need.”

—Tyler Edic ’13

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