In summertime, visitors to the Dubuque Farmers Market have likely been drawn to a booth filled with colorful, aerial images hosted by Elevated Images’ co-owners, Michael Williams and McKenzy Marley.
All of the tedious work assembling and disassembling the booth resulted in solid sales and exposure (pun intended) that have further led to opening a store on Main Street in Dubuque this past October.
“It’s come a long way in a short time,” Williams said. “It feels surreal.”
The benefits of having a storefront are many, and it might be essential for the long-term success of the business.
“It’s helpful to have a physical space to call home,” he said. “People can find us on a daily basis.”
The store is a dazzling and orderly collection of images, from large pictures on the walls to magnets and playing cards on tables and shelves. Puzzles are a big seller, they said.
One half of the store is filled with images of Dubuque — iconic spots from often surprising perspectives that can only be captured from the air, as drones do. The other half of the store is full of stunning images from places around the globe, of which Williams seems to favor water locations.
Williams and Marley travel frequently to capture the unique images, but now that there’s a physical store, they have to consider their hours and availability.
So far, the busiest times are when the river cruise boats bring in visitors, and they might choose items they can carry back with them. But when they choose larger prints, Elevated Images will ship. Days are a little slower now that the cruises have ceased for the season, but locals are still seeking out the store now that it’s open.
While Williams searches for best spots and times of day and season in the area, Marley handles the business aspects of Elevated Images. It’s a partnership that is mutually beneficial. And yet they both have goals related to photographic art: He would like to focus on creating more portraits while she would like to focus on macro images.
But for now it’s all about the views. Whether focusing on intriguing interiors or wide open spaces, Williams doesn’t seem to tire of all of the possibilities. He caught the travel bug when he studied abroad in Bamburg, Germany, and he has the talent of appreciating places both near and far — and celebrating them — through photographs.
“Germany is the center of Europe and it’s easy to go everywhere and travel,” Williams said.
Yet it’s not just their own choosing of what they think would make the most alluring images. Williams also takes commissions, often for weddings, farms, marketing, and real estate — all of it keeping the company busy.
Because his art and business depends on drone technology, it’s drone technology that Williams needs to keep abreast of, which is easier today than it was when he first learned it.
“Early on, drones were challenging to use,” Williams said. “But they’re intuitive now and have features like stabilization and ‘return to home’ — they’re user friendly and almost more like playing a video game.”
Even with all of the right technology, there’s still the artistic consideration of finding the right place at the right time. Williams makes the choices that he feels are best for color, perspective and subject matter. And residents and visitors tend to applaud his choices.
Williams and Marley are not likely to rest on their laurels for long.
“We want to grow our presence in the area,” Williams said. “There’s so much aerial art to show people. I’m excited to share it and to show off all of these places.”
A next step is to launch aerial drones indoors, and Williams is securing the technology to accomplish it.
“Indoor drones are much smaller to navigate through windows and doors,” Williams said. “It does much more for marketing (for instance).”
Fortunately, Williams and Marley seem to have bottomless energy to continue working with drone technology, traveling and sharing their work, whether of local subjects or those thousands of miles away. His photography reminds us that the world is vast and amazing, and it’s worthwhile to see it fresh from new heights.