Drew Ressler. Commonly known as Rukes among EDM fans, he is the key person in making us relive our festival memories.
From stage shots to DJ shots, the No.1 EDM photographer who has been in the industry for more than a decade was kind enough to stop over by the AWA booth during ULTRA JAPAN 2016.
He shared with us his journey from a teen interested in photography and music turned to snapping official photos on stage and from crowds with the biggest names and festival promoters in the industry.
Welcome back to Japan! What do you like about Japan?
Just everything. You walk around everywhere and find something amazing to do. Two days ago I spent 11 miles just walking around exploring around the city and there is so much to see, do and eat. You think you’re running out of things to do and yet there is just so much more.
What about the food?
That’s my favorite part. Everytime I come out here I make a list of places to try out and see how far I can go. This time around I went to the Tsukiji market for some sushi and also a Michellin Star Restaurant for ramen. The only repeat I allow is Maisen (tonkatsu). Everthing else has to be something new.
So please introduce yourself to our our Japanese audience!
Sure thing. My name is Drew and also known as Rukes. I got into photography about 12 years ago which happened to be an accident. I worked in the video game industry but decided for the weekends I would go to the local club in LA, Avalon Hollywood, to see all the DJs I liked such as Hybrid. I then decided to bring a camera and just take pictures for fun but then eventually some of them were like “oh these pictures are really good we think you know what you’re doing”.
Do you remember the first festival you participated as a paid photographer?
Wow that’s a long way back! But recently you’ve also been hanging out with Zedd a lot. How did you guys meet?
He lives 5 minutes away from me so if he’s in town, I’ll just go visit him and wake him up and just hang out with him. I was on an Asia tour with deadmau5 in 2011 so we were doing in a run in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan for a few gigs. Zedd was opening for him for a few of those gigs in Asia so that’s how I was introduced to him. We briefly met then but afterwards I met Zedd again at Avalon Hollywood for his show. That was the same time he was working on his new album ‘Clarity’ and he asked if I wanted to come by hang out and take pictures.
A fun fact about Zedd that fans might not know?
That’s a hard one. I’d say he’s very sarcastic sometimes. (haha)
Other than gigs you also shoot a lot of festivals. You’ve mentioned you love Holyship! Why is that?
One thing I like about it is that everyone is stuck together. Especially the first edition; no one knew what to expect so basically it was like everyone boards the ship, goes to their room and goes to the deck to hang out before all the music starts with the DJs and fans. It just grew from there. People who are new to it are shocked but people like me who are used to it already know what to expect. It’s great fun because you’re in a small area and you always run into people you want to see.
The other thing is the crazy amount of B2B sets. They usually have this closing set called A-trak and friends and pretty much almost all the DJs go there because it’s one of the final sets. Sometimes it’s crazy with the amount of DJs at one booth where at one point there are like 12 DJs at the same time.
The crowd is as special too?
For sure. They have theme days so usually everyone is dressed up really crazy. You look around and everyone is dressed up uniquely and differently.
Having worked with so many DJs, if you could be a DJ for one day, who would it be and why?
The obvious DJs I would pick are usually so busy and have so much to do that you kind of wouldn’t want to be them.
Career wise, which artist is on that bucket list?
I was there at Coachella with a bunch of friends with my camera for their set but I said to myself that I wanted to simply enjoy and indulge their set. For a split second I thought the security might have thrown me out away if I took my camera out. I didn’t want to ruin the experience so I was just watching them and it was a crazy experience.
In general though, there are so many up and coming DJs that I take pictures of too. A recent big one would be like REZZ. She’s just getting bigger and bigger it’s crazy.
I like taking pictures of her and she loves my pictures too so it’s great. Last time we did HARD, we hung out for a day and we did some sunset press shots because I had these ideas in my head. I got pretty close to the desired look in that small amount of time we had to shoot.
Do you ever think of going into videography?
I have thought about it now that the 1DXmark 2 is out and auto-focusing for videos is a little bit easier. I did a little bit of video earlier and edited it for fun. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be so I’m actually kind of working on it but I want to perfect it.
Since I’m so busy with photos since a lot of people want me for photos, I’m looking into just recording video at the same time and giving it to someone who is a good editor to give it sort of my style so that way I don’t have to do editing photos and videos. Say if I’m on tour and they want a quick weekly video, I’ll be able to do that.
So it’s one of those things I’m still progressing on but the work just gets busier and busier. I think at one point I have some downtime here but the schedule just gets filled up. I am working on it though!
Excited on that other sphere of work. But how did this whole photography career center on the EDM scene?
The late 90s, I was a huge fan of Hybrid (still my favorite) and a lot of other DJs. A lot of them were playing at Avalon Hollywood so it was really cool just to go there. I grew up in Long Island, New York so just going to the city was this huge trek for me. Even if I did get into the city they wouldn’t have that many big DJs, maybe once in every two weeks. But things were on a whole new level in LA. When I moved out to California, there was always someone big playing every weekend. Going to see all the people I liked was amazing and it just kind of worked out because back in that time most club photographers were there just for the people.
