Edward S. Fink

I'm a military brat born in Washington, D.C. and I moved to Alaska at age three. I didn't actually live in a "state" until I was six years old, when Alaska became the 49th state. I went to high school in Japan, North Dakota, Mississippi, New York, and Colorado. I eventually settled down in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I'm now a cheerful old grandpa living with my beautiful wife Mary Ann.

I won my first photography award in Misawa, Japan on my 13th birthday, and I shot my first panorama at age 17 with my dad, Lee Fink, using a Mamiya Press 6x9 to photograph Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Back then we printed each photo separately, used a razor to trim the overlap, and glued the pictures to heavy mat board. Unfortunately, my seams always showed, and I quickly lost interest in panoramas.

But in 1997 I bought my first digital camera and within hours I was making my first panorama that didn't have glue oozing through the seams, and I became so fascinated with interactive panoramas they eventually took over my life.

In 2005 I became the first photographer in the world to shoot full 360 degree panoramas from a helicopter. Eventually I started using a quadcopter to shoot my aerials, partially because I like being in charge, but mainly because the total cost to buy a quadcopter is about the same as the cost to charter a helicopter for one hour.

I’m also a Google Trusted Photographer shooting Street View virtual tours inside businesses in the Twin Cities.