Somewhere around 1991: Alden finds old camera in the closet at his mom's house, probably while rooting around for a past issue of BMX Action magazine.
Summer 1996: Alden receives top quality, though older, Beseler Topcon still camera from father John Olmsted, complete with wide-angle and telephoto lenses. Results are uninspiring but show potential.
September 14, 1996: Alden, together with Matthew Fabiano, tries out Super 8mm film for the first time, filming a day at Pt. Reyes on Alden's Birthday. Results are enjoyable, though basic.
August 19, 1999: Alden purchases Canon F-1 professional still camera from California Camera in Santa Cruz, and begins taking much better pictures.
January 2001: Though in the wedding as a groomsman, Alden films the days leading up to the wedding of Neil Anderson & Casey West using the same crappy, thrift store Super 8mm motion picture camera. Resulting film, with music, is enjoyable, though extremely raw and unpolished.
Feb 3, 2002: The Real California Picture Company is started, and realcaliforniapics.com jumps on the information super highway known as the world wide web, ie... internet. The purpose of The Real California Picture Company is to showcase those parts of California that often get overlooked, between the tourist spots, and to showcase the photography of Alden Olmsted.
February - April 2002: With his vintage Chrysler Newport, Alden works for two months as a driver and extra on the set of the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can. During this time, Alden hangs out with the grips and camera operators and gains some valuable knowledge about the film industry.
April 2002: Alden purchases a Super-Suction camera mount from Modern Studio Equipment in Burbank California, which allows the camera to be mounted on a vehicle while it is moving.
May 2002: Alden purchases first high quality Super 8mm Camera, a Canon 814 Autozoom Electronic.
May 2002: Together with three friends, Alden takes a 9-day trip of the Southwest US, including Havasu Falls, Antelope Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Lees Ferry, Bryce Canyon, and Las Vegas. This trip is filmed using two rolls of Kodachrome Super 8mm Film, and using the aforementioned car mount. Results of this film, complete with editing, telecine color correction and accompanying music are vastly improved from earlier attempts and garner rave reviews from friends and family.
October 2003: Alden enters and shows "Exact Change Man" in Flicker LA's "Attack of the Fifty-Foot Reels" Super 8mm Film Festival at Grumman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd.
December 19, 2003: Alden graduates from Biola University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Organizational Leadership.
Summer 2004: Alden becomes proficient in and begins editing using both Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier.
February 2005: Alden purchases Apple Macintosh G5 professional computer.
Summer 2005: Alden begins selling his photos on blank greeting cards at Cotati's Thursday night Farmers' Market. Soon thereafter cards begin selling well at Copperfield's Books & Gifts in Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Calistoga.
November 2005: Alden purchases Final Draft screenwriting program, and begins work on three original screenplays: Dill, California, The Lost Art of Friendship, and Blinded By The Light.
June 2006: First meeting of cast and crew for the feature film Dill, California to be filmed in late summer.
July 27, 2006: Dill, California screenplay completed and registered with the Writers Guild of America.
August 14, 2006: filming begins on the film Dill, California.
October 8, 2006: filming ends on the film Dill, California.
December 1, 2006: Alden visits Yale Film & Video in North Hollywood for supervision of telecine transfer of raw footage for Dill, California.
March 3rd, 2007: Dill, California premieres at the Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma, California. Over 100 friends and family members enjoy the screening.
August 2007: Alden finishes his 2nd screenplay, a comedy entitled "Confessions of a Salesman."
August/ September 2007: Alden again uses his classic 1966 Chrysler Newport to land a few background scenes in the Wine Country - filmed independent feature "Bottle Shock."