Frank Lee Ruggles

Frank Lee Ruggles, Photographer

1. Early life:
12 November 1966 - Born in Phoenix Arizona to Evelyn and Lonnie Eaton as Frank Lee Eaton. His parents divorced when he was two and moved in with his grandparents, mother and two sisters. He took his grandfather's last name when he was 16 years old. His mother re-married in 1974 and the family moved to Delaware Ohio where Frank graduated from Rutherford B. Hayes High School. He joined the US Army in 1985 as a Paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. He served for four years with B co 2/505 Parachute Infantry. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1988 leaving for civilian life in 1989. A shoulder injury from a parachuting accident left him slightly disabled (30%) with limited movement of his left arm.
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2. Career:
Frank is currently photographer for the National Parks Service shooting for a week at each of the National Parks around the US as a member of the Digital Imaging Project Team.
In 2007, when an opportunity to work for the National Park Service as a photographer was available, Frank applied and won the position over hundreds of applicants. He became the 1st Team Photographer for the Digital Imaging Project, traveling for a week at a time to each of the park's 394 units to photograph the 300 most notable artifacts in the collections. During his off duty hours, Frank finds himself in some of the most beautiful and exotic locations in the United States. From Hawaii to Alaska to Maine to Georgia, he has photographed the natural beauty in 30 States in 2 years.
His photographic style is influenced greatly his photographic Hero, Ansel Adams (who was also a NPS photographer on a four year project) with an emphasis on intriguing compositions of landscape scenes which showcase the wonder of the natural world. He shoots both black and white and color images, though his preference is Black and White. He is often found climbing up rock walls or down into valleys to find a unique vantage point for his images.
Frank worked for 3 years as a night club bouncer in Charleston South Carolina where he met and started dating his future wife photographer Lisa Crow, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in photography. She introduced him to photography and hired him as an entry level photo processor on the Kiawah Island resort photo lab that she managed.There he learned about photography and photographed the natural parts of the Island every week in his spare time. His print became popular with tourists and Island residents, as he sold over 3000 of his Island pictures in three years. In 1998, he and his wife moved to the Washington DC area where he worked for a short while as the Manager of Dominion Camera before purchasing Century Three Photo with his colleague Adam Paseman. Century Three provided photography and custom printing services to several government agencies including the Department of Energy, Department of the Treasury ,The Department of Commerce and the State Department to name a few. The C3 Team excelled at providing fast service to the Government and the company was growing rapidly until the events of 9/11 2001. The requirements for Top Secret Clearance made the Federal Contracts impossible to service and C3 closed their doors in early 2002. He worked a few non-photographic jobs before landing as the Manager of Virginia's largest Camera store , Ace Photo. There he taught photography and helped professionals and amateurs learn about the equipment they would need to get the images they sought.
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2. Other noted projects:
1998-2004 - Frank's commercial works were published in dozens of magazines for architectural and design clients. His interior photography is featured on Home and Garden Television's website.

2008 - Frank self-published his first book of works, "Beautiful America", which contained 80 images from the year's travel.

2009 - "...and this is what I saw in the American West" , Frank's first calendar was published.

2010 - Images for Frank's second book; "...and This is What I saw" are shot in over a dozen states, and are curently being edited for publishing.

2011 - March-April, 20 large scale images ( 7x9feet) will be hung at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach Florida in an outdoor exhibit, as well as 40 images in the Gallery.

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3. Personal life:
Frank resides in Leesburg, Virginia with his wife, Lisa, and his Great Dane, Wilson. Frank is an advocate of conservation, and encourages people to get out an enjoy the great outdoors. He also advocates responsible shooting - for the safety of the environment as well as of that of the photographer. He is currently writing a guideline for photographers that will help them understand how to reduce their impact on the places they shoot, as well as having a safe experience in remote and undeveloped areas.
Frank serves in the Virginia Defense force, which is the reserve component of the National Guard as the First Sergeant of the 2nd Military Police Company, his current rank is Sergeant First Class.
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4. Photographs:
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