I just kind of hated dealing with the drunk people because I’d take an amazing group shot of people and they wouldn’t be happy with it and asked for another shot. That would go on for like at least 10 minutes. That’s when I thought why don’t I just work on the DJs? I remember that club photo galleries back then were the club name and the date. 99% would be pics of people. Time to time they would mention the DJ but it would be only like a few photos of them.
When you’re taking photos do you have a certain vision in mind or do artists tell you their preferences?
Pretty much everyone trusts me so they leave it up to me. I do have a set plan laid like whether it’s going to be a portrait shot or an epic shot from behind. I guess one thing I always have in mind is my fondness for symmetry. Everything else I just work out in my head the best spots to get everything as symmetrical as possible. I try not to get too many awkward angles. It’s like a formula that works out for me.
Rudgr who does Ultra too, he does more of that helicopter/wide venue photos because he is used to it with Tomorrowand but the funny thing is every time I’ve been at a festival where they’ve had helicopter access it’s always like falling through. So I just stick to doing the DJ stuff on the ground. Maybe it’s fate that I’m staying on the ground. (haha)
What is on your bucket list as Rukes.com?
In the future, just more expansion. It would be really cool to do more genres of music but like I said I’m pretty busy doing what I do so it’s kind of hard and its also hard to break in other genres when I’m so established with what I’m doing now. Although gig stuff is working out for me, doing a little bit of more of video and press stuff would be awesome too.
A music fanatic like the rest of us but having a keen eye on photography and the EDM scene led Drew Ressler to a career full of amazing travels and awesome camaraderie with some of the world’s top DJs. We can’t wait for more Rukes.com photos and also look forward to a Daft Punk shot too. With Daft Punk 2017 Alive Tour rumours out there it might not be long till Drew ticks of that bucket list he was taking about.
Make sure to check Rukes.com and all his other social media outlets where he uploads beautiful photos of festivals and DJ gigs.
His apparel merch is a must check too! http://apparel.rukes.com/
Check out Rezz above owning the look with his merch!
For more of these amazing photos go check out Rukes on his socials.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rukes/
Twitter: @rukes
Instagram: @rukes
From stage shots to DJ shots, the No.1 EDM photographer who has been in the industry for more than a decade was kind enough to stop over by the AWA booth during ULTRA JAPAN 2016.
Did a cool interview with @iflyertv at @ultrajapan today!
— Rukes (@rukes) 2016年9月18日
He shared with us his journey from a teen interested in photography and music turned to snapping official photos on stage and from crowds with the biggest names and festival promoters in the industry.
Welcome back to Japan! What do you like about Japan?
Just everything. You walk around everywhere and find something amazing to do. Two days ago I spent 11 miles just walking around exploring around the city and there is so much to see, do and eat. You think you’re running out of things to do and yet there is just so much more.
This sums up how I spent every day in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/w3eS61LKcx
— Rukes (@rukes) 2016年9月21日
What about the food?
That’s my favorite part. Everytime I come out here I make a list of places to try out and see how far I can go. This time around I went to the Tsukiji market for some sushi and also a Michellin Star Restaurant for ramen. The only repeat I allow is Maisen (tonkatsu). Everthing else has to be something new.
#fbf #foodporn #tokyo pic.twitter.com/ngOuUoMexT
— Rukes (@rukes) 2016年9月23日
So please introduce yourself to our our Japanese audience!
Sure thing. My name is Drew and also known as Rukes. I got into photography about 12 years ago which happened to be an accident. I worked in the video game industry but decided for the weekends I would go to the local club in LA, Avalon Hollywood, to see all the DJs I liked such as Hybrid. I then decided to bring a camera and just take pictures for fun but then eventually some of them were like “oh these pictures are really good we think you know what you’re doing”.
So I started learning more and more about how to use a camera and about a year later Avalon hired me to be a full time photographer. It just kind of spread from there.
Do you remember the first festival you participated as a paid photographer?
I think it was Together As One on New Years in 2006. I remember that’s where I did my first ever classic “behind the DJ pose, arms out” photo with Christopher Lawrence.
Wow that’s a long way back! But recently you’ve also been hanging out with Zedd a lot. How did you guys meet?
He lives 5 minutes away from me so if he’s in town, I’ll just go visit him and wake him up and just hang out with him. I was on an Asia tour with deadmau5 in 2011 so we were doing in a run in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan for a few gigs. Zedd was opening for him for a few of those gigs in Asia so that’s how I was introduced to him. We briefly met then but afterwards I met Zedd again at Avalon Hollywood for his show. That was the same time he was working on his new album ‘Clarity’ and he asked if I wanted to come by hang out and take pictures.
A fun fact about Zedd that fans might not know?
That’s a hard one. I’d say he’s very sarcastic sometimes. (haha)
Other than gigs you also shoot a lot of festivals. You’ve mentioned you love Holyship! Why is that?
One thing I like about it is that everyone is stuck together. Especially the first edition; no one knew what to expect so basically it was like everyone boards the ship, goes to their room and goes to the deck to hang out before all the music starts with the DJs and fans. It just grew from there. People who are new to it are shocked but people like me who are used to it already know what to expect. It’s great fun because you’re in a small area and you always run into people you want to see.
