Biographical Info

Photography at a Higher Level

Air One produces some of the country’s best aerial and panoramic photography in a wide array of subjects including Chicago skylines, lighthouses, architecture, and landscapes. You can purchase our images online or at our two major retail locations: Navy Pier in Chicago, or our Valparaiso Gallery in Indiana. We also offer a range of professional photography services, canvas prints and corporate photo gifts.

Customer service is our number one priority. Contact us – we would love to discuss your project ideas and needs with you.

About Air One

Air One Aerial Photography, Inc., an award-winning photography company, has been in business since 1995, specializing in high-resolution panoramic pictures and aerial photography. Each of our eight employees specializes in a particular area – various types of photography, graphic design, sales, or packaging – so we can offer you a complete menu of photo services in one convenient location.

Our clients range from average households to large corporations. We’ve shot scouting video for the movie “Pearl Harbor,” followed power boat races on Lake Michigan, hovered off the tail-end of huge freighters coming into port, and covered breaking news stories. We’ve even shot photos for the Secret Service!

We can shoot in:

• 35mm digital
• medium format digital
• panoramic format
• rotating panoramic (360o aerials)
• video

From one-acre plots of land to 5,000-acre railroad yards, from ground shots to 45° angles, or a shot from 10,000 feet looking straight down, we can get the view you need. We travel the whole country, so feel free tocontact us wherever and whenever you need wide format photographs. Our own specially-equipped helicopter is ready at a moment’s notice.

About Brad Cavanaugh, Owner
“You might say that flying is in my blood, since we took trips in our family plane ever since I was a baby. My dad started me on flight training when I was 10 and I dreamed of becoming an airline pilot. One year after graduating from Purdue University with a Fine Arts degree and photography minor, I was flying the corporate plane and hot air balloons for Chicagoland La-Z-Boy Furniture. After two years, my entrepreneurial and creative side took over.

Air One was born in 1995. I saw a niche in the market where I could combine my hobbies, live my dream, and help people, all at once. My father, Tom, an experienced pilot and photographer, quickly joined my venture. By 1996 we had so many incredible images of the Chicago skyline that we needed an outlet. We opened our first retail store at Chicago’s Navy Pier, which is visited by more than 8 million people each year.

About five years ago, I was ready to expand again. In 2005 we opened our second retail location in historic, downtown Valparaiso, IN. Inside you’ll find a 2200-sq.ft. art gallery, a Chicago-style photo studio, multiple graphic art workstations, two large format printers, and our distribution center.

I have now traveled all over the country to shoot for clients, but what I still enjoy most is flying over northwest Indiana. There’s no place like home – even from the air.”

For more information, email or call us at 219.462.1182.