Fran Ruchalski | Music Photography
The Quick Survey
- Name: Fran Ruchalski - The PhotoGuy of Amelia Island - The Photographer, LLC
- Located in: Amelia Island / Jacksonville Florida
- Started in: January. 2008
- Status: Made the jump to full-time June, 2010.....hence the new name
- Types of Photography: Music Photography & Portraits
- Primary Camera / Favorite Lens: Nikon D700 / Nikon 80-200 2.8
- Interesting Personal Fact: I have a blue spot in the middle of my forehead from an "extreme sport" accident....I was racing a shopping cart, lost control, and went skidding across the Wal-Mart parking lot head first. My pride was hurt more than my head. My mother always told me not to do it....maybe someday I'll listen.
Find out more
Website: www.photoguyofai.com
Blog: www.ishootmusicians.net
Twitter: @PhotoGuyofAI @IShootMusicians
Facebook/MySpace: The PhotoGuy of Ameila Island
Short Bio
I am many things to many people. I am Dad to 4. I am Pop to 8. I am the “significant other” to 1. I am “the ex” to 2. And I am the master to one crazy German Shepherd.
I have lived in a very large city and on a farm outside a small rural town. Yes, I’m a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. These days, I live in a little beach town on a small island in Northeast Florida, and I am very happy to be here. It’s a place that I truly feel at home and may be the place where I was always meant to be. For a beach bum like me, nothing beats living less than 5 minutes from the beach.
If I don’t have a camera with me, the universe seems somehow out of kilter. I’ve been doing this since I was quite young. And people…not only my mom…think I’m pretty darn good at it. I'm really good at candid shots of people. An art school professor once told me that I have a special way of capturing people. Who am I to argue with her? Actually, I think she was right.
While I've always loved photography, it's only fairly recently that I decided that I wanted to try to make it my full-time gig, and I am seriously studying everything I can to become better at it. I have fallen in love with lighting and stobist type shooting.
Concert & band photography is my passion. The combination of photography and live music is just so natural for me as they are both such a big part of my life. I went to my first concert when I was 12, over 40 years ago; it was The Grateful Dead at the Spectrum in Philly and they played for 5 hours. I’ll never forget it. I spent most of my teen years and beyond going to as many concerts as I could, sometimes 3 or 4 in a week. I’ve seen most every rock artist of the 70’s, a lot of them several times. These days, I get out to probably one live performance a week, sometimes quite a few more. I Shoot Musicians and I make people look like Rock Stars. I love to capture the moment when a performer shows their spirit and personality. It’s like magic. Capturing that energy and emotion is what it’s all about for me. Someone told me that I do it so well because I feel the music so much more than most people. Some of my photos have been published in Guitar World, Guitar Player, Guitar Edge, Musicians Friend, The Buzz, Axis Magazine, and other national and local publications as well as many sites on the web. While I take most of my photos in the Northeast Florida area, I have traveled throughout the Southeast to cover musical events. Now, if I could just figure out a way to make real money at it!



