Ahead of the tech trends – Aaron Rajamoney
When you look at the career trajectory of 2001 Alumni Aaron Rajamoney you can’t help but feel a little wanderlust, perhaps even a little envy, but when you get to know him the only thing you’ll end up thinking is ‘It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.’
Aaron founded UAVISUALS (Unmanned Aerial Visual Solutions) in 2013, the company is an Australian drone-based service and data solutions company offering creative and industrial services such as photography, video production, virtual reality and remote data solutions including AI. The company prides itself on staying ahead of emerging trends and technologies,
For as long as Aaron can remember he has always been an early adopter of technology, in fact he studied Media at St Stephen’s School the first time it was offered in the year 2000.
“I remember falling in love with the class, I wasn’t trying to solve long division equations, it was actually interesting, and it it was where my creativity was sparked.”
The 2001 Duncraig Yearbook contains a special congratulations to Aaron and Tim Hipsley for participating in Murdoch University’s Media Frenzy where the pair spent a week using state-of-the-art facilities at the new Media Arts Centre, producing live studio drama, and gaining an insight into the world of media. However, it was the Media studies elective that really left its impact on Aaron, led by Mrs Longman and Mrs Donnelley. At the time, to have a subject where you could express yourself creatively and have some kind of hope that this could potentially lead to a career gave him & his peers a huge drive to pursue this pathway.
After graduating High School, Aaron went on to study a Double Major in Communications at Edith Cowan University before starting his career in advertising. The days were long and gruelling, but Aaron kept his head down and learnt a lot before making the move to Melbourne in search of career progression.
Once in Melbourne, Aaron landed a role at the Good Guys Head office. Around this time the YouTube platform was launched, and Aaron pushed for the company to get a YouTube channel. It took some convincing but soon Aaron was fronting the camera, recording a product review which went ‘viral’. The video was a hit, with over 50,000 views in 2008 and Aaron found himself being promoted to running the digital team.
It was around this time that Aaron was ready to take on a new challenge, fusing his interests and passion around new technology, robotics & photography. He bought a small drone (quadcopter), added a tiny camera on it and sent it flying into the air. He Immediately got excited about what he discovered and it just escalated very quickly from there. He began selling images to real estate agents to use in their advertising material, a practice that is common today but not 10 years ago. The side hustle was ticking along but it wouldn’t be until 2015 that UAVISUALS would burst onto the international stage.
In 2015 Aaron got married, forever the tinkerer Aaron asked his wife Lisa if he could bring his drone on their honeymoon, to which she replied,
“You can only bring it on the honeymoon if you fly it when I’m asleep.”
So, one early morning he woke at dawn and took some beautiful aerial shots of the resort they were staying at, he put them on Instagram and tagged the Resort chain. That very same day came a knock at their door, the resort wanted to buy the images he’d taken plus have him take a few more for them. Aaron of course negotiated an extra nights stay plus a 5 star private dinner and he got the details of the marketing manager. Before he knew it, he found himself photographing five star resorts across Asia, the Maldives, East Africa and more.
Since then, he’s travelled the world with his drone (with full permissions to fly from his wife of course). His company undertakes Government & infrastructure contracts as well as creative work providing aerial footage for TV shows & Broadcast as well as video production for Mazda, Mercedes, UFC, GWM, Tourism Australia, and many more. Aaron still stays true to his love for creating videos with his Youtube channel all about drone tech.
Aaron’s star is shining bright (and only getting brighter), but he remains the humble, joker he was during his time at St Stephen’s School. He says the School not only had a long-lasting effect on him but everyone in his graduating year with the friendship groups all staying close despite graduating over 20 years ago.
Aaron will be helping the School with a special drone project in 2024 for the 40th anniversary and we can’t wait to see him back at Duncraig.