The other thing is the crazy amount of B2B sets. They usually have this closing set called A-trak and friends and pretty much almost all the DJs go there because it’s one of the final sets. Sometimes it’s crazy with the amount of DJs at one booth where at one point there are like 12 DJs at the same time.
Last year at one point Tiesto, Zedd, Skrillex came out so you don’t know what to shoot cause you see all these DJs at once doing crazy stuff.
The crowd is as special too?
For sure. They have theme days so usually everyone is dressed up really crazy. You look around and everyone is dressed up uniquely and differently.
Having worked with so many DJs, if you could be a DJ for one day, who would it be and why?
The obvious DJs I would pick are usually so busy and have so much to do that you kind of wouldn’t want to be them.
But I guess overall it would be Tiësto. He’s kind of like the center of everything. He’s literally friends with every single DJ and he’s always super happy!
Career wise, which artist is on that bucket list?
The list has gone shorter but up there is still Daft Punk.
I was there at Coachella with a bunch of friends with my camera for their set but I said to myself that I wanted to simply enjoy and indulge their set. For a split second I thought the security might have thrown me out away if I took my camera out. I didn’t want to ruin the experience so I was just watching them and it was a crazy experience.
In general though, there are so many up and coming DJs that I take pictures of too. A recent big one would be like REZZ. She’s just getting bigger and bigger it’s crazy.
I like taking pictures of her and she loves my pictures too so it’s great. Last time we did HARD, we hung out for a day and we did some sunset press shots because I had these ideas in my head. I got pretty close to the desired look in that small amount of time we had to shoot.
Do you ever think of going into videography?
I have thought about it now that the 1DXmark 2 is out and auto-focusing for videos is a little bit easier. I did a little bit of video earlier and edited it for fun. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be so I’m actually kind of working on it but I want to perfect it.
Since I’m so busy with photos since a lot of people want me for photos, I’m looking into just recording video at the same time and giving it to someone who is a good editor to give it sort of my style so that way I don’t have to do editing photos and videos. Say if I’m on tour and they want a quick weekly video, I’ll be able to do that.
So it’s one of those things I’m still progressing on but the work just gets busier and busier. I think at one point I have some downtime here but the schedule just gets filled up. I am working on it though!
Excited on that other sphere of work. But how did this whole photography career center on the EDM scene?
The late 90s, I was a huge fan of Hybrid (still my favorite) and a lot of other DJs. A lot of them were playing at Avalon Hollywood so it was really cool just to go there. I grew up in Long Island, New York so just going to the city was this huge trek for me. Even if I did get into the city they wouldn’t have that many big DJs, maybe once in every two weeks. But things were on a whole new level in LA. When I moved out to California, there was always someone big playing every weekend. Going to see all the people I liked was amazing and it just kind of worked out because back in that time most club photographers were there just for the people.
I just kind of hated dealing with the drunk people because I’d take an amazing group shot of people and they wouldn’t be happy with it and asked for another shot. That would go on for like at least 10 minutes. That’s when I thought why don’t I just work on the DJs? I remember that club photo galleries back then were the club name and the date. 99% would be pics of people. Time to time they would mention the DJ but it would be only like a few photos of them.
That eventually got me thinking a lot of people are here for the DJs so why not take pictures of the DJs. It worked out perfectly because that was when DJs were getting bigger too. The timing just worked out perfectly.
When you’re taking photos do you have a certain vision in mind or do artists tell you their preferences?
Pretty much everyone trusts me so they leave it up to me. I do have a set plan laid like whether it’s going to be a portrait shot or an epic shot from behind. I guess one thing I always have in mind is my fondness for symmetry. Everything else I just work out in my head the best spots to get everything as symmetrical as possible. I try not to get too many awkward angles. It’s like a formula that works out for me.
Rudgr who does Ultra too, he does more of that helicopter/wide venue photos because he is used to it with Tomorrowand but the funny thing is every time I’ve been at a festival where they’ve had helicopter access it’s always like falling through. So I just stick to doing the DJ stuff on the ground. Maybe it’s fate that I’m staying on the ground. (haha)
What is on your bucket list as Rukes.com?
In the future, just more expansion. It would be really cool to do more genres of music but like I said I’m pretty busy doing what I do so it’s kind of hard and its also hard to break in other genres when I’m so established with what I’m doing now. Although gig stuff is working out for me, doing a little bit of more of video and press stuff would be awesome too.
A music fanatic like the rest of us but having a keen eye on photography and the EDM scene led Drew Ressler to a career full of amazing travels and awesome camaraderie with some of the world’s top DJs. We can’t wait for more Rukes.com photos and also look forward to a Daft Punk shot too. With Daft Punk 2017 Alive Tour rumours out there it might not be long till Drew ticks of that bucket list he was taking about.
Make sure to check Rukes.com and all his other social media outlets where he uploads beautiful photos of festivals and DJ gigs.
His apparel merch is a must check too! http://apparel.rukes.com/
Check out Rezz above owning the look with his merch!
For more of these amazing photos go check out Rukes on his socials.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rukes/
Twitter: @rukes
Instagram: @rukes
