LOOKSLIKE
SHOOTER PROFILE :
BY EMILY WALZ
A VISUAL DIARIST, DREW RESSLER IS
THE GLOBAL GO-TO SNAPPER WHEN
THE BASS KICKS
Drew Ressler, aka Rukes, is one of the most prominent DJ and dance music
festival photographers. He’s the man often literally behind DJs as they
perform, and captures both sweeping, 180-degree views of gigantic arenas
and the up-close-and-personal shots of the DJs backstage.
Ressler, originally from New York seemed almost lured to an L.A culture,
where more than a decade ago he started turning his photography hobby
into a side job. Spending time in clubs, he began taking pictures of the
performers – first for his own blog, and soon, for them. The side job became
a full-time occupation.
“I started in 2004 with my basic point-and-shoot taking pics of some DJs I
liked while I lived in New York,” says Ressler. “When I moved to California
later that year, I bought a basic DSLR and started doing the same thing
at Avalon Hollywood.” That first point-and-shoot was a Canon G3, “a
whopping four megapixels,” recalls Ressler. The DSLR was a Canon 20D
that doubled his megapixel count to eight. In a year, Avalon had hired him
as their in-house photographer.
Over his career, Ressler has worked with the likes of Steve Aoki, deadmau5,
Zedd, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia, and Dirty South and been an official
photographer for events like the Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy
Carnival.